Project Logline
Four adult siblings meet for the first time since being removed as babies from their Cree mother’s care during the infamous Sixties Scoop.

Detailed Project Synopsis: Birth of a Family tells the story of four siblings who meet for the first time in their 50s. Separated from each other and their mother while they were babies, these Sixties Scoop survivors spend a long weekend in the Rockies, slowly building a family bond forged with tears, laughter, anger, love, and confusion.

Connie, Gwen, Marianne and Anthony arrive at Calgary airport on a spring day, and by the time they catch their return flights their lives have been irrevocably transformed. Connie is single, a consummate planner who spearheaded the gathering and aches to see everyone and everything gel. Gwen is a straight-shooting single mother whose steely manner masks a deep-seated vulnerability. Raised in Belgium, Marianne has no real sense of what it means to be Indigenous, a hole she doesn’t know how to fill. Anthony is soft-spoken, long-haired and preparing to be a grandfather for the first time as he struggles to find his place as the big brother to three strong women.

Two impactful outings shape the siblings’ time together. During a Saturday morning excursion to the SkyWalk Connie’s crippling fear of heights is revealed, setting the stage for her sisters and brother to bond as she teeters on the verge of falling apart.

The next day the siblings gather at the Indigenous arts market where Marianne had bought a pair of earrings on her own. When Alma, the elder who sold them, learned that Marianne was a Sixties Scoop survivor she invited her to return with her family to meet her husband. Their time with Simon is life changing. He names their pain and encourages them to mend their broken lives. It is granite-strong Gwen who is soon shattered by self-doubt and self-hatred. The wordless embrace Gwen, Connie, Marianne and Anthony then share speaks volumes.

Throughout Birth of a Family, all manner of truths are unearthed in simple moments. Gwen and Anthony recall the sting of a lunch-bag childhood as they sort through 1970s lunchboxes at a thrift store. Marianne's siblings are emotionally ambushed by her parting gift of a photo album of their newfound family. A rupture between Connie and Gwen dissolves as they vent about Indigenous injustices beneath a night sky.

Birth of a Family doesn’t end with a neat bow or offer any bromides. It celebrates a turning point in the lives of four wounded siblings but doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges that await. Connie, Gwen, Marianne, Anthony: each has a way to go, but for the first time in a very long time they can move forward together.