Head to the Rio for a Special Screening of ‘Saints and Warriors’ This Weekend

Get cozy and heated up at a special documentary screening and in-person discussion with the director, by catching Saints and Warriors at the Rio Theatre on Sunday, November 23rd. Tickets are still available!

The new film from Indigenous-Haida filmmaker Patrick Shannon, follows champion Haida basketball team the Skidegate Saints over the course of the 2023/24 season, as they attempt to defend their All Native Basketball Championship title, even after losing a player to one of their rival teams. The drama! But the tension is really dialled up via the parallel political storyline that’s also unfolding, since key members of the team are also Haida government leaders embroiled in a decades-long court battle with the BC and Canadian governments, in an attempt to reclaim the title to their stolen land. This is the real sh*t.

Bottom line: this is way more than your typical sports documentary; it’s a powerful, beautifully depicted real life story about how sport can act “as a tool for political action, community leadership, and the survival of culture” in Haida Gwaii – and also, we assume, at large.

Doors to the Saints and Warriors‘s matinee screening at the Rio open at Noon on Sunday. Show up early enough, and you just might be one of the lucky first 30 to get hooked up with a free beverage and popcorn! Then, after an introduction from Shannon, the lights go down and the film gets rolling at 12:30pm. Shannon will also be sticking around to take questions after the screening – and you can be sure, there will be lots to talk about! Tickets are available to purchase online here. Watch the film trailer below.