MEADOWLARKS - A CHAT WITH STAR MICHAEL GREYEYES and WRITER/DIRECTOR TASHA HUBBARD

Meadowlarks is a poignant and important film that tugs at the heartstrings and needs to be seen.

Based on her own documentary Birth of a Family, Tasha Hubbard’s Meadowlarks stars top Indigenous actors (Michael Greyeyes, Carmen Moore, Alex Rice and Michelle Thrush) as four Cree siblings, separated since childhood and now in their 50s, who agree to meet for the first time over a holiday weekend in Banff.  The film debuted as a Special Presentation at TIFF 2025 and played at VIFF 2025 where it won the Panorama Audience Award.

Part of the 60s Scoop (1951-1991), the siblings were seized by the government and placed in non-Indigenous homes.  As they reunite, their shared stories will find you hugging your own family members tighter.  Watch for real-life sibling Betty Ann Adam who serves as an executive producer and also stars in a cameo role as the person who takes a photo of the siblings in front of the Banff sign. 

Also among the cast are Lorne Duquette as the fifth sibling who can’t bring himself to attend the reunion, Theda Newbreast and Russell Badger as Elders who introduce the siblings to Indigenous traditions, and Jordan Weasel Head and Oskiya Tootoosis as the siblings’ young biological parents shown in throwback.

The film title (and family name) was inspired by Hubbard’s late grandfather who loved the meadowlark, the songbird of spring, a time of renewal.

This marks the first narrative feature from documentarian Hubbard (CSA winners nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up and Two Worlds Colliding), an adoptee who met her birth family as a teenager.  Script is by Hubbard and playwright Emil Sher.  A Canadian production, shot in various locations, including Golden, BC, Banff and environs and Calgary, AB, the film is produced by Tyler Hagan and Julia Rosenberg.  In each territory, an Elder welcomed the crew. 

Meadowlarks is being released in Canada by Mongrel Media on November 28th.

I spoke with Tasha Hubbard and star Michael Greyeyes about working on the film and getting it out there for the masses.