Eagle Vision presents its post-apocalyptic drama ‘Finality of Dusk’ from award-winning director Madison Thomas. The movie receives its world premiere as the opening night film at the Red Nation Film Festival today in Beverly Hills, California. The Canadian premiere of the film will take place at the Whistler Film Festival in BC and competes in the Borsos Competition. This feature was co-written by award-winning Deaf screenwriter Katarina Ziervogel and was created to offer a full theatrical experience for all audiences, including deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
The movie stars Marika Sila (The Twilight Zone), Cherrel Holder (Burden of Truth), and deaf performing artist and advocate Chris Dodd in a riveting journey of survival and resilience set amidst a devastating environmental disaster in a perilous future. The year is 2045 and worldwide environmental devastation has pushed the remaining humans left into the wild spaces. Even in the brush of Manitoba’s prairies, those who remain must wear air filtration masks at all times. Ishkode (Marika Sila), a strong-willed Ojibwe woman, meets Niife (Cherrel Holder), a Nigerian climate refugee who is searching for her sister in the remote part of Northern Manitoba she calls “Paradise.” Though they don’t speak the same language, Niife offers Ishkode her pristine mask for a few hours a day in exchange for food and the safety of an ally, which works, until a deaf man, Odin (Chris Dodd), begins to track them down.
The sound mix, led by recent Canadian Screen Award winner Daniel Pellerin, is unique in that you can feel the sound of the film. Co-writer Katarina Ziervogel, participated in the post-sound process to ensure an authentic experience for Deaf and Hard of Hearing viewers. The storylines of the Deaf characters in the film are not based on them being Deaf. These are challenging and complex people who make hard choices and serve their needs and the needs of their loved ones the best way they know how. Representation matters, and the representation and recognition of deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences is important.
Madison Thomas is a storyteller of mixed Ojibwe/Saulteaux & Russian/Ukrainian settler ancestry and is one of the most compelling and versatile filmmakers working in Canada today. At the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards she was nominated for three awards and won Best Direction: Documentary Program for her documentary feature Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On, which is also currently nominated for an International Emmy Award. Based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba in Treaty 1 territory, Thomas has a rapidly growing number of credits as a writer, director, and editor across several genres, formats, and platforms, and her nuanced and unique work has played festivals and won awards worldwide.
‘Finality of Dusk’ is co-written and directed by Madison Thomas, co-written by Katarina Ziervogel (7TH GEN), executive produced by Lisa Meeches (The Sharing Circle), produced by Kyle Irving (True Story), Rebecca Gibson (Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On) and Darcy Waite (DJ Burnt Bannock).
For further info on the film and Red Nation Film Festival visit the official website
Images provided by Nicola Pender
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