Two-spirit thriller North Mountain to have theatrical premiere in Toronto

After three years on the film festival circuit, a two-spirit action thriller is having its theatrical debut in Toronto.

North Mountain, a two-spirit Indigenous romance, is BrettenHannam'sfeature film directorial debut.

With the film, Hannam, who is Mi'kmaw,Ojibwayand Scottish, hopes to open up the conversation of two-spirit identity by portraying it onscreen.

"I think it's important, especially for youth, to see they'renot invisible," he said.

"We're in a time now where two-spirit people are stepping forward andintegrating into communities. It's about showing that the stories exist and that there are other ways to see the world and that people exist outside of those binary systems."

Hannamsaid there was abig impact from colonialismespecially with religious influenceson gender identity and sexual identity acrossIndigenous communities.

North Mountain, set in rural Nova Scotia, is a suspense thriller about twoMi'kmaqmen, Wolf and Crane, who are drawn together by fate and end up forming an unlikely, intergenerational romance.

Changing times

Wolf is a young man who lives on North Mountain,spendinghis time hunting and trapping. While out hunting, he stumbles across Crane, an ex-con who has been wounded and is carrying a lot of money. As Wolf nurses Crane back to health, a romance develops before Crane's past catches up with him, leading to dark, violent situations.

Glen Gould, who plays Crane,is an actor, producer and director with aMi'kmaqand Spanish background.He grewup in the1970swhen, he said,the term two-spirit wasn't heard.

"When I was growing up,there was a lot of homophobia and a lot of racism," said Gould.

"Generations ago, two-spirited people in our communities were considered sacred, but there was a lot of homophobiapushed on Indigenous people."

He saidthe film is a signal of changing times,where sexual orientations outside of theheteronormativestructure are moreaccepted than they used to be.

North Mountain is screening for a week at the Carlton Cinemain Toronto, starting Friday.