Tom Wilson — of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and Junkhouse — is the subject of a biographical documentary sharing the name of his 2017 memoir Beautiful Scars. Following its premiere at Hot Docs in May, it is due to air on TVO on Monday, October 31, at 9 p.m. ET — but you can stream it for free on TVO Today right now.
"Making this movie was a transformative and revitalizing experience for my mother and I," Wilson said of the project. "It freed whatever old ghosts that were hanging around our attics and stirred up the sludge at the bottom of our lakes. My mother and I were victims of a heartless colonial system but in the end we won."
Chronicling Wilson's childhood in Hamilton, ON, to his path of self-discovery after learning of his Mohawk identity (and subsequent visit to Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, the home of his birth family), the film was written and directed by Shane Belcourt and produced by Cream Productions' Corey Russell.
"Tom is a fearless artist that courageously wears his heart on his sleeve, and for us, he puts it on the screen," Belcourt said in a statement. "And as we spoke about from the beginning, his reclamation journey isn't about putting on an Indigenous costume. This is ultimately a story about taking the costume off and revealing Tehoh'ahake (Two Roads), his Mohawk name."
Russell added: "With Shane at the helm and our incredible access to Tom, who's a naturally gifted storyteller, we tell a layered, nuanced story. Beautiful Scars is Tom's painstakingly told journey about the scars that both hurt us and make us who we are."
Watch a trailer below, and head to TVO Today to stream the film in full.
"Making this movie was a transformative and revitalizing experience for my mother and I," Wilson said of the project. "It freed whatever old ghosts that were hanging around our attics and stirred up the sludge at the bottom of our lakes. My mother and I were victims of a heartless colonial system but in the end we won."
Chronicling Wilson's childhood in Hamilton, ON, to his path of self-discovery after learning of his Mohawk identity (and subsequent visit to Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, the home of his birth family), the film was written and directed by Shane Belcourt and produced by Cream Productions' Corey Russell.
"Tom is a fearless artist that courageously wears his heart on his sleeve, and for us, he puts it on the screen," Belcourt said in a statement. "And as we spoke about from the beginning, his reclamation journey isn't about putting on an Indigenous costume. This is ultimately a story about taking the costume off and revealing Tehoh'ahake (Two Roads), his Mohawk name."
Russell added: "With Shane at the helm and our incredible access to Tom, who's a naturally gifted storyteller, we tell a layered, nuanced story. Beautiful Scars is Tom's painstakingly told journey about the scars that both hurt us and make us who we are."
Watch a trailer below, and head to TVO Today to stream the film in full.
