A film by Courtney Montour

Indigenous Rising skates to claim their space on the roller derby track as the first borderless team in the sport.

running time: 88 minutes
language: English
genre: Documentary
year: 2025
country of origin: Canada

Upcoming screenings

Presented at Cinema Beaubien

2396, Beaubien Est, Montreal, QC, H2G 1N2

screening
January 29^th 2026, at 7pm

Film will be presented in original English language with French subtitles.
Screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Courtney Montour.

tickets here

Presented at Metro Cinema Society at the Garneau Theatre

8712 109 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 1E9

screening
January 30^th 2026, at 7pm

Screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Courtney Montour & Indigenous Rising captain Sour Cherry.

tickets here

Presented at the Dave Barber Cinematheque

100 Arthur St, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H3

multiple screenings
January 30^th 2026 to February 4^th 2026

special screening*
January 31^st 2026, at 7pm

*Screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Courtney Montour.

tickets here

Presented at Bishop's University in Centennial Theatre

In collaboration with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and the Indigenous Student Success Centre (ISSC).

2600 College Street, Sherbrooke, QC J1M 1Z7

screening
March 18^th 2026, at 6pm

Film will be presented in original English language with French subtitles.
Screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Courtney Montour.

tickets available soon

Presented at the Arts Court Theatre

2 Daly Ave, Ottawa, ON K1N 6E2

screening
April 23^rd 2026, at 7pm

Film will be presented in original English language with French subtitles.
Screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Courtney Montour.

tickets available soon

Festival selections

Rencontre internationales du documentaire de Montréal

Santa Barbara International Film Festival (International Premiere)

Official Selection

screening
February 5^th at 9:20pm in Santa Barbara, California
February 7^th at 3:20pm in Santa Barbara, California

details here

image+nation. film festival LGBT2SQueer Montréal

Audience choice award : Best Documentary film

Jury award: Special mention for documentary film

screened
November 29^th at 4:00pm in Montréal, QC

details here

Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (quebec premiere)

Official Selection

screened
November 21^st at 8:15pm in Montréal, QC
November 23^rd at 1:15pm in Montréal, QC

details here

St. John's International Women's Film Festival

Official Selection

screened
October 23^rd at 2:30pm in St. Johns's NL

details here

Reelworld Film Festival (World Premiere)

Official Selection

screened
October 18^th at 11:00am in Toronto, ON

details here

synopsis

Rising Through the Fray

Uniting from across continents to bring representation to the sport they love, Indigenous Rising laces up their skates to claim their space on the roller derby track. Indigenous Rising is the first team in roller derby history to break the barriers of representing a single country at the Roller Derby World Cup – igniting a movement that pulsates throughout the sport and within each other. Rising Through the Fray follows the team as it welcomes a new generation of players set on changing the face of roller derby – a sport that champions female empowerment and inclusivity but lacks diversity. With a compassionate and candid lens, filmmaker Courtney Montour weaves energetic on-track game play with tender moments in teammates’ daily lives as skaters from over 30 Indigenous Nations navigate and learn each other’s play styles at tournaments and find strength within each other to compete and skate onto the track with pride. Intimate portraits of teammates Sour Cherry, Krispy and Hawaiian Blaze reveal stories of displacement and disconnection from their culture and identities and the journey of finding belonging within team Indigenous Rising. Rising Through the Fray offers a poignant exploration of resiliency, healing and reconnection of a roller derby family with a bond that goes beyond sport.

featuring

indigenous rising roller derby

Founded in 2017, Indigenous Rising is a community of skaters representing more than 30 distinct sovereign nation states who have come together despite colonial boundaries and continued attempts at eradication to create the first team of all-Native athletes in the sport of flat track roller derby. The team collectively represents their shared and individual stories, showcasing the talent and dedication of athletes who have faced unique challenges in sport, and raising awareness of issues impacting Indigenous communities.

"sour cherry"

nation: Saulteaux

Sour Cherry is a founder of modern flat track roller derby in Canada and a veteran player on Indigenous Rising. As she manages years of sports injuries, Sour Cherry navigates her new leadership role on the team, helping to organize and grow its recognition in the derby world. She reflects on the racism she faced as a young girl and reclaiming pride in her identity through the team.

"Hawaiian Blaze"

nation: Hawaiian

After joining Indigenous Rising on the 2019 roster, Hawaiian Blaze settles into a new life in Brooklyn with home league Gotham Roller Derby, one of the top teams in the country. Balancing their passion for both teams, Hawaiian Blaze brings high-level skills to Indigenous Rising to strengthen and support the team that’s become family. With a compassionate lens, Hawaiian Blaze shares their healing journey from military duty to finding roller derby and their practice as a stained-glass artist - two pathways for them to make change and raise awareness of Indigenous issues.

"krispy"

nation: Cherokee

As one of the team’s coaches, Krispy is tasked with strengthening Indigenous Rising’s gameplay strategy while facing the hurdle of training a team based across the continent who only get to practice when they come together a handful of tournaments a year. Krispy’s ties to the Cherokee Nation were fractured when her grandfather relocated to California. As the team lovingly supports her, Krispy makes her journey to Oklahoma to reconcile with her family’s history of displacement.

director's statement

courtney montour

I first learned of Indigenous Rising in 2017 while flipping through my local Kahnawà:ke community newspaper and catching the headline “Indigenous Derby Crew Ready to Roll Overseas.” I was simultaneously spellbound, excited and proud that Indigenous women from around the world were making history by skating onto the track as the first borderless team at the highest level of roller derby – The 2018 World Cup in Manchester, UK. Roller derby was a mainstay in my baby queer years (and continues to be). Attending live games in Montreal, a roller derby hub, is a unique electric vibe all its own that is rooted in queer community gathering. Indigenous Rising brings a whole new layer to the sport by challenging the colonial borders that have reshaped our Indigenous lands and identities. The team embodies our communities’ collective resiliency. As a Kanien’kehá:ka filmmaker, my work focuses on reconciling and embracing our Indigenous identities. Rising Through the Fray brings visibility to this fierce team of Indigenous female athletes who draw inspiration from their respective Nations. Sour Cherry, Hawaiian Blaze and Krispy welcomed us into their homelives to share their personal stories of displacement and disconnection from their Indigenous communities ultimately grounding us in the importance of representation in the mainstream. To honour their stories, I worked with an all-female crew and longtime collaborators Kristen Brown, director of photography, and Gaëlle Komar, sound, to develop a safe environment for participants to share their lived experiences. Rising Through the Fray is an exploration of kinship and the longing for acceptance, love and to be seen.

writer & director

courtney montour

Courtney Montour is a Kanien’kehá:ka writer and director from Kahnawà:ke whose award-winning documentaries include Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again (NFB ‘21). Courtney was named Playback’s 2024 TV Directors of the Year, alongside Tanya Talaga, for their CBC doc series The Knowing (TIFF ’24), adapted from Talaga’s book of the same name. The duo was awarded Best Writing, Documentary for the series at the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards. Rising Through the Fray, produced by Nish Media in association with CBC documentary Channel, is Courtney’s debut feature.

producer

jason brennan

Jason Brennan is a proud member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg First-Nation and the producer and president of the award-winning production company Nish Media. The company has created more than a hundred hours of television, of all genres, for almost all channels in Canada, in addition to having had international success. In 2020, he wrote and directed his first feature film, The Inhuman, in which he tells the story of the Wendigo in a contemporary setting. The film won him the Best Director award at the American Indian Film Festival and was released in theaters across Quebec. More recently, Jason Brennan produced the mini-series For You Flora, the first 100% Indigenous drama series to be produced in Canada. The show received critical acclaim in Canada and around the world and won the 2022 MIPCOM Diversify TV Award as well as the Best Miniseries Award at the “C21 Content London – Drama Awards”.