Dark Winds and Blood Quantum actor Kiowa Gordon and Sera-Lys McArthur (Café Daughter, Outlander) have joined the cast of Many Wounds, a contemporary re-imagining of Lee Tamahori’s ground-breaking 1994 Maori film Once Were Warriors, set among indigenous communities in Canada.
Skye Pelletier (Prey) stars in Many Wounds as Mashka, a young teenager on the cusp of being swallowed up by a colonial system meant to further the goals of assimilation who becomes a warrior to protect his family.
Ojibway filmmaker Jeremy Torrie, who wrote and is directing Many Wounds, and producing the film together with Métis producer Tanya Brunel, said he drew on his own personal, painful experiences growing up indigenous in Winnipeg for the script.
“Our intention with this film is to reveal some uncomfortable truths about the effects of generations of forced assimilation and genocide by the Canadian government toward our peoples for a society largely unaware of how deep the wounds go, to this very day,” says Torrie. “We are bringing an authentic and critical perspective forward, something Canadians have not seen on our screens before. It may be uncomfortable for some, but necessary for healing.”
Robin Scholes, a producer on Once Were Warriors said he admired Torrie’s courage in “opening up the wounds of your past to tell this very personal story.”
Tamahori Once Were Warriors, which traces the struggles of a family descended from Maori warriors in contemporary New Zealand, was a box office hit down under and sold worldwide, launching the international careers of Tamahori (who went on to direct Mulholland Falls and Die Another Day), as well as stars Rena Owen (Siren, The Orville) and Temuera Morrison (The Book of Boba Fett, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom).
The ensemble cast of Many Wounds includes Brooklyn Letexier-Hart (Night Raiders), Alex Meraz (Bright, The Twilight Saga), Darla Contois (Little Bird), Gabriel Daniels (Acting Good), and Wesley French (The Breach). Filming will be in and around Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 territory and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene, and Métis people.
White Bear Films is producing Many Wounds in association with Super Channel and Hollywood Suite. Many Wounds will be released in Canada by Film Option International. Robin Scholes, Karen Soich, Ram Getz and Michael Mortensen serve as Executive Producers.
Sera-Lys McArthur is represented by Noble Caplan Abrams and Kerner Management Associates. Alex Meraz is represented by Innovative Artists, Kiowa Gordon is repped by Clear Talent Group, Paul Byram Associates and GM Management. Brooklyn Letexier-Hart is repped by Play Management, Gabriel Daniels by Sterling Artists Management, Noble Caplan Abrams and Skye Pelletier is repped by Darryl Mork Talent Management.