Showtimes: 6:30 & 8:15 pm
Director: Tasha Hubbard
Cast: Michael Greyeyes, Michele Thrush, Carmen Moore, Alex Rice
Runtime: 91 minutes
Language: English
Nomination: Directors Guild of Canada, Best Picture Editing
“Meadowlarks finds itself an excellent text on the universal struggles families face. The resentment, the anger, and the happiness are not only accurate, but brilliantly brought to life.”---Alan French, Sunshine State Cineplex
Based on her 2017 documentary “Birth of a Family,” acclaimed filmmaker Tasha Hubbard has turned to drama for the first time. With “Meadowlarks,” she takes the story of four siblings, separated as babies, who are reuniting 50 years later during a week spent in Banff.
Kicking off with awkward small talk, gifts, and forced bonding events, the one brother and three sisters do their best to get to know one another after decades apart.
Their forced separation at birth was part of the Sixties Scoop, the term given for the then-common practice of removing Indigenous children from their families, often without consent, and placing them with the child welfare system. While documentaries have covered this topic over the years, nothing has ever fictionalized the experience of uniting as adults and coping with the consequences.
To tell her story, Hubbard has assembled a terrific roster of Indigenous acting stars to play the siblings, including Michael Greyeyes (“40 Acres”), Michelle Thrush (“Bones of Crows,”), Carmen Moore (“Unnatural & Accidental,”), and Alex Rice (“On the Corner,”).
Their surname translates to “Meadowlarks.” An emotional journey handled with care, respect, and beauty---Hubbard is a Sixties Scoop survivor — “Meadowlarks” will leave you in tears, hugging your family members closer.