In the present day, siblings Mise’l and Antle are haunted by a mysterious ghost-like figure. Being physically affected by the ghost, the two reunite in the area that they grew up. The siblings then journey into Sk+te’kmujue’katik (the Place of Ghosts), a primordial forest that exists outside of time, to confront their violent upbringing. 11 years in the writing, elevated by the deeply personal work of Two-Spirit, L’nu filmmaker Bretten Hannam from Kespukwitk, L’nuekati (Nova Scotia). Their films deal with themes of community, culture, and language with a focus on Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ identity. They deliver a unique film that combines personal experience, culture, universal themes of confronting the past and the complications that can come with reuniting with family.
The film does an excellent job at establishing the creepiness of the atmosphere and does a good job just hinting at the past the two siblings share rather than showing it in blatant flashback. The soundscape which is made up of atmospheric music, much of which is not characterized by melodies but by droning sounds and notes that don’t belong to natural or expected instruments. This immediately sets a potent tone, a mystery that the audience is pulled into hoping to learn more about why the forest is a place the siblings need to go to and what the siblings are confronting.
The film’s cinematography does a really good at capturing nature, using shallow focus to focus us on interesting details. This nature focus goes along with the film’s theme of community and land. The film has many beautiful images, including unique use of natural light that sees it cascade on the trees and characters.
Mise’l is returning to a rural forested area where he has not been in since childhood and, besides their brother Antle, they have no love for the place. Thus, the nature, while often beautiful and immersive, serves as haunting location from the beginning of their journey until the very end.
A classic journey foreshadowed well by strong camera moves and editing choices, the film establishes its tone very well but does fail to change up the tone much. As a result, the mystery never becomes anything different than what is expected, lessening the consistency of intrigue over new information being delivered. Thus, while the film does throw new elements at us, it focuses you on the mystery of the siblings past. As such, I personally did not feel as free or immersed in understanding what the surreal elements were communicating about the forest and the characters.
Strong performances from the cast Forrest Goodluck, Blake Alec Miranda have to carry the whole film for the most part, being the only character with agency in the land of ghosts, their reactions to the surreal visions they have and to the antagonism of the film needs to sell the journey, of which they do an excellent job.
The ghost and the surreal elements are really well done within the film’s independent resources. There are some effectively distributing supernatural elements and makeup. The characters are put through the ringer and the film communicates how much the journey weighs on their physical bodies but also on their souls. The theme of confronting past sins is central as the siblings have to face how much their present has been shaped by their family and upbringing. The two are both pulled together by their shared past but have been so long separated because it has been easier for them both to ignore what has happened in the past. In this way, the film serves as a reminder to all of us of the things in our past that we run away from. This takes a look at the radical choice to confront those past things and even respect those in the past who have done ill towards us. For this reason, it’s a radical and effective journey to bring the audience on.
(SK+TE’KMUJUE’KATIK) At the Place of Ghosts is in theatres on Friday, May 8th, 2026.
