GOOD NEWS: THE STAND – Now Streaming

The National Film Board of Canada documentary THE STAND is now streaming free of charge on the NFB and Knowledge Network platforms.

⁠The Stand is directed by Christopher Auchter and edited and story-edited by VPA member Sarah Hedar.

The award-winning feature documentary follows a 1985 logging protest on Haida Gwaii.

Entirely drawn from more than a hundred hours of archives, without present-day interviews, The Stand reveals a hidden true story of peaceful Indigenous resistance 40 years in the making.

A few years ago, Christopher got his hands on a box of tapes, recorded by documentary filmmakers embedded in a logging blockade on Haida Gwaii back in 1985.

Christopher and Sarah ended up with over 46 hours of footage shot in the camp.

Watching the rich footage inspired them to forego traditional documentary storytelling and to edit all the footage and audio gathered into a movie with a similar structure as a scripted drama.

Instead of a narration, the team used questions asked by reporters in the archival footage. Additional context was added by segments of the Jack Webster show and an animated Haida character, Mouse Woman.

Winner of the Northern Lights Audience Award at VIFF 2025.