a way to diffuse feminist ideologies to a wider audience of people. Norma Bailey stands out as a feminist filmmaker for her contributions in creating more realistic female representation and by repositioning the female voice and gaze throughout her films. A prime example of Norma Bailey's dedication to reshaping the ways in which women are represented in film and television is through her 1986 film The Wake, which was a part of The Daughters of the Country series. The Wake The Wake was set in the 1980s in rural Alberta and told the story of a Métis woman named Joan and her love affair with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer named Jim. The film showcased Joan's experiences as a member of the Métis community and the effects cultural differences have on individuals. Norma Bailey reimagined the experiences of Indigenous women from what had been previously showed through film and television and focused on creating a main character that was strong, independent, flawed, and relatable. Throughout the film maternity and motherhood played an important role as Joan is a single mother of her own children and also takes on the role of caretaker for other children. Joan's character does not exemplify the idealized version of motherhood that is often perpetuated through mainstream cinema. She is flawed and makes mistakes which realigns the narrative towards a more feminist one that embraces motherhood as a constant state of difficulty and imperfection for most women which is perfectly normal. Women do not have a biologically predisposition that allows them to great mothers instantly and consistently and Joan demonstrates the reality of motherhood. Furthermore, motherhood is not Joan's only characteristic. She is portrayed to be a strong independent woman who desires to love and be loved. Therefore, dispelling the patriarchal idea that motherhood somehow converts women into non sexual beings to be fetishized by men. This cinematic rendering of women and motherhood creates this underlining feminist narrative throughout the film which contributes to the feminist filmmaking movement and to Norma Bailey's position within feminist filmmaking. Furthermore, The Wake is centred in the genres of romance, drama, and western all of which typically position white people as being the main character and the hero. Bailey rejects this archetypal contextualization of her white character Jim and instead positions Joan, a Métis woman, as the sympathetic main character. Indigenous women are rarely depicted in the film and