Tkaronto
Encyclopedia
Tkaronto is a Canadian
drama film, which premiered in 2007 at the ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Festival in Toronto
. Directed by Shane Belcourt
, the film went into commercial release in the summer of 2008.
The film, named for the Mohawk
word from which the city of Toronto derives its name, stars Duane Murray and Melanie McLaren as Ray Morrin and Jolene Peltier, who meet while in Toronto on business. Ray, a Métis
cartoonist from Vancouver
, is in town to pitch an animated series called Indian Jones to a television network, and Jolene, an Anishinaabe
artist from Los Angeles
, is in town to paint a portrait of Max (Lorne Cardinal
), a local aboriginal elder.
The film's cast also includes Cheri Maracle
, Jeff Geddis
, Mike McPhaden, Rae Ellen Bodie, Jonah Allison, Abby Zotz
and Tricia Williams.
As their attraction to each other grows, Ray and Jolene are forced to confront the choice of whether to throw away their current lives in order to be together.
In a 2008 interview, Belcourt told The Globe and Mail
that the film's themes were inspired by conversations with his sister Christi
and a friend of hers, Inuit
rock singer Lucie Idlout
, about how they balanced their own aboriginal identities with their urban lifestyles.
, who wrote "The quality of writer-director Shane Belcourt's feature debut – named after our city's original Mohawk name – is all the more remarkable when you consider that it was made in six months on a measly budget of $20,000. Based on Belcourt's experience as the son of a Métis father, the movie portrays the crises of Jolene and Ray (Duane Murray), two thirty-somethings who can't figure out a way to square up their urban lifestyles and material ambitions with what an elder (played by Lorne Cardinal) calls “blood memory.” But for all of Tkarontos heavy themes, the film has a sense of lightness that makes it one of the year's most appealing local indie features."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
drama film, which premiered in 2007 at the ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Festival in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Directed by Shane Belcourt
Shane Belcourt
Shane Anthony Belcourt is a Métis writer, director, and cinematographer living and working in Canada. He is best known for his feature film Tkaronto, which depicts the life of urban Métis and First Nations people....
, the film went into commercial release in the summer of 2008.
The film, named for the Mohawk
Mohawk language
Mohawk is an Iroquoian language spoken by around 2,000 people of the Mohawk nation in the United States and Canada . Mohawk has the largest number of speakers of the Northern Iroquoian languages; today it is the only one with greater than a thousand remaining...
word from which the city of Toronto derives its name, stars Duane Murray and Melanie McLaren as Ray Morrin and Jolene Peltier, who meet while in Toronto on business. Ray, a Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
cartoonist from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, is in town to pitch an animated series called Indian Jones to a television network, and Jolene, an Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
artist from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, is in town to paint a portrait of Max (Lorne Cardinal
Lorne Cardinal
Lorne Cardinal is a stage, television and film actor, best known for portraying character Davis Quinton on the Canadian television series Corner Gas.-Personal life:...
), a local aboriginal elder.
The film's cast also includes Cheri Maracle
Cheri Maracle
Cheri Maracle is a Canadian actress and musician. A member of the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, she is best known for her roles in the television series Blackfly and Moccasin Flats, the 2007 film Tkaronto and stage productions of Tomson Highway's Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout.As a...
, Jeff Geddis
Jeff Geddis
Jeff Geddis is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in Sophie and The Latest Buzz. He also played Mike Nesmith in the 2000 TV movie Daydream Believers: The Monkees' Story.-External links:...
, Mike McPhaden, Rae Ellen Bodie, Jonah Allison, Abby Zotz
Abby Zotz
Abby Zotz is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress.-Biography:The Zotz family originated in Tyrol, Austria and spread to Germany, from where Abby’s father immigrated to Canada. He loved classical music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang...
and Tricia Williams.
Themes
Ray and Jolene experience a common struggle: as creative professionals living in big cities, they share a sense of disconnection from their aboriginal heritage. Both struggle with the question of how to live as an aboriginal person in an urban setting devoid of many of the stereotypical signifiers of aboriginal identity. Neither was raised with the language, religion and customs of their ancestors; Jolene doesn't even know how to pray. Both are also in relationships with non-aboriginal partners: Ray, whose girlfriend is pregnant, is ambivalent about becoming a father, while Jolene's husband is dismissive of her search for a deeper sense of her heritage.As their attraction to each other grows, Ray and Jolene are forced to confront the choice of whether to throw away their current lives in order to be together.
In a 2008 interview, Belcourt told The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
that the film's themes were inspired by conversations with his sister Christi
Christi Belcourt
Christi Marlene Belcourt is a Métis visual artist and author living and working in Canada. She is best known for her acrylic paintings which depict floral patterns inspired by Métis and First Nations historical beadwork art...
and a friend of hers, Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
rock singer Lucie Idlout
Lucie Idlout
Lucie Idlout is a Canadian rock singer.An Inuk from Iqaluit, Nunavut, she is the daughter of Leah Idlout d'Argencourt and granddaughter of Joseph Idlout, an Inuk hunter who was the subject of a National Film Board documentary, Between Two Worlds, in 1990 and was one of the Inuit hunters depicted...
, about how they balanced their own aboriginal identities with their urban lifestyles.
Production
Produced by The Breath Films in conjunction with Braincloud Films, the film was shot in just 19 days and completed on a budget of just $20,000.Reviews
The film was reviewed by Jason Anderson at Eye WeeklyEye Weekly
Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...
, who wrote "The quality of writer-director Shane Belcourt's feature debut – named after our city's original Mohawk name – is all the more remarkable when you consider that it was made in six months on a measly budget of $20,000. Based on Belcourt's experience as the son of a Métis father, the movie portrays the crises of Jolene and Ray (Duane Murray), two thirty-somethings who can't figure out a way to square up their urban lifestyles and material ambitions with what an elder (played by Lorne Cardinal) calls “blood memory.” But for all of Tkarontos heavy themes, the film has a sense of lightness that makes it one of the year's most appealing local indie features."