Singing Back the Buffalo is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Tasha Hubbard and released in 2024.Randall King, "Giving a voice to the North American buffalo: New documentary tells overdue story of bison ‘genocide’". Winnipeg Free Press, September 14, 2024. The film profiles indigenous efforts to restore the buffalo to the North American plains ecosystem after the animals were driven to near extinction.Andrew Parker, "Hot Docs 2024 Review: Singing Back the Buffalo". TheGATE.ca, April 26, 2024.
The film follows the path of the buffalo during the spring, summer and fall of 2022, across the Northern Plains of Canada and the United States.Kayla MacInnis, "Cree filmmaker’s documentary explores 'buffalo justice' and a vision for herds returning". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, May 12, 2024.
Production In 2016, Hubbard was invited to film a historic transfer of buffalo, which were returned from Elk Island National Park to their original territory on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana.Tasha Hubbard, "Buffalo deserve an epic film about their history — so I decided to give it to them". CBC Arts, April 25, 2024. However, she put the project on pause following the controversial death of Colten Boushie, and turned her attention to making Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, her film about the Boushie incident which was released in 2019.
Hubbard was then approached to make other films about similar incidents of anti-indigenous violence, but returned to Singing Back the Buffalo after being convinced by her family that she needed to take a break from telling difficult stories and make a film that brought her joy. She resumed production on the film in 2022.Victoria Ahearn, "Cameras roll on Tasha Hubbard’s Singing Back the Buffalo". Playback, June 21, 2022.
Release The film premiered at the 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival,Taimur Sikander Mirza, "In Brief: Singing Back the Buffalo to world premiere at Big Sky fest". Playback, January 16, 2024. and had its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
A shorter edit of the film was broadcast by CBC Television in March 2025 as an episode of The Nature of Things.
Awards +YearAwardCategoryTitleResultRef2024DOXA Documentary Film FestivalNigel Moore AwardTasha HubbardJanet Smith, "Red Fever, Bye Bye Tiberias, and La Laguna del Soldado amid award winners at DOXA Documentary Film Festival". Stir, May 11, 2024.Calgary International Film FestivalBest Canadian DocumentaryAryn Toombs, "Calgary International Film Festival awards The Assistant, now eligible for Academy Award consideration". LiveWire Calgary, September 26, 2024.Audience AwardNicholas Sokic, "Audiences fete Drive Back Home, Tragically Hip docuseries at CIFF". Playback, October 9, 2024.Alberta Film and Television AwardsBest Documentary Production Over 30 MinutesTasha Hubbard, Bonnie Thompson"50th Annual Film and TV Awards". Rosie Awards, 2024.Best Production Reflecting Cultural DiversityBest Director in a Documentary Over 30 MinutesTasha HubbardBest Screenwriter in a Documentary Over 30 MinutesBest Editor in a Documentary Over 30 MinutesHans OlsonBest Overall Sound in a Documentary Over 30 MinutesJohnny BlerotBest Original Music Score in a DocumentaryJohn McMillanBest Narrator in a Web Program or SeriesTasha Hubbard"This Too Shall Pass, Calgary's Troy Greenwood, Emily Howard among winners at 50th annual Rosie Awards". Calgary Herald, October 23, 2024.2025imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts FestivalAlanis Obomsawin Award for Best DocumentaryTasha HubbardJamie Casemore, "Seeds takes two awards at 2025 imagineNATIVE". Playback, June 11, 2025.
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