Fellows Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat’s Sugarcane Receives Oscar Nomination for Best Documentary Feature
Blog Post
Jan. 23, 2025
January 23, 2025 – Washington, DC – Filmmakers Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat are celebrating their Oscar nomination for their feature documentary, Sugarcane. The film has been recognized for its powerful portrayal of Native resilience and its exploration of the devastating legacy of Indian residential schools in Canada.
On the heels of their Oscar nomination, the filmmakers chatted with editors of The Thread, New America’s digital magazine, about the meaning of this moment and their experience as fellows. Kassie stated that “New America not only provided financial support … but also provided a community of brilliant thinkers and storytellers to connect and brainstorm with.” NoiseCat spoke about how “grants and fellowships like New America created the community and provided the funding that enabled this project and collaboration.”
A standout selection this year, Sugarcane takes viewers into a community that is breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding strength in the face of historical injustice. The film highlights the momentous 2021 discovery of unmarked graves at a Canadian residential school, which uncovered the forced separation, assimilation, and abuse suffered by Indigenous children. This revelation ignited a national reckoning and sparked crucial conversations about the systems that have long oppressed Native communities.
Through intimate storytelling, Sugarcane offers a moving and transformative look at how Native communities are confronting the past while finding hope for the future. The documentary is a tribute to the resilience of Indigenous peoples, offering a powerful message of perseverance, healing, and reclamation.
Kassie and NoiseCat bring a deeply personal and cultural perspective to the film, which has resonated with audiences and critics alike. Sugarcane is now available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
Watch the Official “Sugarcane” Trailer
Other Wins & Reviews
Awards & Recognitions
- Directing Award—US Documentary, Sundance Film Festival: Sugarcane won Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
- Best Documentary, National Board of Review: Sugarcane receives honor from the National Board of Review.
- Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards: At 2024’s Critics Choice Documentary Awards, Sugarcane received 8 nominations—the most for any film that year—and went on to win two awards: Best Political Documentary and Best True-Crime Documentary.
- National Geographic Q&A: Watch Sugarcane directors' special interview with Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone.
- Best International Feature, Doc Edge Film Festival: Sugarcane won the Best International Feature award at the Doc Edge Film Festival for its investigation into abuse at a Canadian Indian residential school.
Critical Acclaim
- “Sugarcane’s sensitivity to the ongoing pain of its subjects is one of the film’s principal achievements. NoiseCat and Kassie offer an affecting portrait of a community that endures in spite of colonial genocide.”
—The Hollywood Reporter - “Sugarcane is soul-shaking. It’s profoundly evocative, with spoken memories and moments of inability to muster the words gut-punching with equal measure.”
—RogerEbert.com - “Sugarcane is immersive and incredibly beautiful, shot like poetry and scored by Mali Obomsawin. The result is both stunning and sobering.”
—The New York Times