Directed by: Tracey Deer

Written by: Tracey Deer and Meredith Vuchnich

Cast: Kiawenti:io, Rainbow Dickerson, Violah Beauvais, Paulina Alexis, D'Pharaoh McKay Woon-A-Tai

Director’s notes

This project goes back a long way for me. I was Beans. I was twelve-years-old when I lived through an armed stand-off between my people and the Quebec and Canadian governments known as The Oka Crisis. The Mohawk Nation of Kanesatake and Kahnawà:ke stood up to a formidable bully - and won. That summer I knew I wanted to become a filmmaker and vowed to one day tell this story.

Director’s Biography

Mohawk filmmaker Tracey Deer led the acclaimed dramedy Mohawk Girls to five award-winning seasons as its co-creator, director, and co-showrunner. She received four consecutive Canadian Screen Award nominations for Best Direction in a Comedy Series for Mohawk Girls, and she has been honored at TIFF with the Birks Diamond Tribute Award. Tracey's debut narrative feature Beans, a coming-of-age story about a young Mohawk girl during the Oka Crisis that was inspired by her own experiences. She began production after returning from LA, where she was a writing co-EP on the Netflix/CBC series Anne with an E. Tracey chairs the Board of Directors of Women in View, a non-profit that promotes greater diversity and gender parity in Canadian media. She has mentored emerging talent as leader of the Director Training Program at the imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival, a guest at the National Screen Institute (NSI) New Indigenous Voices Program, and NSI’s new IndigiDocs training course.

Beans

2021

Twelve-year-old Beans is on the edge: torn between innocent childhood and reckless adolescence; forced to grow up fast and become the tough Mohawk warrior she needs to be during the Oka Crisis, the turbulent Indigenous uprising that tore Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990.

Awards & Achievements

TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter Award
Winner of Best Feature Film at the WGC Sceenwriting awards
DGC Discovery Award
Canadian Screen Awards:
- Best Motion Picture, Winner
- John Dunning Best First Feature Film award, Winner
- Achievement in casting, Nomination
- Achievement in sound mixing, Nomination
- Achievement in cinematography, Nomination
Vancouver Film Critics Circle:
- One to Watch: Kiawentiio
- Best Supporting Actress: Rainbow Dickerson
Sandi Ross Award
- Tracey Deer
Prix Collégial du Cinéma Québécois Nomination
DGC Best Production Design of a Feature Film
- André Chamberland
CAFTCAD (Cdn Alliance for Film & TV Costume Arts & Design)
- Best Costume, Nomination
Toronto Film Critics Association
- Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, Winner
Prix Iris 2022
- Best Film, Nomination
- Best Direction, Nomination
- Best Screenplay, Nomination
- Best First Feature, Nomination
- Emerging Talent, Nomination
  - Kiawentiio Tarbell
  - Rainbow Dickerson
- Best Casting, Nomination
  - Maxime Giroux Casting
  - Rene Haynes Casting
- Best Editing
- Best Costumes
- Best Hairdressing

Festivals

Berlinale, Generation Kplus, Germany:
- Crystal Bear for Best Film
Toronto International Film Festival (World Premiere), Canada :
- TIFF Emerging Talent Award
- TIFF's Rising Star
- TIFF's Canada's Top Ten
Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada :
- Best Canadian Film
- Most Popular Canadian Narrative
Yukon Available Light Festival, Canada
- Best Canadian Feature
Kingston Film Fest, Canada
- Audience Choice Award
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, USA
- Audience Choice Best Canadian Feature Fiction
Provincetown International Film Festival, USA
- NY Women in Film & Télévision Award for Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking
Canadian Film Festival in Dieppe, France
- Coup de Cœur du Jury
Cordillera International Film Festival, USA
- Best Audience Awards
Filmfestival Freistadt, Austria
- Youth Jury Prize & Special Mention in Competition
Nara International Film Festival, Japan
- Youth Jury Best Film
Zlin Film Festival, Czech Republic
- International Ecumenical Jury Award
Adelaide Youth Film Festival, Australia
- Best Film & Best Film for 16+
Nuuk International Film Festival, Greenland, Denmark
- Best Feature
LUCAS - International Festival for Young Film Lovers, Germany
- Special Mention - MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award
Arctic Film Festival - Golden Raven, Russia
- Grand Prix
Independent FilmFest Osnabrück, Germany
- Film Award for Children's Rights
Canada China International Film Festival, Montreal, China
- Best Film Award
Tromsø International Film Festival, Norway
- Audience Award
Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, Quebec
- Closing Film of the Festival
The Canadian Film Day (Journée du Cinéma Canadien), organized by Reel Canada, screened in Laos, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Nepal, Bhutan and India
Cinema of Ideas (Platform created by Independent Cinema Office), UK
Festival Films de Femmes de Créteil, France
- Prix FranceTV: 'Des Images et des Elles' - Best Film of the First Film Section
Indianer Inuit: The North America Film, Stuttgart
- Best Feature Film
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, USA
- William W. Warner Beautiful Swimmers Award
Sao Paulo Film Festival, Brazil
Los Cabos Film Festival, Mexico
Gold Coast Film Festival, Australia
Stockholm International Film Festival Junior, Sweden
Kristiansand International Children's Film Festival, Norway
Festival de Cine Canadiense de Madrid, Spain
Athena Film Festival, USA
Miami Film Festival, USA
New York International Children's FF, USA
Cinequest Film & VR Festival, USA
Seattle International Film Festival, USA
Hawai’I International Film Festival Spring Edition, USA
Ashland Independent Film Festival, USA
Columbus International Film and Animation Festival, USA
Milwaukee Film Festival, USA
Maryland Film Festival, USA
USA Film Festival, USA
Maine International Film Festival, USA
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Special Screening, Dartmouth, USA
Cine Las Americas Intl Film Festival, USA
Filmfest DC/Washington, DC International Film Festival, USA
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, USA
Bentonville Film Festival, USA
BlackStar Film Festival, USA
Phoenix Film Festival, USA
Sante Fe Indian Market, USA
Nia Tero Drive in, USA
CSUFresno, USA
Lost Weekend Film Festival
Vail Film Festival, USA
Port Townsend FF, USA
Heartland International Film Festival
Vermont International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival
Frankfort Film Festival
FilmColumbia Festival
Virginia Film Festival
Centre Film Festival
Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Pocahantas Reframed Film Festival, USA
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, USA
University of the Arts
Glimmerglass Film Days: Rise
American Indian Film Festival
SIFF Virtual Cinema
NatiVisions Film Festival
Loft Film Fest
National Museum of the American Indian
Northwest Film Forum
Young Audiences Screening Days
Seoul Guro International Kids Festival (GUKIFF)
Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival (BIKY)
OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema
Buster Copenhagen Film Festival
Muestra Cine Mujerez Zaragoza
Raindance Film Festival
Piccolo Grande Cinema
Festival International du Cinéma d'Auteur de Rabat
Bengaluru International Film Festival
Wapikoni Mobile Film Festival
Festival Panoramic
UPWIFT
Festival International de Films de Fribourg
100% Manusia (Human) Film Festival