After the Last River (2015)
In the shadow of a De Beers diamond mine, a remote indigenous community lurches from crisis to crisis, as their homeland transforms into a modern frontier. Rosie Koostachin delivers donations to families who live in uninsulated sheds, overgrown with toxic mold. She is determined to raise awareness, believing that if only Canadians knew, her hometown's dire situation would improve. Over five years, filmmaker Victoria Lean follows Attawapiskat's journey from obscurity and into the international spotlight twice - first when the Red Cross intervenes and again during the protest movement, Idle No More. Weaving together great distances, intimate scenes and archive images, the documentary chronicles the First Nation's fight for justice in the face of hardened indifference.
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Really Surprised!
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
This film shows the "missing voices" from mainstream news reporting and stark realities faced by many of our First Nations peoples and communities in Canada. Filmed over a five-year period, it also does a great job of showing the hollow promises and lip-service paid to communities like Attawapiskat by our governments and corporations. This should be required viewing for all Canadians--beginning in middle-school!
This film is an unflinching portrayal of the experience of the community of Attawapiskat through a turbulent period, 2008 to 2013. Against the background of impoverishment, the principal focus of this film is on the effects of the nearby De Beers diamond mine and how it dashed the hopes of the community for betterment. While the mining giant could bring in heavy equipment and functioning water systems the community lived with a school contaminated by seeping diesel fuel, and mouldy, crowded housing, and a river degraded by mercury-run-off from the mine. We can see and hear from community members who struggle to gain comfort from their cultural values and ties that bind them. One young family valiantly seeks some space through erecting a tepee in the dead of winter. The film needs to be widely seen as a lesson in our sordid history of exploiting Native people that should never be repeated. It inspires action.
I saw the film at Cinefest Sudbury in September 2015, attended by Vicki Lean, and brought the film and Vicki to Belleville Downtown DocFest in March 2016. This film informs and educates in a very powerful way and both screenings totally engaged the audience. The film is masterful in its portrayal of the Attawapiskat First Nations community existing in the shadow of the De Beers diamond mine, the injustices the people there are enduring over housing, water, schools and other basic human rights, the lack of resource sharing by the mine and mounting environmental concerns. It is beyond shocking that this is happening in Canada. The latest crisis and state of emergency being declared over the suicide epidemic in this community, is further proof of this injustice and the lack of support being provided by our government. After the Last River is a must-see for every Canadian.
I was fortunate enough to see 'After the Last River' at the Cinefest Sudbury Film Festival last fall. It is an eye-opener! A must see for all. I had so many misconceptions that were blown apart with this film. I am better informed today thanks to this film. The mining industry and government have a lot to answer for. See for yourself. Ask your local theater to run this film. I encourage everyone to go with an open mind. Just the facts, thank you. I wish the Aboriginal communities across this country get the assistance they need; legal and financial and medical and schooling and ... This film has stayed with me. To the point of me writing our government with my concerns, and suggestions on how to help.