New documentary shows lengths taken to find missing family members

In This River,KatherenaVermette trains an intimate and personal lens on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and shows the lengths families will go to bring their loved ones home.

In 1991, Vermette's brother went missing from Winnipeg, and six months later his body was found just north of Grand Beach, Man.In the documentary, Vermette's story of loss is woven into the current issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

"I wasn't comfortable sharing [my]story without bringing it into a contemporary context, because unfortunately it's not an uncommon experience," says Vermette, aWinnipeg-based Mtis author and filmmaker.

"We weren't looking to do a factual representation of what's going on, we wanted to talk very intimately about the experience of having a missing person in your family."

And that's why Drag the Red, and particularly the story of KyleKematch, was important to include in the film, she said.

• Drag the Red sets out on new boat to search fast-moving waters
• Drag the Red takes search for missing indigenous women ashore

In 2010,Kematch'ssister, AmberGuiboche, went missing which drives him to continue to conduct searches of the Red River.

The film followsKematch,alongwith his friend Calvin Alexander, as they search the river, giving the audience a glimpse into what a river search looks like.

After spending eight days on the water withKematch, the film crew came to understand how emotional a river search can be.

"Every time those hooks go in the water, you're taken back to why," said Alicia Smith, the film's producer. "There's a real gravity, there's real weight to it."

"We were all struck by how incredibly emotional it is, every timethe hooks go in the water you don't know what you're going to find," saidVermette.

Not an uncommon story

At the top of the film, Vermette says, "everyone knows someone who didn't come home" a statementthat is now proving to be true.

"I screened the film to a classroom this summer and three students in the class were Indigenous.They all had a story," said Vermette. "You don't have to go far to find connections to these stories."

Vermette points out that every major city in Canada,aside from Regina,is built along a riveror waterway. And more often than not, missing people turn up in the water.

Photo essay to launch

In addition to the film, the NFB will soon be launching an Instagram photo essay on community-based search and rescue teams in Winnipeg.

The project will include portraits of volunteers, including their answer to the simple question: what brings you here?

"I'm blown away by the beauty and grace I see in the work in the community, amidst all this other stuff," said Smith.

She hopes the photo essay will highlight the hard work of community-based search and rescue teams, including Drag the Red and the Bear Clan.

The film is receiving a lot of praise, and recently won thethe Coup de coeur du jury award at the 2016 Montreal First Peoples' Festival.

The national inquiry intomissing and murdered Indigenous women was launched this weekand will unfold over the next two years.