On a night so cold it hurts to breathe, Soft as Snow and Cold as Ice meet Thomas, a young man in a drunken stupor who has been dumped at the side of the road on the outskirts of town. When Thomas suggests the two men should walk back to the city with him, Cold as Ice and Soft as Snow persuade him to stay the night. Each man has a different motive: Cold as Ice wants Thomas to die and join them; Soft as Snow wants Thomas to survive the night so he can return to the city and tell people their story.
This black-and-white drama is rich in metaphor, poignant, non-judgmental and even humorous. It was inspired by the freezing deaths of several First Nations men in Saskatoon, allegedly as a result of the non-sanctioned police practice of taking individuals to an isolated edge of town where they would be beaten or abandoned-a practice that earned Canada a place on the 2001 Amnesty International report of human rights abuses.
The production springs from the creative synergy between Sarah Abbott, a producer and film professor at the University of Regina; Colleen Murphy, a director and the 2006-2007 University of Regina Playwright-in-Residence; and Cheryl Jack, an actor and emerging writer based in Saskatoon. Their efforts and the contributions of actors Gordon Tootoosis, Erroll Kinistino and Mathew Strongeagle, a crew of film production students, First Nations youth and local film industry professionals have created a film that will stimulate discussion about the state of disregard and oppression faced by Indigenous people in Canada and around the world.
Filmmaker's website: http://www.sarahabbott.ca/outinthecold/
