PLOT : Saints and Warriors follows the powerful true story of the Skidegate Saints, a basketball team from the remote Indigenous nation of Haida Gwaii. For the Saints, basketball isn’t just a sport—it’s a way to heal, connect, and carry forward their culture. Every year, they compete in the legendary All Native Basketball Tournament in Prince Rupert, B.C., an intense and deeply meaningful event that’s been uniting First Nations communities for over 60 years. As the Saints fight to defend their title against a younger, rising team from the mainland, the film explores how basketball has become a modern form of ceremony and resilience.
DIRECTOR. Patrick Shannon, also known as Nang K‘uulas, is an Indigenous-Haida film director and award-winning social entrepreneur from Haida Gwaii, Canada. His work focuses on storytelling and amplifying marginalized voices through education, mentorship, media, and technology. With over a decade of experience in the Vancouver film industry and more than 12 years as an independent filmmaker, Patrick combines creative vision with entrepreneurial skill to produce meaningful and impactful projects. As the founder of InnoNative, an Indigenous media production company, he has worked on documentaries, music videos, and scripted narratives across Canada and beyond – with Saints and Warriors being his debut feature film.
Length 1h 37min
Year 2024
Cast
Jason Alsop, Kiefer Collison, Jesse Barnes, Nika Collison, Duane Alsop, Desi Collinson,
Distribution Game Theory Films
Production InnoNative