Kuessipan (2019)

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Kuessipan is a Canadian drama film, directed by Myriam Verreault and released in 2019. An adaptation of Naomi Fontaine's eponymous novel, the script was co-written by Fontaine and Verreault. Its plot centres on Mikuan and Shaniss, two young Innu women in Uashat-Maliotenam, whose friendship is strained when Mikuan falls in love with a white man and plans to move away.

Production

The title of the film and eponymous novel is an Innu-aimun word meaning "it's your turn", which Fontaine meant to mean "it’s my turn to talk, my turn for my people and I to talk about our community." Verreault approached Fontaine after reading her novel Kuessipan in 2012 and being "deeply affected" by it. Verreault had previously lived and worked with the Innu community and produced short films about the Innu communities on the North Shore.

The original novel is a collection of stories based on Fontaine's experiences growing up in Uashat. Verreault described the book as "not at all adaptable" to film, so she and Fontaine went through a process of creating a singular narrative that captured the themes of the book. Several changes were made from the original novel to adapt it for the screen, including the creation of Mikuan and Shaniss, who are not present in the novel.

The cast mostly included non-professional actors, from the Uashat community. Over 400 Innu actors took part in the casting process, with Verreault personally meeting with 200 of them. Twenty actors auditioned for the role of Mikuan, with fifteen actors auditioning for the role of Shaniss.

Cinematographer Nicolas Canniccioni and Verreault shot the film in Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam and Sept-Îles, Quebec. It was shot in the French and Innu-aimun languages.

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