Shania Twain Narrates Documentary on Indigenous Children in Canadian Foster Care
Watch the trailer for the Matt Smiley-directed film 'For Love'
By Megan LaPierre | Exclaim! | September 17, 2021
The latest project from the Timmins, ON-born first lady of Canada and musical icon Shania Twain sees her lending her vocal talents to the narration of For Love — a documentary about the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the Canadian foster care system.
Directed by Matt Smiley and co-produced by Mary Teegee of Carrier Sekani Family Services (whose prior 2015 collaboration Highway of Tears brought the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls into public dialogue), the film was made in collaboration with numerous First Nations, Métis and Inuit partners. Activist Cindy Blackstock served as executive producer and former prime minister and Indigenous rights advocate Paul Martin also participated in the making of For Love.
Twain has been a longtime advocate for children's rights through her Shania Kids Can Foundation, which supports impoverished school-age children. With the discovery of 215 children's remains discovered on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, BC, by the Tk'emlúps te Secwepemc First Nation back in May, Canada's forced assimilation policies have been thrust into the international spotlight. The number of children's remains discovered in unmarked graves has since risen well above an estimated 1,000 [via APTN].
Watch the trailer for For Love below ahead of its September 30 debut at the Vancouver Convention Centre, with a private ceremony and screening in honour of Truth and Reconciliation Day.
***Shania isn't even narrating in the trailer. I wonder if the documentary will air on TV or the internet after it debuts at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
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Tommy's #1 SHANIA TWAIN SuperSite shaniasupersite.com Our eyes are closed, but we're not asleep, We're wide awake beneath the sheets
Shania Twain Lends Her Powerful Voice to Narrate Documentary ‘For Love’: Details
By Diana Cooper | Us Weekly | September 28, 2021
Making a difference! Shania Twain is back in film, lending her voice to the upcoming documentary, For Love. The five-time Grammy winner narrates the doc, which brings attention to the injustices of the Canadian child welfare system.
A year in the making, filming for For Love began before the pandemic and then continued on and off for several months across Canada. The production company, Carrier Sekani Family Services & Walk Tall Productions, and the crew of producers and directors visited various communities to document Indigenous communities sharing their “heartbreaking stories” of the “humanitarian crisis,” as referred to by the Minister of Indigenous Affairs.
“We really wanted to showcase not just the traumatic history of Canada with regards to a number of issues, but really also like the title, For Love, it’s really for love of the children and to really showcase the beautiful resilience of the culture and the beauty of the culture itself too,” director Matt Smiley tells Us Weekly.
Produced by both Smiley and Mary Teegee — both of whom worked on Highway of Tears together — and executive produced by Warner Adam and Lindsay Eberts, For Love was filmed before Shania Twain hopped on board.
“Once we had a good cut of film and shared it with her, she was very, very deeply touched. [It was] really in alignment with everything that she’s been doing and it just seemed like a really perfect fit and she jumped in,” Smiley says. “It’s really admirable to see her use her voice, which she’s also been pretty public about refinding that voice as well, and I think leading up to her now doing her shows in Vegas, but also using her actual voice to really catapult this on an international level.”
The “That Don’t Impress Me Much” singer, 56, was “on the top of the list from the very beginning” to be chosen as the narrator — not only because of her powerful voice, but also her former involvement in working with the most vulnerable children throughout the United States. In 2010, she launched the Shania Kids Can Foundation to help young children in schools deal with poverty and challenges in their personal lives.
“Before her career really catapulted to superstardom, she’s always put children first,” Smiley tells Us. “Even with her own siblings in terms of being their guardian and taking care of them. She’s always displayed that even throughout her process that she’s gone through. She really understands a lot of the issues almost firsthand as far as what Indigenous communities go through and especially with where she grew up [in the small town of Timmins, Ontario].”
He continues, “And so it was also very important for Mary and myself to have a female voice and somebody who really is not just a narrator, but somebody who’s really going to go to bat and has gone to bat for kids. She’s really displaying that with action because every day she’s devoting her time and energy to really improving kids’ education and basic human needs for children, which is an admirable trait. So it goes far beyond the traditional narrator route.”
For Love will have its world premiere on September 30, a day marking Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, at a private screening at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Additional screenings in Los Angeles, Ottawa and Montreal will be announced in the future.
“It was something that was important to us with this film, in particular — to not have it just be, you know, one news cycle and people forget it. There is a big thing leading up to September 30, as far as truth and reconciliation, to make sure that that dialogue continues and that people really see that beauty and the importance of making sure that children have all the resources that they need for a positive future,” Smiley adds.
For more information on the film and to watch the trailer, visit forlovefilm.com.
"For Love" I'm so honoured to lend my voice to @forlovefilm, a beautiful documentary that celebrates Indigenous strength and resilience. My own life journey has led me to tell this story. I hope it touches your hearts and we can all work together to ensure all children are well taken care of. Today and every day we honour the survivors of the residential school system #EveryChildMatters @shaniakids
A special screening of 'For Love' will be held in Thunder Bay on November 10th, with all funds raised supporting @shaniakidscan x Shkoday's new Biwaase'aa program at St Vincent Elementary School. Info and tickets here:https://uwaytbay.ca/event/forlove-filmscreening/
A special free screening of @ForLoveFilm, a beautiful documentary celebrating Indigenous strength and resilience, will be held at @MammothFF on 2/5. Seating is limited, so make sure to arrive early if you're checking it out. #EveryChildMatters #MammothFF
WOW!!! Thank you @MammothFF for the BEST DOCUMENTARY win @ForLoveFilm last night! So honored to screen the film and deeply touched by the emotional response. @ShaniaTwain @MaryTeegee @cblackst #EveryChildMatters #mammothfilmfestival
For Love is a beautiful documentary that I had the honour of narrating. The film celebrates indigenous strength and resilience and you can now watch it on @Netflix_CA #EveryChildMatters @ForLoveFilm
"For Love" is now available in the U.S. on Amazon Prime Video.
Matt Smiley @mattsmiley Director/Producer @ForLoveFilm
The wait is over to watch @ForLoveFilm in the US !! Head over to @amazon @PrimeVideo ~ @ShaniaTwain @cblackst @MaryTeegee @LindsayEberts @CarrierSekaniFS @shaniakidscan @KwumutLelum
"For Love" is now available in the U.S. on Amazon Prime Video.
Matt Smiley @mattsmiley Director/Producer @ForLoveFilm
The wait is over to watch @ForLoveFilm in the US !! Head over to @amazon @PrimeVideo ~ @ShaniaTwain @cblackst @MaryTeegee @LindsayEberts @CarrierSekaniFS @shaniakidscan @KwumutLelum
We’re very pleased to announce that @forlovefilm is now available on @primevideo @amazon !! A big thank you to our incredible creative team and all our supporters throughout this incredible journey. We’re so proud of all the powerful youths that shared their stories and the amazing strides they’ve made in empowering kids all around the world. Our hearts are filled with all the communities that came together and showcased the life changing work they are doing. Their actions are having a positive impact on the next generation. And a big thank you to our big hearted narrator @shaniatwain for championing this film around the world and all the work she has done for children and youth via @shaniakids ~ This film is for you, for hope… For Love.