Kwi’ah: The Girl Who Heals
By Joseph A. Dandurand
Directed by Chris McGregor
Let the story inspire your journey.
Journey to a time long ago on the Kwantlen lands and meet Kwi’ah, a young woman who ventures across a river and into a great cedar forest to seek understanding on how to heal her people from a terrible sickness. The ancient healer Sasq’ets (Sasquatch) may have the wisdom Kwi’ah seeks. Her travels reveal that there are others that urgently require Sasq’ets’ healing secrets. She crosses paths with Sqeweqs (Raven) and Sp’oq’es (Eagle) who hope to gain the wisdom to save their own communities from fire and famine. Together, they learn and share healing dances and songs to save their people, the fish, and the earth.
Inspired by Kwantlen First Nation tales and molded through the creative genius of Joseph A. Dandurand, Kwi’ah: The Girl Who Heals explores the issues around health and uncertainty, encouraging us to uplift our communities during dark times.
Film stills taken from “Kwi’ah: The Girl Who Heals”, Director of Photography Angelica Perez-Anzures. Featuring Chelsea Rose, Sam Bob, Joel Montgrand, and Oddessa Shuquaya.
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Recommended Audience: K - Grade 5
Run Time: 34 minutesAvailable to stream online.
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Includes 'Pre-Performance Activities' to help prepare your students for the film. Use the synopsis and vocabulary sections to review concepts and words the film mentions!
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Find a press release, bios, marketing materials, and more in our Presenter Kit dropbox folder.
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This document outlines what you will need to make the virtual performance the best it can be for your classroom/theatre!
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From the blog
Launch Stream
“I think the outdoor setting was so beautiful…”
“I think the outdoor setting was so beautiful, the special effects well done, the shadow puppets for the story in the story very helpful for the students to catch what the storyteller was now sharing.”
— Jennifer Felker, Laura Secord Elementary
“They loved the beautiful costumes and how the creatures were represented.”
“They loved that it was filmed outdoors. They loved the beautiful costumes and how the creatures were represented. As they spoke about the story, many of them began to use the Indigenous language names for the creatures as introduced in the performance.”
— Dana Mulder, Tecumseh Elementary
“The shadow puppetry was something that we continued into our own studies...lots of fun with them!”
“They loved it. Sqeweqs and his worms is very funny, Sasq’ets big feet were stunning, the forest fires were frightening...lots of questions if this was really happening during the film shoot. They loved seeing the drone shots flying over the Fraser Valley. The shadow puppetry was something that we continued into our own studies...lots of fun with them!”
— Rosa, École Elsie Mironuck Comm School
