Aberdeen – TIFF 2024
James Cameron Teaches Filmmaking
September 5 to September 15, 2024
Content Advisory: Abuse, Self-injurious behavior, Suicide, Needles or drug addiction, Substance abuse or alcoholism, Racism
PROGRAMME
Discovery
A troubled First Nation woman struggles to rebuild her life in Aberdeen. Aberdeen (Gail Maurice) is a middle-aged woman from the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, whose life has been reduced to sleeping on park benches in Winnipeg. While being arrested for public intoxication, Aberdeen loses her Indigenous identification and subsequently learns that her brother Boyd (Ryan Rajendra Black) has terminal cancer and has to give up Aberdeen’s grandkids to foster care. With the help of her friend Alfred (Billy Merasty) and his partner Raven (Liam Stewart-Kanigan), Raven tries to get new identification to gain custody of her grandchildren.
Aberdeen Synopsis
Aberdeen is a drama directed by co-written and directed by Ryan Cooper and co-directed by Eva Thomas. The film stars Gail Maurice (Night Raiders, Bones of Crows) as the titular Aberdeen, who has been affected by a neglectful upbringing by her hard-partying parents. Aberdeen ended up passing this neglect down to her estranged daughter Pritchard (Darla Contois), who has turned to a life of drug addiction and is unable to care for her children, now in foster care. After losing her identification, Aberdeen is played by her friend Alfred, played by Billy Merasty (Stellar), to receive replacements, which the Indigenous Affairs office in Winnipeg makes extremely difficult to do. Aberdeen ends up being forced to return home to the Peguis First Nation get her identification and ends up reuniting her her old friend Grace (Jennifer Podemski).
My Thoughts on Aberdeen
Aberdeen is an extremely heavy drama that shows how hard life can be for the First Nation’s community of Winnipeg, who are subject to prejudice by both the police and government officials. Flashbacks show that Aberdeen had a happier life as a child living with her grandparents, but her hard-partying absentee parents distance her from that life. While Aberdeen does conclude on an optimistic note, it comes after a film full of hardships, sorrow, and heartbreaks.
Trailer for Aberdeen – TIFF 2024
