MOVIES ARE A great way to retell folktales. They offer the possibility of re-imagining the stories and a chance to explore the underlying meanings.
Set in the 19th century, Edge of the Knife is about two Haida families who go on an annual fishing picnic to the island of Haida Gwaii. Adiits’ii and Kwa are close friends. Kwa’s son Gaas holds Adiits’ii in high regard, although the boy’s mother is not particularly fond of this bond. One day, Adiits’ii takes Gaas into the forest. When a storm hits the island, the families fear the worst. Out of the two, only Adiits’ii survives. Tormented by guilt, he withdraws into the wilderness, which is hardly kind to him. He eventually goes mad, transforming into a wild man or Gaagiixiid—a crossover between an animal and a man. However, the families come to his rescue when they return the following year and realise that Adiits’ii did not die in the storm.
Edge of the Knife is the only feature-length film to be entirely shot in Haida language—a highly endangered language spoken by the Haida population of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia. It tells the story of how an avoidable tragedy turns a man into an animal—literally. The movie, which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, is a visually grand, culturally significant one.