FESTIVAL PREMIERE
SAINTS AND WARRIORS
Director: Patrick Shannon
Throughout the course of the Haida basketball season, leaders of iconic rez ball team the Skidegate Saints compete for two titles – defending their All Native Basketball Championship, while battling for title to their land and waters with the government that stole it from them with the Indian Act.
CAST & CREDITS
Director
Patrick Shannon
Producer
Michael Tanko Grand
Writer
Patrick Shannon
DIRECTORS BIO
Patrick Shannon, also known as Nang K‘uulas is an Indigenous film director and award-winning social entrepreneur from Haida Gwaii, Canada. Patrick’s work centres around social and cultural justice, and the elevation of marginalized voices through education, youth mentorship, media, and technology. With a decade of experience working in the Vancouver film industry, 12 years as an independent filmmaker, and skills as an awardwinning entrepreneur, Patrick has the experience and expertise to bring impactful projects to life.
Patrick leads InnoNative, an Indigenous media production company that works across Canada and internationally on music videos, documentaries, and scripted narratives. Saints And Warriors is Patrick first Feature Film and tells the story about his legendary village basketball team, the Skidegate Saints and his home Haida Gwaii’s deep historical and cultural roots with basketball. Read more about Patrick here: https://www.patrickshannon.ca/home
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
My name is Patrick Shannon and I’m an Indigenous-Haida filmmaker and SAINTS AND WARRIORS is my first feature film.
I was born and raised in a small First Nations reserve called Skidegate near the BC/Alaska border on an island archipelago called Haida Gwaii, and this small little village not only lives and breathes basketball, but has produced one of the greatest dynasties in Indigenous basketball (think the native equivalent of the 1990’s Chicago Bulls).
For close to a hundred years, the Haida people (and many other Indigenous nations on the northwest coast) have used basketball as a way to keep our cultures alive underground during the darkest eras of colonial oppression that banned any form of cultural practice or gatherings. Indigenous peoples also weren’t allowed to gather in groups larger than 3 without being jailed, with the exception of church or sport, and that is where our passion for the game began.
Our Haida culture may not have survived the 20th century if it wasn’t for basketball and my film Saints and Warriors tells that history, plus the present day story of my village team that’s at the tail end of their dynasty as they look to win one last championship together at the largest sporting gathering in Canada, the All Native Basketball Tournament.
Being raised in Skidegate for most of my life, it wasn’t until I left that I realized how special our relationship to basketball was, and when my producer Michael Tanko Grand asked me what I would want to do for my first feature, I immediately knew that Haida basketball and the cultural survival of our people was THE story that was in my bones that needed to be told, and I’m very excited to share this story with you.
Thanks and we hope you enjoy the film.
– Patrick
