Beans (2020 film)

Beans is a 2020 Canadian drama film directed by Mohawk filmmaker Tracey Deer. It tells the story of the Oka Crisis, which Deer experienced herself as a child, through the story of Tekehentahkhwa (nicknamed "Beans"), a young Mohawk girl whose perspective on life is radically changed by the events of the crisis.[4]

Beans
Directed byTracey Deer
Produced byAnne-Marie Gélinas[1]
Written by
  • Tracey Deer
  • Meredith Vuchnich[1]
Starring
  • Kiawenti:io Tarbell
  • Violah Beauvais
  • Paulina Jewel Alexis
Music byMario Sévigny
CinematographyMarie Davignon[1]
Edited bySophie Farkas Bolla
Production
company
EMA Films
Distributed byMongrel Media
Release date
  • September 13, 2020 (2020-09-13) (TIFF)[2]
Running time
92 minutes[3]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

The film premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival,[5] where it was second runner up for the People's Choice Award.[6]

Cast

The cast includes:[1]

  • Kiawenti:io Tarbell as Beans
  • Paulina Jewel Alexis as April
  • Violah Beauvais as Ruby
  • Rainbow Dickerson as Lily
  • Joel Montgrand as Kania’Tariio
  • D’Pharaoh Woon-a-Tai as Hank
  • Jay Cardinal Villeneuve as Gary

Production

The story is based on true events that Deer experienced as a child, but she has said she wanted to be careful not to make the film itself a traumatic experience for the people who watch it.[7] Filming took place in Kahnawake and Montreal in 2019.[1] She began writing the script in 2012, which was a long seven-year process, partly because revising the Oka Crisis brought up difficult memories, and she sought out therapy to help her navigate that.[8]

Release

It had its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020.[5]

It was subsequently screened at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival, where it won both the juried award for Best Canadian Film[9] and the audience-voted award for Most Popular Canadian Narrative Film.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 7.69/10.[10]

The film was named to TIFF's year-end Canada's Top Ten list for feature films.[11]

References
  1. "Production Underway on BEANS, Directed by Tracey Deer". Canadian Film Centre. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. https://www.tiff.net/events/beans
  3. "Beans". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  4. Norman Wilner, "VIFF review: Tracey Deer’s Beans finds its hero coming of age during the Oka crisis". The Georgia Straight, September 16, 2020.
  5. Victoria Ahearn, "TIFF announces all 50 titles for pandemic-tailored 2020 event". Toronto Star, July 30, 2020.
  6. "'Nomadland' wins People's Choice Award at Toronto International Film Festival". Canadian Press, September 20, 2020.
  7. Steuter-Martin, Marilla (22 September 2019). "Tracey Deer captures 'shattered innocence' with film set during Oka Crisis". CBC News. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. Horn, Greg (19 September 2019). "Deer's "Beans" shows Oka Crisis through the eyes of a 12-year-old". Kahnawake News. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  9. Pat Mullen, "Call Me Human Leads VIFF Winners". Point of View, September 29, 2020.
  10. "BEANS". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  11. Victoria Ahearn, "Toronto International Film Festival releases Top Ten lists for 2020". Squamish Chief, December 9, 2020.
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