Presented in partnership with Fort Macleod Family and Community Support Services, the National Film Board of Canada and the Fort Macleod Drug Coalition, the Empress Theatre is hosting a special free screening of Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.
Elle–Máijá Tailfeathers’ film witnesses radical and profound change in her community.
Her documentary is an intimate portrait of survival, love and the collective work of healing in the Kainai First Nation in southern Alberta, a Blackfoot community facing the impacts of substance use and a drug-poisoning epidemic.
The film follows community members who are active in addiction and recovery, first responders and medical professionals who implement harm reduction to save lives.
This work is contextualized within the historical and contemporary impacts of settler colonialism.
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy draws a connecting line between the effects of colonial violence on Blackfoot land and people and the ongoing substance use crisis.
Held in love and hope for the future, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy asks the audience to be a part of this remarkable change within the community.
Audience members are invited to stay for a post-film discussion and panel with Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, Kainai high school principal Ramona Big Head, and Sage Clan founder Mark Brave Rock.
The film is free to any community members who wish to attend.
Masks must be worn to enter the theatre and while moving about the building.
The concession will be open at this event.
