Hot Docs 2026: Ceremony Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Canada has seen multiple of its indigenous communities depicted on film as of late, that there has been a renewed curiosity in documenting the various tribes and reserves present throughout the massive country. In Ceremony, director Banchi Hanuse focuses on the Nuxalk nation, a First Nation from the Pacific Northwest Coast in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Starting with footage from Nuxalk radio, where members of the community talk about the history of the nation, as well as the environmental challenges they faced, especially in the face of modernization and waves of generational shifts.

Meanwhile, the film follows multiple subjects that reflect on the past and present. The radio crew talks about their origins and the differences between the past decades of the region and today. One of the central dramatic axes of Ceremony is the disappearance of the ooligan, a local fish that has since suffered following the dissonances of the rivers. Additionally, the film uses animation as yet another storytelling avenue, emulating a 2D style that fits the fabrications of the past. Creatively, it is the peak of the project, allowing audiences to dive into this past, a foregone reality changed by the modern times. Hanuse provokes a sentiment of the environment, and our attitudes towards it, as an action that harms the reality and the future of these reserves.

Furthermore, Ceremony is an exercise of oral storytelling. As a result, the director proposes the emulation of memory from their subjects, who remember when the valley had thousands and thousands of inhabitants. What remains is a vacuum, both physical and within our memories. It is a testament to the past, a compelling link between this generation and the ancients. Yet, there is a sentiment of blank space between the time beings, an opportunity to construct something in our time. Then, there is a fascinating element attached to the radio as a mobilizing force in the community, providing space for conversations about the environmental issues of that community, allowing researchers to speak out on the studies about the disappearance of the fish. There is a dialogue between the radio and the community, something that many commercial stations have forgotten about.

In the end, Ceremony delivers a compelling look at the Nuxalk nation, but it reaches a cyclical route. Director Banchi Hanuse introduces the conversation about the complicated reality of that community, one which suffers from a neglected past after, and the environmental issues that remain. Still, at some point, its interviews and subjects repeat most of the same perspectives, resulting in redundant storytelling. Despite its central themes, the film does not provide much more information or structure in the final half, making for a series of crucial conversations on the environment and the reality of the indigenous. Even so, its creative animation helps to differentiate itself from other films about the indigenous reality.

still courtesy of Hot Docs

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Pedro Lima

Brazilian film writer. He is also a producer and executive producer for Zariah Filmes. Member of the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA), International Documentary Association (IDA), and Gotham and Media Film Institute.