What does it mean to decolonize filmmaking? Typically, when one thinks of decolonization, they think of nationwide efforts to undo the effects of colonialism, like protests or government reparations. Although these efforts are necessary, it is also important to understand the small ways colonialism continues to affect the way we see everything around us. The colonialist mindset that prioritizes power and dominion over others is present within everything in a colonialist society, including filmmaking.
One film that pushes back against the colonialist mindset is the 2019 film, Edge of the Knife, or SGaawaay K’uuna. The film features an indigenous cast and crew and is co-directed by Haida artist, Gwaai Edenshaw, and Tsilhqot’in filmmaker, Helen Haig-Brown. It was filmed in Haida Gwaii territory on the Masset Inlet coast of Canada and is the first film to be entirely spoken in Haida, a dying native language that is only understood by twenty-four people on the planet. Edge of the Knife promotes decolonization by focusing on Native perspectives, cultural preservation, collaboration, and healing through trauma.
Hollywood films have a long history of disregarding or misrepresenting Indigenous stories. For many years, Indigenous characters were only present in Western films in which they were depicted as bloodthirsty adversaries or one-dimensional spiritualists.
Even as portrayals of Native characters began to get more sympathetic, they often failed to represent an accurate perspective, instead casting White actors in Native roles or depicting revisionist histories that favor colonizers. Contrastingly, Edge of the Knife eliminates the colonizer perspective completely by choosing to set the film in the 1800s, before the Haida Nation had any contact with European colonizers. This allows the Haida culture to be represented on its own terms.
In addition to honoring Native perspectives, the filmmakers behind Edge of the Knife are also committed to preservation. As one of the focal points of the film is the authentic treatment of its subjects, a decision was made that all of the characters in the film would speak in Haida. Since there are so few native Haida speakers in the world, only a handful of the crew and no members of the cast spoke the language before the film was made. Therefore, rigorous language training conducted by Haida speakers became an important part of pre-production. The attempts to preserve the Haida language and culture break away from the colonialist model of overtaking and destroying.
Western filmmaking is often shaped by the idea of auteur theory, which states that the director of a film is like an author, with all of the details of the film acting as part of their sole artistic vision. Although this theory helps us understand themes and visual cues that are representative of a certain director, it denies the countless collaborators that are instrumental in the production of a film; such as editors, cinematographers, writers, dialect coaches, and more. The production of Edge of the Knife completely goes against the idea of auteur theory. In the production of the film, the language trainers were treated as one of the most important and necessary aspects of the film. The team that created Edge of the Knife’s willingness to listen to one another decolonizes the rigid structure associated with Hollywood films.
The importance of decolonization can be seen through the story of one of the language trainers, a 73-year-old Indigenous woman, Sphenia Jones. On set, Jones recalls being sent away to school to be assimilated into Western culture. This assimilation was conducted violently. When Jones attempted to learn another Indigenous language from one of her classmates, a teacher removed three of Jones’ fingernails. After that event, Jones strictly spoke in English for the majority of her life. Speaking Haida again, Jones said, “It feels so good, mainly because I can say it out loud without being afraid.” Honoring the language of the Haida Gwaii people is an important step in preserving the Haida culture and initiating the process of healing from the effects of colonialism.
By supporting and engaging with projects made by Indigenous creators, like Edge of the Knife, we can break away from the harmful model of colonialism. This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, examine how colonialism affects how you see the world, and how you can be a part of the process of decolonization in your film consumption.