Synopsis
On a summer day in the 1950s, a native girl watches the countryside go by from the backseat of a car. A woman at her kitchen table sings a lullaby in her Cree language. When the girl arrives at her destination, she undergoes a transformation that will turn the woman’s gentle voice into a howl of anger and pain.
In a place like this there aren’t many chances to be a kid, but when no one’s watching…
A residential school musical.
Credits
Writer / Director Lisa Jackson
Featuring Skeena Reece, Ta’Kaiya Blaney
Producers Lori Lozinksi, Lauren Grant
Cinematographer Bob Aschmann
Editors Hart Snider, Brendan Woollard
Music Rodrigo Caballero
Sound Designer Jon Ritchie
Awards
 | Best Short Film 2010 Genie Award |
| Best Multicultural Film Yorkton Golden Sheaf Award |
| Outstanding Canadian Short Film ReelWorld Film Festival |
| Best Actress & Best Editing Leo Awards |
Selected Festivals
Berlinale Forum Expanded
SXSW Film Festival
imagineNATIVE Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
Uppsala International Short Film Festival
BFI London Film Festival
Festival International du Film d’Amiens
New York International Children’s Film Festival
Press
“Lisa Jackson’s video Savage is an unexpected mix of genres, from zombie film to hip hop to American musical… It will break your heart, then startle you. Nothing is resolved.”
– The Georgia Straight
“A beautiful and surprising Ghost Dance.”
– Northwest Film & Video Festival
“It’s an amazingly effective use of a sci fi trope to convey the historical reality of Native Americans/First Nations people who were taken to boarding schools, yet the film as a whole is so subtle and leaves room for the viewer, so that it doesn’t become overly didactic or preachy.”
– Fantasy Matters Blog