Edge of the Knife

Edge of the Knife
Official film poster
Haida	SG̲aawaay Ḵʹuuna
Directed by	Gwaai Edenshaw Helen Haig-Brown
Written by	Gwaai Edenshaw Jaalen Edenshaw Graham Richard Leonie Sandercock
Produced by	Jonathan Frantz Stephen Grosse
Starring	Tyler York William Russ Adeana Young
Cinematography	Jonathan Frantz
Edited by	Sarah Hedar
Music by	Kinnie Starr
Production company	Niijang Xyaalas Productions
Distributed by	Isuma
Release dates	1 September 2018 (2018-09-01) (Haida Gwaii) 7 September 2018 (2018-09-07) (Toronto)
Running time	100 minutes[1]
Country	Canada
Languages	Haida (with English subtitles)
Budget	CA$1,890,000[2]

Edge of the Knife (Haida: SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna, IPA: [sɢ̥aːwaːj qʼuːna]) is a 2018 Canadian drama film co-directed by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown. It is the first feature film spoken only in the Haida language. Set in 19th-century Haida Gwaii, it tells the classic Haida story of a traumatized and stranded man transformed into Gaagiixiid, the wildman.

With input from Haida Gwaii residents, the screenplay was written in 2015 by Gwaai and Jaalen Edenshaw, Graham Richard, and Leonie Sandercock with an aim to preserve and teach Haida, an endangered language. Contributors to the film's budget of CA$1,890,000 included the Council of the Haida Nation, the Canada Media Fund, and Telefilm Canada. The film was created primarily by indigenous people, including the co-directors, a mostly amateur crew, and the Haida cast. In 2017, the actors were taught to speak Haida at a two-week training camp and throughout the five weeks of filming.

First shown on 1 September 2018 to residents of Haida Gwaii, who the film's creators said were the primary audience, Edge of the Knife made its public premiere six days later at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, which named the film in its annual Canada's Top Ten list.