Caught between youth and adulthood, between Indigenous identity and white settler culture, Beans skillfully navigates the nuances of this friction to deliver a compelling, important message on self-identity in a broad societal context. Similar to how Alanis Obomsawin blazed a trail for authentic Indigenous onscreen narratives with Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance , Deer forges her own creative path to explore the harrowing events at Kahnaw·:ke that are rooted in her own experience as a teenager. Beans is a powerful coming-of-age drama from behind the protest lines. With its sensitive portrayal of internal and community conflicts gleaned from lived experience, it is poised to blaze a new trail for the next generation of Indigenous filmmakers.