SO SURREAL: BEHIND THE MASKS
(feature documentary)

Roles: Editor, Visual Researcher, Additional Writing

So Surreal: Behind the Masks is a feature documentary that traces the storied journey of Indigenous masks from the far reaches of Turtle Island (North America) into the hands of European Surrealists, influencing the work and worldview of some of the most well-known modern artists and writers of all time including Max Ernst, André Breton, Roberto Matta and Joan Miró – all while following the dramatic quest to return a mask that was brutally stolen from the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw people on Canada’s northwest coast over a century ago.

Part caper, part road trip, part spiritual journey, So Surreal: Behind the Masks follows Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond (Reel Injun) as he travels coast-to-coast and across the Atlantic and back, gradually piecing together this groundbreaking global story of influence, reconnection and restitution.

88 minutes, 2024
Written and Directed by: Joanne Robertson and Neil Diamond
Producer: Daniel Morin
Produced by Rezolution Pictures for CBC Doc Channel