The Moth

It is the year 2039 in Omagakii First Nation. The land has been consumed by lithium mines and 100,000 tonnes of buried nuclear waste. An Ogichidaa-Kwe survives in isolation, loving and resisting as the world sickens around her.

The Moth (2025), by Thunder Bay filmmakers Michelle Derosier and Zoe Gordon, shares a cautionary story resonating with our current moment in Northern Ontario. In Canada, all used nuclear fuel is stored at the site where it was produced, though this may change. In 2025 the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is proposing transportation of radioactive waste to a new deep geologic burial site in the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area, in proximity to numerous Indigenous and northern communities.

The Gallery presents The Moth as a film installation, with key film locations in Thunder Bay, and a multitude of local artists in the cast and crew, including lead actor Sarah McPherson, muralist Shelby Gagnon, artist Leanna Marshall, artist Shayne Ehman, and music artist Sara Kae. The film premiered this year as a part of ImagineNATIVE Film Festival in Toronto, one of the most important and relevant film festivals in North America.