The documentary, also a first from Secwepemc filmmaker Sean Stiller, is available to stream on September 30 through Crave, CTV.ca and the CTV app

OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 30, 2022 /CNW/ - Starting today, Canadian Geographic's first feature documentary, Returning Home, is widely available through Bell Media properties, including Crave.

Returning Home follows Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Jack Webstad on a cathartic, nationwide educational tour while, back home in Secwepemc territory, her family struggles to deal with the multigenerational trauma of Canada's residential school system. The documentary, shot during the pandemic amid one of the lowest salmon runs in recorded history, masterfully connects Canada's colonial history with the plight of Pacific wild salmon in B.C.'s Fraser River. Available for streaming on Crave, CTV.ca and the CTV app, Returning Home is now available publicly, for the first time, as Canada reflects on the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It will also debut on Crave's linear channel at 9:00 p.m. ET, on Sept. 30. 

The film has received top honours from Canadian and international film festivals, including Best Canadian Documentary at Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver international film festivals. It recently took home the award for Best Living with Wildlife Program at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, Montana — and, this past spring, Returning Home was voted among the Audience Top 20 at Hot Docs in Toronto.The film is set to continue its festival journey through the fall with screenings across Canada and the United States.

Filmmaker Sean Stiller is hopeful that the film's release will help to uplift the critical work of survivor societies including the Orange Shirt Society. "Bringing Returning Home to Crave and CTV will help to amplify the important work that Phyllis does," says Stiller, a member of the William's Lake First Nation (Secwépemc), who first met Webstad years ago in Williams Lake. "The stories shared in this film are not unique to British Columbia: the plight of wild salmon — like the ongoing impact of multigenerational trauma of Indigenous people — are felt throughout Turtle Island."

Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage stressed the importance of this film and the ongoing struggles of residential school survivors: "I encourage people to take a moment to recognize the ongoing and intergenerational effects of residential schools in Canada and to reflect on the role each of us must play in the healing process. We should remain steadfast in our support for Indigenous partners, Survivors, and their families. We must learn from history and continue the conversation so that the atrocities of the past are never repeated. The documentary Returning Home gives us the opportunity to begin or continue our learning journey on the path to reconciliation," he said.

In addition to the wide release through Bell Media properties, Returning Home will be hosting a series of special screenings across the country on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In Toronto, the film will be available for free to Hot Docs members, at the festival's Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema on Bloor Street. It will also be available for a special screening at Trent University and at a community event held by the Orange Shirt Society. Funded by the Government of Canada, Returning Home is part of a broader educational program, Paths to Reconciliation, that created classroom resources around Canada's residential school system.

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society will honour survivors, their families and communities today with the ground blessing ceremony for a permanent Reconciliation Garden at 50 Sussex Drive - its Ottawa headquarters. Following the ceremony, the Society is hosting a private event with the Office of the Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves. In conjunction with the event, the Paths to Reconciliation website will be launching an interactive, online map documenting the search and recovery of Unmarked Burial Sites by survivors, families, communities and Nations across the country.

About Canadian Geographic Films
For nearly a century, Canadian Geographic has been dedicated to making Canada better known to Canadians and to the world, primarily through its award-winning magazine. As our country undergoes significant changes to its population, climate, environment, economy and culture, Canadian Geographic Films is leading a digital transformation to support a greater understanding of Canada's geography — the diverse human and physical landscape — as well as the changes affecting its people and the environment. Returning Home is a true testament to this, as Canadian Geographic Films' first feature documentary. The production company has a number of other projects currently in development, with documentaries and television series slated for release in 2022.

About The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Publisher of Canadian Geographic, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) is dedicated to making Canada better known to Canadians and the world — its people and places, its natural and cultural heritage and its environment. The Society is one of Canada's largest non-profit educational organizations, comprising more than 26,000 members from across the country. The RCGS is funded primarily by membership fees and donations. The Society's board of governors and its program committees are composed entirely of volunteers

SOURCE Royal Canadian Geographical Society