This month, the filmmaker Tracey Deer will showcase her new film, Beans, through the Philadelphia-based nonprofit cinéSPEAK.

Deer is a filmmaker from the Kahnawake Reserve in Quebec, Canada.

cinéSPEAK screens new films every week, and releases new indie films. The organization works to present films from around the world that were previously exclusive to limited theater release.

The film Beans will open for screening starting this Friday, Nov. 5. The film was originally released in 2020, and world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) the same year.

Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, Beans is Tracey Deer’s debut feature film. The film is based on true events.

Beans depicts a 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and government officials. The event took place in Quebec, Canada, in 1990. 

The film is seen through the eyes of the titular Beans, a twelve-year-old girl transitioning across childhood and adolescence within a Mohawk tribe during The Oka Crisis, an Indigenous uprising.

Variety described Beans as a “thoughtful, stirring reflection by someone who survived it all, quietly demanding acknowledgement not just of her land, but of her life.”

The screening of Beans will be presented by an introduction from the local community organization, We Are the Seeds. 

We Are the Seeds is a predominantly Indigenous-staffed organization focused on combating injustice and racial, cultural, and economic disparities.

The organization hopes to claim a place as contemporary Indigenous people living in Philadelphia.

In addition to Beans, a variety of films will be screened soon through cinéSPEAK. A list of current screenings can be viewed here.

Pre-sale tickets for the screening of Beans at cinéSPEAK are available now.