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By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 12/21/25 – Screening as part of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Meadowlarks is the kind of film that doesn’t simply ask to be watched, it asks to be felt.
Directed by Tasha Hubbard, Meadowlarks marks a powerful transition for the acclaimed documentarian into narrative storytelling, expanding on her earlier documentary Birth of a Family. The result is intimate, emotionally precise, and quietly devastating, a film that lingers long after the credits roll.
At its core, Meadowlarks follows four Cree siblings in their 50s who were separated as children during Canada’s 60s Scoop, a government policy that forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families and placed them into non-Indigenous homes. Decades later, they agree to reunite for the first time over a holiday weekend in Banff. What unfolds is not a sentimental reunion, but a deeply human reckoning with loss, identity, and the courage it takes to try again.
Anchoring the film is a profoundly restrained performance by Michael Greyeyes as Anthony. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Times, Greyeyes spoke candidly about portraying a character shaped by intergenerational trauma, not through research alone, but lived understanding. Raised in Treaty 6 territory, Greyeyes grew up with intimate knowledge of the 60s Scoop and its lasting effects.
Rather than overburdening the performance with symbolism, Greyeyes focuses on emotional authenticity. Anthony’s silences, hesitations, and guarded moments carry as much weight as his words. “My job,” Greyeyes explained, “was to be emotionally authentic to Anthony’s experience, singular, specific, and truthful.” That clarity of purpose shows in every frame.
Click for our exclusive interview:
The supporting cast, including Carmen Moore, Alex Rice, and Michelle Thrush, delivers performances that feel lived-in rather than performed. Their interactions are awkward, tender, and at times painfully unresolved, mirroring the reality of families reuniting after decades of separation.
Particularly poignant is the absence of a fifth sibling, portrayed by Lorne Duquette, whose inability to attend the reunion quietly underscores that healing is not linear, or guaranteed.
Hubbard’s direction is assured and compassionate. An adoptee herself, she brings lived experience to the material without ever turning the film into a thesis statement. Her camera is patient, allowing moments to breathe. Elders portrayed by Reservation Dogs alum Theda Newbreast and Russell Badger gently ground the film in cultural continuity and tradition, offering context without exposition.
The film’s title, inspired by Hubbard’s late grandfather and the meadowlark, a symbol of renewal, is more than poetic. Like the songbird, the film suggests that healing may arrive softly, unexpectedly, and only when one is ready to listen.
Premiering in the U.S. at Palm Springs after earning audience awards at Toronto International Film Festival and Vancouver International Film Festival, Meadowlarks has already proven its ability to resonate across cultures. As Greyeyes noted, the film has moved both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences, not by explaining history, but by humanizing it.
The 60s Scoop remains largely absent from classrooms and mainstream discourse. Films like Meadowlarks don’t just reclaim narrative space, they educate through empathy.
This is not an easy watch, but it is an essential one. Meadowlarks remind us that family is not defined solely by time spent together, but by the bravery it takes to return, to listen, and to try to love again.
Screenings at the Palm Springs International Film Festival:
• January 3, 2026 – 7:00 PM | Festival Theaters (U.S. Premiere)
• January 5, 2026 – 3:30 PM | Festival Theaters
• January 9, 2026 – 4:45 PM | Mary Pickford Theater
• January 10, 2026 – 4:00 PM | Festival Theaters
For more coverage and the full interview with Michael Greyeyes, visit hollywoodtimes.net.
