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Rooftop Cinema: Sugarcane

August 7, 2025

9:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art

227 State Street
Madison, WI, 53703

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Overview

Rooftop Cinema: Sugarcane
Thursday, August 7 • 9 PM • Rooftop Sculpture Garden • Free Admission
Sugarcane | Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie | USA, Canada | 2024 | 107 minutes

Sugarcane, the award-winning debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is a groundbreaking investigation into an Indian residential school, shedding light on years of forced separation, assimilation and abuse that Indigenous children experienced at the hands of Church and government. This urgent and timely film brings the hidden story of cultural genocide to to the forefront and illuminates the enduring love, beauty and courage of an Indigenous community as they work to overcome cycles of intergenerational trauma.

James Kreul, Curator’s Note

In the current Wisconsin Triennial, artist Tom Antell also addresses the issue of forced removal from reservations within his family history, in his paintings such as The Pipestone Indian Training School and the Great Flood of 1912. “It is more important than ever that Native Americans tell their stories – past, present, and future,” Antell explains.

Chief Willie Sellars digs a grave for communty member Stan Wycotte who took his life on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. (Credit: Emily Kassie/Sugarcane Film LLC)
Julian Brave NoiseCat competes at the Kamloopa Powwow held on the campus of the former Indian residential school where the first suspected graves of students were discovered in Canada. (Credit: Emily Kassie/Sugarcane Film LLC)
Julian Brave NoiseCat and his father Ed Archie NoiseCat look down at the Williams Lake Stampede from the top of “Indian Hill” on their roadtrip back to St. Joseph’s Mission, where Ed was born. (Credit: Emily Kassie/Sugarcane Film LLC)
Messages, some dating back a century, written by children on the walls of a barn on the site of the former St. Joseph’s Mission Indian residential school. (Credit: Christopher LaMarca/Sugarcane Film LLC)
St. Joseph’s Mission Indian Residential School in summer. (Credit: Sugarcane Film LLC)
Chief Willie Sellars digs a grave for communty member Stan Wycotte who took his life on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. (Credit: Emily Kassie/Sugarcane Film LLC)
Julian Brave NoiseCat competes at the Kamloopa Powwow held on the campus of the former Indian residential school where the first suspected graves of students were discovered in Canada. (Credit: Emily Kassie/Sugarcane Film LLC)
Julian Brave NoiseCat and his father Ed Archie NoiseCat look down at the Williams Lake Stampede from the top of “Indian Hill” on their roadtrip back to St. Joseph’s Mission, where Ed was born. (Credit: Emily Kassie/Sugarcane Film LLC)
Messages, some dating back a century, written by children on the walls of a barn on the site of the former St. Joseph’s Mission Indian residential school. (Credit: Christopher LaMarca/Sugarcane Film LLC)
St. Joseph’s Mission Indian Residential School in summer. (Credit: Sugarcane Film LLC)

Trailer

About Rooftop Cinema

Bring a friend, bring a blanket or camp chairs, and prepare yourself for an evening of independent films and videos under the stars. Rooftop Cinema returns to the museum’s rooftop sculpture garden each Friday this August for its eighteenth season. Films begin at sundown, approximately 20 minutes after sunset.

Rooftop Cinema is a program of MMoCA’s education department and is curated by James Kreul. MMoCA’s film programming is generously funded by maiahaus, Venture Investors, LLC and a gift from an anonymous donor.

Learn more about Rooftop Cinema and frequently asked questions.