Director: Peter Stebbings Genre: Drama

Dealing with family, loss and addiction, Empire of Dirt spans three generations of Native women. Starring Cara Cee, Shay Eyre and Jennifer Podemsky as a family divided by addiction and anger, and directed by Peter Stebbings, this is not to be missed.

Lena (Cara Cee) is a former model/cocaine addict turned housekeeper with an out of control daughter, Peeka, (Shay Eyre) who bounces from school to school, smokes and self-harms. One thing leads to another and Lena is forced to move Peeka from Toronto to the small town she grew up in and ran away from, reuniting with her long-estranged mother (Jennifer Podemsky).

It’s a great movie, funny, serious without being melodramatic, with amazing performances from Cee and Eyre. Highly recommended.

Donal O’Connor

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Shown at this year’s TIFF13 : Toronto International Film Festival.