Watch the Trailer for Tanya Tagaq's Documentary 'Ever Deadly'

The film will have its world premiere at TIFF

BY Allie GregoryPublished Aug 29, 2022

Tanya Tagaq and Toronto filmmaker Chelsea McMullan's documentary film Ever Deadly is due to have its world premiere at TIFF, and ahead of its release, you can now watch a trailer for the film courtesy of the National Film Board.

Exploring Tagaq's "transformation of sound with an eye to colonial fallout, natural freedom and Canadian history," the film is said to bear witness to Tagaq's "intimate relationship with the Nuna — the Land — a living, breathing organism present in all forms of her improvised performances."

The 90-minute film was produced by Lea Marin, Anita Lee and Kate Vollum for the Ontario Studio in Toronto, and weaves concert footage with sequences of landscapes filmed on location in Nunavut, with Tagaq leading the audience "through pain and triumph in this visceral music and cinema experience."

Read the musician's director's statement below:

Many people have approached me with a proposal to engage in making a documentary. I tend towards being camera shy (offstage), so it wasn't until I was approached by a friend that a documentary happened. Chelsea was a friend I met through Rae Spoon. They did a documentary called My Prairie Home. I watched it on an airplane. I love Rae; it was so nice to see them onscreen and to see them being portrayed in the right way.

So we jumped into making
Ever Deadly. Chelsea pushes. I pull. We got riding the same caribou and off we went! This process has been exhilarating and interesting. Bringing the crew up to Nunavut was the highlight for me. Realizing that's how I feel in the South, in your culture. I am always cautious, not quite knowing how to behave, not having a handle on the rules. Watching the crew learn how to drive an ATV on the tundra and take in the majesty of the land gave me a sense of peace. Thank you to Chelsea and the crew for taking the time to film.

The concert — now in COVID times I drool and giggle and writhe in joy with the memory of the moments when the music took control and gave me freedom. We will have that again soon, but for now, enjoy the screen. Enjoy this concert footage interspersed with my family history, Canadian history, and our present and presence.


Watch the trailer below.

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