Three mothers. A documentary of three women living vastly different lives in different parts of Canada, struggling to understand and come to terms with the deaths of their Inuit sons by suicide.
Cory is a young Inuit teenage, who lives with his mother Shelia and siblings in a small Arctic community called Clyde River. Life is difficult as they face challenges relating to poverty, overcrowded housing conditions, and food insecurity. Nathan is Cory’s younger brother, lived in a foster home with Monica, until he was adopted at four months of age to a Anna, a pediatrician in Toronto.
Despite the vast differences in Nathan and Cory's lives, they have the same outcome. They die by suicide when they reach the age of 14.
Anna Banerji is a pediatrician, social and human rights activist. A doctor who has won awards for fighting for the rights of Indigenous children. Yet despite her passion and convictions, she was not able to avert the death of her own Inuit son by suicide. The loving supportive environment that Nathan was raised in, blinded the mental health community and the largest mental hospital in Canada, to his intergenerational trauma. In her struggles to understand Nathan’s death, she discovers the systematic discrimination that occurs on both sides of the Arctic circle.
Anna's journey takes them back to Clyde River and brings Monica with her. They they meets Shelia, Nathan’s biological mother. Anna discovers a community where youth suicide is pervasive, impacting everyone in the community. Nathan's family shares the systematic trauma inflicted on the community and the impact colonization, that had been passed down through several generations. Through this Anna’s gains a deeper understanding of the life and death of Nathan and his brother. Through the discovery a shared bond, Anna and Shelia, and Monica three bereaved mothers develop a friendship.
This is the story of mothers living vastly different lives trying to come to terms with the death of their sons, comparing and contrasting their lives. Although the upbringing of the two brothers is so different, the common thread of intergenerational trauma flowed in both of their veins, obvious in one brother, but not so obvious in the other.
This documentary sheds light on the painful but poignant issue of Inuit youth suicide. Inuit youth have the highest rate of suicide in the world. It has a devastating impact on the family and the communities. The causes are complex but often inter-twined in intergenerational trauma. Through the lens of the mothers in both the Arctic and Toronto, we explore the impact the suicide has had on their lives, and the factors that make suicide so prevalent in Inuit youth. To honour Nathan and Cory’s lives, Anna has challenged the mental health hospital to do better for Indigenous youth. This has resulted in substantive changes on the assessment and management of Indigenous youth at CAMH.
This is a story of loss, grief, love, relationships, and ultimately the struggle for redemption
