Events & Gatherings

Special Screening: The Red Dress

This special screening of The Red Dress is presented in honour of Red Dress Day.

Sunday, May 4, on loop from 10 AM-4:30 PM
Film: The Red Dress
Director: Michael Scott
Writer: Maria Campbell
Year: 1978
Runtime: 27 minutes
Country: Canada
Rating: N/R

Renowned Métis author and screenwriter Maria Campbell explores themes of cultural identity, sexual assault and the familial impact of colonialism in The Red Dress, echoing the themes of her seminal memoir, Halfbreed.

Kelly is a Métis man without treaty or hunting rights, struggling to sustain his traditional life. His daughter Theresa longs for a red dress from France that she believes will give her power and strength, as the bear claw once did for her great-grandfather Muskwa. When Theresa escapes an assault and Kelly turns his back on his daughter, he realizes that he must reconnect with his culture in order to make things right. Today, the red dress is a powerful symbol recognizing missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.

This screening is provided courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada.