Tracey Deer's intimate and personal debut feature tells the story of the Oka Crisis through the eyes of Tekehentahkhwa, nicknamed "Beans," and her family. The film is based in part on Deer's own experiences of this land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the Canadian government in 1990, and though the events it narrates are in the (recent) past, it feels incredibly timely and urgent. As the first feature ever to explore the Oka Crisis, Beans is a revolutionary film, and its story has revolution at its heart. Sensitive and intense, this coming-of-age tale is gracefully written, with a dynamic and powerful performance by Kiawentiio Tarbell in the lead role. Though the film is beautiful, it doesn't shy away from its characters' more challenging moments, never letting us forget that everything about this story, good and bad, is profoundly human. D: Tracey Deer, Canada, 2020, 92min. 

Bonus short: A Winter's Light by Josef Fairbanks '17 with an original score by indigenous composer Brent Michael Davids. The score is performed by the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble. (4m)

Director Tracey Deer '00 delivers the keynote address at this year's Arts Awards on May 25.

"Tracey Deer's feature debut Beans vibrates with ferocious anger and righteous pride"
—Screen Daily

"raw and affecting… In "Beans," Deer has transformed the most painful experience of her life into a vital human story, while holding an unflinching mirror up to the racism and discrimination indigenous communities still face to this day."
—IndieWire