The Train Station

The Train Station begins with a photograph of director Lyana Patrick in 1975. It’s winter, and she’s sitting in a red sled, wearing a matching coat. Behind her is a small wooden building with the word “Lejac” painted in black. The photograph fades and we enter a richly illustrated and exquisitely animated world. Lyana begins to narrate, and we soon learn that the building behind her is a train station; the train station for Lejac Indian residential school. The story that unfolds is one of survival and love, centered on Lyana’s grandmother Noh Yaz and her daily 20 kilometer walk to and from Lejac residential school. VIFF premiere.