Indigenous Cinema Soars in Ontario Thanks to Studio Growth, Inclusive and Educational Initiatives
variety.comJennie Punter For renowned Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) multimedia artist Shelley Niro, the decision to film “Café Daughter” — a coming-of-ager about a Chinese Cree girl in 1960s Saskatchewan — in Northern Ontario was key to its success.
Filmed in the streets, schools and businesses of Greater Sudbury in 2022, “Café Daughter” is based on a 2013 work by Cree playwright Kenneth T.
Williams that was inspired by the early life of Lillian Dyck — the first Indigenous woman in Canada to earn a PhD. in science, first Indigenous female senator and first Chinese Canadian senator.
Niro, who recently received the first major retrospective of her work at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, tells Variety that the generous grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp.
Read more on variety.com
