Feature film from First Nations director will have world premiere at Toronto festival

Update: Nika & Madison will begin its Canadian theatrical run on March 20 with screenings at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto and the Tillicum Twin Theatres in Terrace, B.C. Screenings will then begin March 26 in Sudbury, Ont. and March 27 in Vancouver.

Eva Thomas’ dream has become a reality.

In a 2023 interview with Windspeaker.com, Thomas discussed her directorial short film debut called Redlights, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Thomas, a member of Walpole Island First Nation in southwestern Ontario, was working to secure funding to turn her film into a full-length feature.

“If all works out towards my plan, hopefully we’ll have a lovely TIFF premiere (of the feature film) in two years,” Thomas said in August 2023. “Hopefully the universe is listening.”

Fast forward to today and Thomas is now gearing up for the world premiere of Nika & Madison, her directorial feature debut based on Redlights.

Nika & Madison is a story of two young First Nations women and their encounter with a police officer.

The world premiere is scheduled for Sept. 6 during this year’s TIFF Festival.

“I guess the universe was listening,” Thomas told Windspeaker.com. “It feels really fantastic, and I’m really proud of myself that I had this goal and I was able to achieve it. And I’m really happy with the movie that we made and I'm excited to have been invited to have it premiere at TIFF.” 

Redlights had focused on Starlight Tours, a practice by police to pick up Indigneous people in a city, often in the dead of winter with freezing temperatures, and drop them off in the outskirts to fend for themselves.

Thomas changed her narrative somewhat for Nika & Madison, which takes place in Toronto, as well as a fictional First Nation in Ontario.

“I switched the focus just a little bit,” Thomas said. “The two actresses that were in Redlights were supposed to both go on to be in the feature. And my intention was to expand those characters.”

Thomas recast when one of the actresses became pregnant and could not take the part.

“But it's still two Indigenous women who have an encounter with the police and that's sort of the inciting incident, and the heart of both of the projects,” she said.

Thomas is becoming a regular contributor to TIFF. She co-wrote and co-directed a film called Aberdeen, which had its premiere at TIFF in 2024.

“It is my first solo directorial feature,” she said of Nika & Madison.

This latest film involves a sexual assault of one of the lead characters at the hands of a police officer. That officer is then physically assaulted, resulting in the search for the two First Nations women. 

“When I started this project a handful of years ago, we were in the midst of the ‘Me Too era,’ Thomas said. 

“I think victims of sexual assault, we don't focus on them as much and the trauma they faced. So, I think that the topic in a way is very timely.

“With Redlights I felt that I had something to say about Starlight Tours, and I said it. And then I was ready to say something else, which is why I expanded into this feature to have that be more about sexual assault.”

The two main characters in the film are played by Ellyn Jade (Nika) and Star Slade (Madison).

“I'm really hoping that the viewers will connect to the characters and root for the characters and really find a way to care about these two Indigenous women,” Thomas said.

Besides her work with Redlights, Thomas was also a consulting producer on a documentary about human sex trafficking in Ontario. The film features several First Nations women who were survivors and were interviewed about human trafficking and sex work.

“Many of them talked about how many encounters they had with the police,” Thomas said. “So, I think it was a combination of those experiences, which led me to sort of like expand the story a bit more. I feel like there are women who have these tales to tell.”

Thomas said she hopes to explore other topics for future projects.

“Not to say that I won't revisit this topic in the future, but I have a lot of stories that I want to tell,” she said. “I'm really keen to tell a story of triumph and Indigenous joy. I work a lot in comedy for television so I would like to explore that as well.”

Following its TIFF screening, Nika & Madison will be shown at the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, which runs Sept. 13 to Sept. 21 in northern Ontario.

Thomas said her film has also been accepted into other Canadian film festivals but details have yet to be announced. And film reps are working on securing an international/U.S. premiere.

Nika & Madison will have four showings at TIFF, which runs from Sept. 4 to Sept. 14. More information and tickets for the film are available at https://www.tiff.net/films/nika-and-madison