GEOFF BENNETT: An investigation at an Indian# residential school in Canada is the focus of## the documentary "Sugarcane," named after# a native reservation in British Colombia.## The film is up for an Academy Award and# has already made history.

It's the first## time an indigenous director from North# America has been nominated for an Oscar.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown spoke to## the filmmakers for our arts# and culture series, Canvas.

WOMAN: I have felt dirty as Indian# all my life in residential school.

JEFFREY BROWN: Sugarcane tells a horrific# history, the abuse of several generations## of Native children at St. Joseph's Mission in# British Colombia, in a deeply personal way,## through individuals who experienced it and family# members who've lived with the consequences.

One of the latter, co-director# Julian Brave NoiseCat.

JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT, Director: Despite the# fact that my own family attended St. Joseph's## Mission and survived the Indian residential# schools, I actually knew very little about## their experiences at them, in part because# it was not something that we talked about.

I think that the memories, in particular, for my# grandmother, who attended St. Joseph's Mission,## she really didn't speak about what happened# at that school.

So this film was, in part,## an act of self-discovery for myself# and even more so for my father,## who was born at that school in circumstances# that we didn't really know about until we## went about investigating that# story through this documentary.

JEFFREY BROWN: NoiseCat's directing partner# is filmmaker and journalist Emily Kassie.

EMILY KASSIE, Director: This is# the origin story of North America,## how the land was taken, how six generations# of indigenous children were separated from## their families and forced into# these assimilationist schools.

And this film is a story of the past, but# it's also a story of the president.

Native## communities across North America are still# suffering from the highest rates of suicide,## addictions and cycles of violence# as a direct result of these schools.

JEFFREY BROWN: St. Joseph's Mission was just# one of 139 Canadian residential schools,## most run by the Catholic Church, that operated# officially from the 1880s until the 1990s.

Like boarding schools in the U.S., they# separated Native Americans from their own## families and cultures in an attempt to --# quote -- "get rid" of the Indian problem.

EMILY KASSIE: They lost the right# to parent their own kids.

They lost## the right to speak their own languages# and practice their own culture.

And so## it was very important for us to tell a# story of the living, of what it was to## carry forward this trauma and this pain as these# secrets begin to be unearthed and excavated.

JEFFREY BROWN: Across Canada, an estimated# 150,000 students attended these schools.## Widespread abuse has been documented.

The# numbers of children who died from disease,## neglect and violence or by suicide continue# to be tallied, but are in the thousands.

The film tells of sexual abuse by priests,## babies born to Native children,# and, in some cases, infanticide.

WOMAN: So all of those principles were# involved in some way with the disappearance,## with the death, with the babies being born.

JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT: The greater story# here is not just one of cultural genocide,## but it's actually one of a people who, despite# over a century of government effort to annihilate## our culture, to separate us from our families and# our identities, remain connected to the places we## come from, connected to our families and remain# connected to our traditions and ways of being.

JEFFREY BROWN: Capturing this on# film meant embedding themselves## in this community over the course of 2.5 years.

This is something that's been covered or looked# at in government investigations.

It's been## covered on the news, including on our program.# When you tackle it as a documentary filmmaker,## what does that allow you to do?# What new does that bring to this?

EMILY KASSIE: We wanted to make a film# that prioritized emotional truth at the## same time that it uncovered journalistic# truth, what it was to live with this pain,## and to say that Native people are worthy of# epic storytelling, are worthy of the big screen.

And the cinematic language that we# created around "Sugarcane" allows## you to immerse yourself in this world,# really live alongside our characters.

JEFFREY BROWN: In one harrowing scene,## survivors recount what happened# when they did try to report abuses.

WOMAN: I went to the nun.

She told me to# tell the priest.

I told the priest.

He## told me to tell the Indian agent.

I told# the Indian agent, who told me to tell the## RCMP.

I told the RCMP.

He told my dad.

And my# dad beat the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of me.

That's when I said, OK, I bought# a bottle of wine and I got drunk.

JEFFREY BROWN: The secrets that people# have kept for decades, including those## of NoiseCat's father and grandmother, are part# of the generational trauma the film captures.

MAN: I didn't leave you, son.

JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT: Yes, you did.

MAN: What was I supposed to do?

JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT: I had to move in with my# dad for two years to work on this film.

And we## had enough time and we developed deep enough# relationships that you actually get to see## real people grapple with a very deep# and terrible history here, overcome it,## and to change through the course of the film.

And# I think that that in nonfiction is quite rare.

JEFFREY BROWN: Also notable, the stylistic# choices they made, no formal interviews,## scenes playing out almost like a dramatic feature.

EMILY KASSIE: Meant picking up Chief Willie# Sellars' kids from hockey practice and spending## nights watching "American Idol" with Rick# Gilbert.

We decided to shoot on prime lenses,## which meant we couldn't zoom, which meant# we had to move our bodies to be that close,## which, yes, required just a# lot of trust built over time.

MAN: Being sorry for something is just# the first step.

You have to take action.

JEFFREY BROWN: The film references apologies by# both the church and the Canadian government.

But,## in recent years, efforts to right the# wrongs of the boarding school have faced## backlash.

If Canada's Conservative# Party wins this year's election,## there are fears funding to further# investigate the atrocities will be cut.

JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT: Our film, I think,# should be seen as the beginning of correcting## the historical record.

And I think it's# unfortunately going to go down as sort of## a moment where we just started discovering# more about what happened at these schools,## and then, for political reasons, our society# has moved on from correcting the record.

JEFFREY BROWN: "Sugarcane" is now# streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Jeffrey Brown.