‘Bee Nation’ director aims to break down stereotypes about First Nations
TORONTO — How do you spell “empowering?”
It’s a word Lana Slezic uses often as she describes her new documentary “Bee Nation,” which is the opening-night film for the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, kicking off Thursday.
The film documents Canada’s first-ever provincewide First Nations Spelling Bee, held in Saskatchewan last year. But it touches on a much deeper story, says Slezic.
“I think these kids, they’re underdogs in a way and they succeed and we champion them the whole way through,” she says.