RISING THROUGH THE FRAY

RISING THROUGH THE FRAY

COURTNEY MONTOUR | CANADA | 2025 | 88 MIN | ENGLISH FST

3pm > [before screening] > IN CONVERSATION WITH FILMMAKER COURTNEY MONTOUR AND THE DOCUMENTARY’S CREATIVE TEAM

COURTNEY MONTOUR | CANADA | 2025 | 88 MIN | ENGLISH FST

DocumentaryCOMPETITIONI+N CONNEXEI+N x CMF SERIESINDIGIQUEER VOICES

Presented by

CANADA MEDIA FUND LOW LIFE INDIGENOUS SCREEN OFFICE TELEFILM CANADA

Synopsis

Uniting from across continents to bring representation to the sport they love, Indigenous Rising laces up their skates to claim their space on the roller derby track. Indigenous Rising is the first team in roller derby history to break the barriers of representing a single country at the Roller Derby World Cup—igniting a movement that pulsates throughout the sport and within each other. Rising Through the Fray follows the team as it welcomes a new generation of players determined to change the face of roller derby—an inclusive, female-empowering sport still lacking diversity. With a compassionate, candid lens, Courtney Montour weaves energetic on-track game play with tender moments in teammates’ daily lives as skaters from over 30 Indigenous Nations navigate and learn each other’s play styles at tournaments and find strength within each other to compete and skate onto the track with pride. Intimate portraits of teammates Sour Cherry, Krispy and Hawaiian Blaze reveal stories of displacement and disconnection from their culture and identities and the journey of finding belonging within team Indigenous Rising. Rising Through the Fray offers a poignant exploration of resiliency, healing and reconnection of a roller derby family with a bond that goes beyond sport.

Trailer

Filmmaker Bio

Courtney Montour is a Kanien’kehá:ka writer and director from Kahnawà:ke whose work have screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, and Margaret Mead. Her short Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again (2021) won Best Documentary Short at imagineNATIVE, Media Arts Festival and the American Indian Film Festival. Named one of Playback’s 2024 TV Directors of the Year for CBC’s The Knowing, Montour is also a recipient of the NDN Collective Changemaker Fellowship (2022) and King Charles III’s Coronation Medal. Rising Through the Fray is her debut feature documentary.

Producer

Jason Brennan

Writer

Courtney Montour

Cinematographer

Kristen Brown

PARTNERS

CANADA MEDIA FUND

LOW LIFE

INDIGENOUS SCREEN OFFICE

TELEFILM CANADA

You might also like

EMBOÎTER LEURS PAS (RETRACING THEIR STEPS) [I+N CONNEXE]20 minutes

By opening forgotten boxes in the Montreal Gay Archive Center, fragments of history from the LGBTQIA2S+ community are rediscovered. Among them are Michael and René, the first gay couple to get married in Canada, Linda and Catherine, two owners of the lesbian bar Le Kiev, and Kimura, multidisciplinary artists of diverse origins. The portraits of these diverse characters bear witness to the diversity of Montreal's queer communities.

Madonna swimming[I+N CONNEXE]3 minutes

Madonna Swimming is a video work created from footage of Madonna's music videos, Madonna is a cultural figure of excess, and her iconography appropriated from a saturated visual culture. This video collects the leaking Madonna, her images of sexuality and religion, and ultimately presents a more ambiguous product.

ENTRE L’AUBE ET L’AURORE [I+N CONNEXE]14 minutes

Through the game Final Fantasy XIV, we follow trans folks using the game to find a strong sense of community. They will discuss different topics related to gender, virtual life, identity and existing as a trans person.

JE SUIS [I+N CONNEXE]13 minutes

Camille, at the bar, is in the process of reflecting on its identity. It feels cornered by its work, social norms and external expectations. But a dance performance combining drag artists, circassian.ne. s and other performeur.se. will shake its thinking: it is taken. By this new world that will allow it to drop its mask and discover itself personally.

Dragfox[COMPETITION]8 minutes

Sam's search for identity is interrupted by a mysterious neighborhood fox. Together, they embark on a magical journey to the attic, discovering unexpected commonalities and how to celebrate their differences.

The Space You Need[I+N CONNEXE]21 minutes

Frustrated sci-fi writer Julian is facing a slump in his relationship. So will his fiancé Leo's trip into orbit with the world's first ever low-cost alternative spaceline provide them with just the space they need to get back on track?

Itty Bitty Betty[COMPETITION]12 minutes

Betty, driven by fear of rejection, lives isolated at home among her miniature figurines. When she meets a woman she can’t stop thinking about, she faces a difficult choice: remain in her safe, private world or step outside and risk vulnerability for a real connection.

Embers of Queer Joy[INDIGIQUEER VOICES]4 minutes

This film captures the fleeting yet powerful moments of happiness, connection and resilience experienced by the queer community.

L’ART DU DERNIER SOIR [I+N CONNEXE]14 minutes

The director revisits a pivotal period of his life, marked by frequent one-night stands. By exploring the complexities of his sexual orientation and the dynamics of his interpersonal relationships, the film immerses us in the era of hook-ups, where fleeting intimacy and the search for identity intertwine.

QUEER AS PUNK[COMPETITION]99 minutes

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, a queer punk band led by a transman are outliers of the system —carving out spaces to exist through their music while challenging conservative traditions and religious extremism. Brash, defiant and wickedly funny, punk rockers Shh…Diam! are an underground sensation in Kuala Lumpur. An all-queer band led by charismatic trans man Farris Saad, they’ve won devoted fans with playful anthems like “I Woke Up Gay” and “Lonely Lesbian.” Even their name (“Shut up!” in Malay) is a joke, poking fun at those who’d rather queer folks just kept quiet. Malaysia’s harsh laws are no laughing matter, however, and they put Farris and his bandmates at real risk of state persecution. Filming over six years, director Yihwen Chen follows them to practices, gigs and protests, capturing their irreverent advocacy amid a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ raids and arrests. She also documents major developments in their personal lives and relationships, including Farris’s preparations for his surgical transition. Both an iconic portrait of fearless activism and an intimate chronicle of chosen family, Queer as Punk is an instant entry in the queer cult canon.

EMBOÎTER LEURS PAS (RETRACING THEIR STEPS) [I+N CONNEXE]20 minutes

By opening forgotten boxes in the Montreal Gay Archive Center, fragments of history from the LGBTQIA2S+ community are rediscovered. Among them are Michael and René, the first gay couple to get married in Canada, Linda and Catherine, two owners of the lesbian bar Le Kiev, and Kimura, multidisciplinary artists of diverse origins. The portraits of these diverse characters bear witness to the diversity of Montreal's queer communities.

Madonna swimming[I+N CONNEXE]3 minutes

Madonna Swimming is a video work created from footage of Madonna's music videos, Madonna is a cultural figure of excess, and her iconography appropriated from a saturated visual culture. This video collects the leaking Madonna, her images of sexuality and religion, and ultimately presents a more ambiguous product.

ENTRE L’AUBE ET L’AURORE [I+N CONNEXE]14 minutes

Through the game Final Fantasy XIV, we follow trans folks using the game to find a strong sense of community. They will discuss different topics related to gender, virtual life, identity and existing as a trans person.

JE SUIS [I+N CONNEXE]13 minutes

Camille, at the bar, is in the process of reflecting on its identity. It feels cornered by its work, social norms and external expectations. But a dance performance combining drag artists, circassian.ne. s and other performeur.se. will shake its thinking: it is taken. By this new world that will allow it to drop its mask and discover itself personally.

Dragfox[COMPETITION]8 minutes

Sam's search for identity is interrupted by a mysterious neighborhood fox. Together, they embark on a magical journey to the attic, discovering unexpected commonalities and how to celebrate their differences.

The Space You Need[I+N CONNEXE]21 minutes

Frustrated sci-fi writer Julian is facing a slump in his relationship. So will his fiancé Leo's trip into orbit with the world's first ever low-cost alternative spaceline provide them with just the space they need to get back on track?

Itty Bitty Betty[COMPETITION]12 minutes

Betty, driven by fear of rejection, lives isolated at home among her miniature figurines. When she meets a woman she can’t stop thinking about, she faces a difficult choice: remain in her safe, private world or step outside and risk vulnerability for a real connection.

Embers of Queer Joy[INDIGIQUEER VOICES]4 minutes

This film captures the fleeting yet powerful moments of happiness, connection and resilience experienced by the queer community.

L’ART DU DERNIER SOIR [I+N CONNEXE]14 minutes

The director revisits a pivotal period of his life, marked by frequent one-night stands. By exploring the complexities of his sexual orientation and the dynamics of his interpersonal relationships, the film immerses us in the era of hook-ups, where fleeting intimacy and the search for identity intertwine.

QUEER AS PUNK[COMPETITION]99 minutes

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, a queer punk band led by a transman are outliers of the system —carving out spaces to exist through their music while challenging conservative traditions and religious extremism. Brash, defiant and wickedly funny, punk rockers Shh…Diam! are an underground sensation in Kuala Lumpur. An all-queer band led by charismatic trans man Farris Saad, they’ve won devoted fans with playful anthems like “I Woke Up Gay” and “Lonely Lesbian.” Even their name (“Shut up!” in Malay) is a joke, poking fun at those who’d rather queer folks just kept quiet. Malaysia’s harsh laws are no laughing matter, however, and they put Farris and his bandmates at real risk of state persecution. Filming over six years, director Yihwen Chen follows them to practices, gigs and protests, capturing their irreverent advocacy amid a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ raids and arrests. She also documents major developments in their personal lives and relationships, including Farris’s preparations for his surgical transition. Both an iconic portrait of fearless activism and an intimate chronicle of chosen family, Queer as Punk is an instant entry in the queer cult canon.