Oscar-nominated documentary 'Sugarcane' directors celebrate honors, focus on Native community

ByGeorge Pennacchio

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Native communities confront a traumatic past in 'Sugarcane'

Directors of Oscar-nominated documentary 'Sugarcane' celebrate honors while focusing on giving Native community a voice

LOS ANGELES -- Two young directors are enjoying their time in the awards season spotlight as they're on the road to the Oscars. Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat are nominated for the heart-wrenching documentary "Sugarcane," which is both an investigation into the legacy of Native residential schools and a tribute to the resilience of Indigenous peoples.

"This is a story that has gone untold for so long," said Kassie.

"We think that this story is incredibly important right now," said NoiseCat.

"Sugarcane" shares a disturbing part of history in both Canada and the United States. The Oscar-nominated film focuses on an investigation into residential schools for Native children and sheds light on years of forced family separation, assimilation and abuse of indigenous children.

Kassie and NoiseCat were on the red carpet at the DGA Awards, proudly representing their film.

"To be in this room with some of the greats of this art form with our film 'Sugarcane,' which tells the untold story of cultural genocide right here in North America," said NoiseCat.

"It's such an honor for us to help bring it forward," said Kassie. "For me, I've been making documentaries since I was 14. It was 10 years ago I won the student Academy Award for documentary. It's been 10 years trying to build my skill set and work on these stories that matter."

Both Kassie and NoiseCat are first time Oscar nominees. They've been doing their best to enjoy the awards season.

"We center ourselves in what this film is about, which is a community who haven't had a voice for over a century," said Kassie. "We just continue to bring it back to making sure that people know the story. We want as many people to see this film as possible. Just to see people be moved by the film in so many different ways keeps you going."

NoiseCat added: "Native people are not usually well represented in front of the camera and seldom if at all behind it. And, you know, we hope that this trend with Native stories being told and honored and respected and celebrated in this way continues."

"Sugarcane" shows how Native communities are confronting their past while finding hope for the future. The documentary is being streamed now on Disney+ and Hulu.