ARTICLE 11’s Reckoning has finally arrived at Prairie Theatre Exchange.
Tickets to stream the theatrical film are now available for purchase online. The film explores the human aftermath of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation hearings, and is available for streaming from June 21 — National Indigenous People’s Day — until June 25, 2023.
Founded in 2013 by Tara Beagan (Ntlaka’pamux) and Andy Moro (Mixed Euro/Muskegowuk Cree), ARTICLE 11 is an Indigenous arts activist creation and production company named for the 11th article in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states:
“Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artifacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.”
Reckoning presents a triptych of tales revealing the impact of gathering and sharing stories of the traumas inflicted by the Indian Residential School (IRS) system. Compiled into a single feature-length film, each of the three chapters is presented in its own theatrical and filmic style.
Witness is a dance-movement piece featuring an independent assessment hearing adjudicator, Pam Tzeng, whose view of her adopted country is shattered by what she learns from witnessing the testimonies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Daughter is a realistic two-handed scene about the complexities that live within a daughter (Quelemia Sparrow) of both a Residential School survivor and an accused abuser in the Residential School system. She and another IRS survivor (Telly James) navigate these rocky shores together in a legendarily awful first date.
Survivor is the video testimony of a survivor (Jonathan Fisher), as he lays bare the abuses he and other children endured in the Residential School System, and plans for a final, viral protest against the insufficiencies of the reconciliation process.
For Beagan and Moro, this isn’t just a film for Indigenous peoples; the film touches upon difficult themes and topics, but provides invaluable lessons and opportunities for connection for every audience.
“Every time an Indigenous person creates art, it’s a bid to increase empathy for ourselves and amongst each other and settlers and beyond,” said Beagan in a press release. “We need to keep increasing the capacity for ourselves and for settlers to understand that the stories told here relate to everybody who lives here because we share the land now.”
“Capturing story on video is a way of creating [a] permanent record – something Indigenous Peoples rightly deserve,” she continued. “We all speak video fluently, and so tellings that were once more strictly for live performance can be received with open hearts and minds.”
Tickets to stream Reckoning are $20 for an individual or $35 for a household (two people or more) and are available here.
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