Film tells story of war and surviving residential schools

'Bones of Crows,' a Canadian drama playing at Cinefest, tells the story of a residential school survivor who becomes a code talker for the Canadian Air Forces in the Second World War.

Her contribution was highly valued because she was still fluent in Cree, one of the languages residential schools strove to eradicate. It's directed by Indigenous filmmaker Marie Clements.

"I don't think that we have had a lot of representation dramatically cinematically," Clements told CTV News.

"I believe this might be the first feature written directed and created by an Indigenous filmmaker ... I was just really hungry to be able to do to give an Indigenous POV.

Clements said the impacts of residential schools are very much present today.

"We are discovering Indigenous children's bodies across this country," she said.

"We are receiving apologies by the Pope for that partnership with the government. So I think although it might seem to some people that it is in our past and it should be left there, our families are still experiencing it and it's still happening as if it is present."

Bones of Crows is one of several Indigenous films on the Cinefest lineup this year under the festival's Cinema Indigenized program.

It's a fairly new program -- we are in our third year," said Christa Corbiere, Cinefest Indigenous programming,

"It's a program that is supporting Indigenous filmmaking. So we usually have films that are feature-length narrative documentaries and shorts. And they cover stories about Indigenous people and they are always by Indigenous filmmakers, as well."