In 1976, 15-year-old Alia (Kawennahere Devery Jacobs) is growing up on the Red Crow Mi'gMaq reservation, where every First Nations child is legally required to attend residential school. Aila is expected to live at a school called St. Dymphna's, run by the sadistic government agent nicknamed Popper.

But with the help of her Uncle Burner, Alia finds a loophole. With enough cash, the family can pay Popper a so-called “truancy tax” to keep her home. Luckily for Aila, she has a marketable talent: she’s a whiz with weed.

With narration stylistically inspired by film noir crime movies, Alia narrates her art form, while constructing designer joints for the young local cliques. Soon, her world is turned upside down, when someone steals her illegal earnings, and her father returns home from prison. She must now either give up her own freedom, or stand her ground and fight.

With a rich and surreal visual style, Rhymes for Young Ghouls has us cheering along with a heroine whose only option is to fight or run. And the Mi’gMaq don’t run.

If you're interested in this film, you may like Theatre Junction's production of 'Alexis. A Greek Tragedy'