The arson trial that set Montreal ablaze — but did she even light the match?
Investigating slavery in Canada through the story of Marie-Josèphe Angélique, a Black slave accused of burning Montreal in 1734. After an epic trial, this untameable slave is tortured and sentenced to death. But was she really guilty of this crime or was she the victim of a bigger conspiracy? Why this voluntary amnesia about this unknown page of Canadian history?
Direction
O'Shun weaves reenactment and archival rigor with devastating precision.
Production
Reconstructs 1734 Montreal with haunting, claustrophobic detail.
Director
Ayana O'Shun
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Angélique's execution was the last public hanging for arson in Montreal — her story was buried while the fire became legend.
The film exposes how Canadian slavery was erased from national curriculum until the 2000s; O'Shun made this as direct response to that silence.
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