A lighthearted yet poignant film about a single mother trying to find meaning in her heretofore listless life – with the help of a friendly, wise-cracking marathon-running ghost – Run Woman Run is cineSarnia’s first film of its 2022-23 season. It will play at the Sarnia Public Library Theater on Sept. 25 and 26.
An underdog story with universal appeal, Run Woman Run stars stand-up comedian Dakota Ray Hebert in the role of Beck, a single mom from Ontario’s Six Nations Reserve who recently lost her beloved mother and has also lost most of her passion for life.
After Beck falls into a diabetic coma, she is visited by the spirit of Tom Longboat (played by Asivak Koostachin), an Onondaga runner who was born and raised in Six Nations, one of the 20th Century’s greatest marathon runners and the first Indigenous winner of the Boston Marathon in 1907.
With Longbow’s encouragement/prodding, Beck finds inspiration and decides to take up marathon running. Along the way, she re-connects with members of her family and community (featuring an incredible cast of supporting characters, including Corner Gas’ Lorne Cardinal and Royal Canadian Air Farce’s Craig Lauzon) and revives her relationship with the Mohawk language.
Directed by Zoe Leigh Hopkins, Run Woman Run is a warm and moving mix of comedy, drama and inspirational sports film. The picture picked up numerous awards at the ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival (audience choice and Moon Jury awards), the American Indian Film Festival (best film and best actress) and the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (best feature film, best screenplay and best performance).
Local audiences will love the film, said cineSarnia’s Anne West.
“The reason we suggested this film it was because it is a Canadian-made film, it has an Indigenous writer and director and it’s filmed in Oshweken Six Nations near Brantford,” she said. “It was a victim of COVID in a sense, but it picked up many, many awards.
“One of the things that the director said is that it’s an Indigenous film, filmed with an Indigenous crew and a lot of Indigenous actors – the main actress, Dakota Ray, is a stand-up comic and writer and she really carries the film – but there’s also Indigenous humor that’s not often depicted in films,” West continued. “So she wanted to bring the comedy aspect of it out in this film, and the ghost of Tom Longboat is an ethereal life coach in this film, it’s quite remarkable, and Longboat’s grandson actually has a role in the film as a race announcer. ”
“It’s cool that the film talks about Tom Longboat too,” added cineSarnia’s Dan Devries. “He was probably one of the greatest marathon runners of all-time, he smashed records and he served in the First World War.
“It’s a film that is a sort of humorous examination of that lethargy that is so common in most of us – it’s perfect viewing for anyone who has ever faced emotional inertia.”
Run Woman Run plays at the Sarnia Public Library Theater on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 2 pm and on Monday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 pm
Individual tickets are on sale at www.cinesarnia.com and full-season and fall passes are also still available. Rush seats for both shows are available at 1:45 and 7:15 pm, respectively, for $12.
cineSarnia’s next film, The Father, will be screened Oct. 16 and 17.