Holy Angels
In 1963, Lena Wandering Spirit became one of the more than 150,000 Indigenous children who were removed from their families and sent to residential school. Jay Cardinal Villeneuve’s short documentary Holy Angels powerfully recaptures Canada’s colonialist history through impressionistic images and the fragmented language of a child. Villeneuve met Lena through his work as a videographer with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Filmed with a fierce determination to not only uncover history but move past it, Holy Angels speaks of the resilience of a people who have found ways of healing—and of coming home again.
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writerJay Cardinal Villeneuve
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directorJay Cardinal Villeneuve
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featuringLena Wandering SpiritPhoenix Alec
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producerSelwyn Jacob
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director of photographyAmy Belling
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editorIleana Pietrobruno
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composerWayne Lavallee
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associate producerTeri Snelgrove
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production supervisorJennifer Roworth
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production managerCaroline Coutts
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additional cinematographyKirk Tougas
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1st assistant cameraDesmond May
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gafferTyler Burrows
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sound recordistJeff HenschelLisa Kolisnyk
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choreographerMichelle Olson
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costume designerDawn Mabee
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stills photographerRosamond Norbury
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puppet makerDustin Hagerud
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production coordinatorKathleen JaymeJustin MahKristyn Stilling
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production assistantAlan ReidMeredith LewisLu Zhang
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technical coordinatorWes Machnikowski
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sound designChris McIntosh
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re-recording mixerChris McIntosh
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digital colouristAndrea Chlebak
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finishing servicesUmedia
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marketing managerLeslie Stafford
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publicistKatja De Bock
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studio administratorCarla Jones
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executive producerShirley Vercruysse
Warnings: descriptions of physical abuse. This short film can be used as an entry point for discussion, research and projects relating to residential schools. How did colonization policies like residential schools attempt to destroy Indigenous Peoples’ culture? What were the purposes of residential schools and what are the short- and long-term (intergenerational) impacts on individuals, families and communities? After learning about the horrific treatment Indigenous children faced at residential schools, describe the ethical and moral values of perpetrators who abused children at an individual and social level. Does the legacy of residential schools continue to impact Canadian society? What influenced the closure of the schools? How are individuals, communities and organizations working to enable healing and reconciliation? What are qualities of resilience and how can society take part in action initiatives that support reconciliation?
