Singing Back the Buffalo
| Singing Back the Buffalo | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tasha Hubbard |
| Written by | Tasha Hubbard Bonnie Thompson Amethyst First Rider Leroy Littlebear |
| Produced by | Tasha Hubbard George Hupka Jason Ryle |
| Narrated by | Tasha Hubbard Leroy Little Bear |
| Cinematography | George Hupka |
| Edited by | Hans Olson |
| Music by | John McMillan Melody McKiver |
Production companies | Buffalo Song Productions Downstream Documentary Productions |
| Distributed by | Cinema Politica |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Singing Back the Buffalo is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Tasha Hubbard and released in 2024.[1] The film profiles indigenous efforts to restore the buffalo to the North American plains ecosystem after the animals were driven to near extinction.[2]
The film follows the path of the buffalo during the spring, summer and fall of 2022, across the Northern Plains of Canada and the United States.[3]
Production
[edit]In 2016, Hubbard was invited to film a historic transfer of buffalo, which were returned from Elk Island National Park to their original territory on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana.[4] However, she put the project on pause following the controversial death of Colten Boushie, and turned her attention to making Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, her film about the Boushie incident which was released in 2019.[1]
Hubbard was then approached to make other films about similar incidents of anti-indigenous violence, but returned to Singing Back the Buffalo after being convinced by her family that she needed to take a break from telling difficult stories and make a film that brought her joy.[1] She resumed production on the film in 2022.[5]
Release
[edit]The film premiered at the 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival,[6] and had its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[2]
A shorter edit of the film was broadcast by CBC Television in March 2025 as an episode of The Nature of Things.
Awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DOXA Documentary Film Festival | Nigel Moore Award | Tasha Hubbard | Honored | [7] |
| Calgary International Film Festival | Best Canadian Documentary | Honored | [8] | ||
| Audience Award | Won | [9] | |||
| Alberta Film and Television Awards | Best Documentary Production Over 30 Minutes | Tasha Hubbard, Bonnie Thompson | Nominated | [10] | |
| Best Production Reflecting Cultural Diversity | Nominated | ||||
| Best Director in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Tasha Hubbard | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenwriter in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Nominated | ||||
| Best Editor in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Hans Olson | Nominated | |||
| Best Overall Sound in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Johnny Blerot | Nominated | |||
| Best Original Music Score in a Documentary | John McMillan | Nominated | |||
| Best Narrator in a Web Program or Series | Tasha Hubbard | Won | [11] | ||
| 2025 | imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival | Alanis Obomsawin Award for Best Documentary | Tasha Hubbard | Won | [12] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Randall King, "Giving a voice to the North American buffalo: New documentary tells overdue story of bison ‘genocide’". Winnipeg Free Press, September 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Andrew Parker, "Hot Docs 2024 Review: Singing Back the Buffalo". TheGATE.ca, April 26, 2024.
- ^ Kayla MacInnis, "Cree filmmaker’s documentary explores 'buffalo justice' and a vision for herds returning". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, May 12, 2024.
- ^ Tasha Hubbard, "Buffalo deserve an epic film about their history — so I decided to give it to them". CBC Arts, April 25, 2024.
- ^ Victoria Ahearn, "Cameras roll on Tasha Hubbard’s Singing Back the Buffalo". Playback, June 21, 2022.
- ^ Taimur Sikander Mirza, "In Brief: Singing Back the Buffalo to world premiere at Big Sky fest". Playback, January 16, 2024.
- ^ Janet Smith, "Red Fever, Bye Bye Tiberias, and La Laguna del Soldado amid award winners at DOXA Documentary Film Festival". Stir, May 11, 2024.
- ^ Aryn Toombs, "Calgary International Film Festival awards The Assistant, now eligible for Academy Award consideration". LiveWire Calgary, September 26, 2024.
- ^ Nicholas Sokic, "Audiences fete Drive Back Home, Tragically Hip docuseries at CIFF". Playback, October 9, 2024.
- ^ "50th Annual Film and TV Awards". Rosie Awards, 2024.
- ^ "This Too Shall Pass, Calgary's Troy Greenwood, Emily Howard among winners at 50th annual Rosie Awards". Calgary Herald, October 23, 2024.
- ^ Jamie Casemore, "Seeds takes two awards at 2025 imagineNATIVE". Playback, June 11, 2025.