What happens when a woman tries to help a pregnant domestic abuse victim after a chance encounter on the street.

This film will premiere on NETFLIX beginning on November 27 with a theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles and other select cities in the US following on November 29th

About The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN is an up-close real-time portrait following two Indigenous women from vastly different backgrounds whose worlds collide when one of them is fleeing a violent domestic attack. What begins as an urgent and terrifying escape, evolves as the women weave a fragile bond in their short time together, navigating the complexities of motherhood and the ongoing legacy of colonialism.

A love poem to women, the film weaves a compellingly simple story around the complex themes of racialized female bodies, a country’s failure to support its most vulnerable youth, and the continuing effects of colonial violence. Inspired by true events, this intimate, immersive and cinematic piece of art was shot on location in East Vancouver, B.C. on 16mm film, in real-time, and uses seamlessly edited takes to recreate the immediacy and intimacy of the situation. The entire film feels like a one long beautifully crafted take.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Elle­ Máijá Tailfeathers Co­Writer / Co­Director
Elle­ Máijá Tailfeathers is a filmmaker, writer, and actor based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is Blackfoot from the Kainai First Nation (Blood Reserve) as well as Sámi from northern Norway. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of British Columbia in Indigenous Studies with a Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN is her debut narrative feature.

Tailfeathers was the 2018 Sundance Institute Merata Mita Film Fellow and is an alumni of the Berlinale Talent Lab, the Hot Docs Accelerator Lab, the CFC/NFB/Ford Foundation Open Immersion Virtual Reality Lab, the Whistler Film Festival Aboriginal Film Fellowship, and the International Sámi Film Institute Indigenous Film Fellowship. Her short documentary, Bihttoš, was included in the TIFF Top Ten Canadian Shorts and was also nominated for a Canadian Screen Award and a Leo Award for Best Short Documentary.

Kathleen Hepburn Co­Writer / Co­Director
Kathleen Hepburn is a Vancouver born writer and director whose debut feature, NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL, which Variety Magazine calls a “stoically broken hearted debut,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and was awarded Best Canadian Film and Best Director by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, as well as Special Jury Prize at the Dublin International Film Festival. It went on to be nominated for eight Canadian Screen Academy Awards including Best Picture. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing, and a BFA in Film Production from the Universities of Guelph and Simon Fraser respectively. THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN is her sophomore feature, co­written and co­directed by Elle­-Máijá Tailfeathers.

Award-winning Film
This film and these filmmakers have blown away audiences beginning in February at the 2019 Berlinale Filmfestspiele, and then went on to wow fest-goers at the Toronto International Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival and others. And is now in the middle of its Los Angeles debut at the AFI Fest in the New Auteurs section.

ABOUT ARRAY
Founded in 2010 by Ava DuVernay, ARRAY is a film collective dedicated to the amplification of images by people of color and women directors. Now in its ninth year, ARRAY Releasing focuses on grassroots distribution of feature narrative and documentary work by varied voices.