A film about the killing of a young Indigenous man in Saskatchewan has won a top prize at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
Tasha Hubbard’s nipawistamasowin: We Will Stand Up has won the best Canadian feature documentary award, which comes with a $10,000 cash prize.
The film, which opened the festival, is about the case of Colten Boushie.
The 22-year-old member of the Red Pheasant First Nation was shot to death after the vehicle he was in drove onto a farm property near Biggar, Sask., in 2016.
Last year, a jury acquitted farmer Gerald Stanley of second-degree murder after he testified his gun went off accidentally as he was trying to scare off young people on his property.
The Hot Docs jury said the film “has created a lasting document that brings together past and future to illuminate oppression and resilience.”
Other Hot Docs award winners announced Friday night include Matt Gallagher’s Prey, which won a $5,000 special jury prize for its look at a sexual abuse survivor who takes on the Catholic church in an Ontario court.
The emerging Canadian filmmaker award, which comes with a $3,000 cash prize, went to Emily Gan for Cavebirds.
Pailin Wedel’s Hope Frozen won the $10,000 best international feature documentary award.
The $50,000 Rogers Audience Award for best Canadian documentary will be announced as the festival wraps on Sunday.