After Madison (Star Slade), a young Indigenous woman, gets in a bar fight, she’s arrested and whisked away in a cop car. Her cousin Nika (Ellyn Jade) is able to track her location, and senses something isn’t right. She discovers that the cop, as sometimes happens in Canada, is trying to sexually assault the young woman in his custody. Nika reacts instinctually, and quickly she and Madison are on the run from the law.
Directed by Eva Thomas, a filmmaker from Walpole Island First Nation, Nika & Madison does an good job playing with the crime procedural format.
The stellar supporting cast includes Gail Maurice and Billy Merasty (both in Aberdeen), Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Shawn Doyle (also in Youngblood, which opened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival).
It’s a well-made local film — one that benefits from its lack of Hollywood polish — and a touching healing journey.
This article appeared in the 2025 Oct/Nov issue.