Shannon Masters

Empire of Dirt Review

Peter Stebbings’ Empire of Dirt is something special. It’s the rare example of a Canadian film that’s able to balance universally relatable human problems while maintaining a cultural identity that makes it patently unique.

Interview: Jennifer Podemski and Cara Gee

We talk to actress and producer Jennifer Podemski and actress Cara Gee about their work on the First Nations family drama Empire of Dirt, applying the film's themes more broadly to a picture of small town living, the film’s sometimes subtle humour, why Peter Stebbings was chosen for such a project despite being a white male, and how the film fits into a current renaissance for First Nations cinema in Canada.