Edge of the Knife (Haida: SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna, [sɢ̥aːwaːj qʼuːna]) is a 2018 Canadian drama film co-directed by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown.

He unexpectedly survives the winter, and at next year's gathering, the families try to convert Gaagiixiid, back to Adiitsʹii, while Kwa also wrestles with a desire for revenge.

[4][5] After an idea submission contest, Haida brothers Gwaai and Jaalen Edenshaw, as well as Graham Richard, joined Sandercock in 2014 to begin work on the script.

[15] "The film reflects a resurgence of indigenous art and culture taking place across Canada," Catherine Porter wrote for The New York Times in 2017.

[3] Some support for the film is meant to promote reconciliation for the residential school system, which strictly prohibited indigenous students, including Haida, from learning their native languages.

[4] Though Young was more hesitant to join the production than her husband, she later said that she ended up enjoying the filmmaking process and hoped to become a fluent Haida speaker.

[19] A longhouse was constructed for the set, and local Haida people provided costumes and traditional, hand-poked chest tattoos of family crests.

[3] Though the clans featured in Edge of the Knife are fictional, the crest tattoos that actors received were based on their respective real-life identities.

During filming, the crew paid particular attention to avoiding anachronisms like evidence of deer and logging, which had not been introduced to Haida Gwaii in the 1800s.

"[3] While on set, Haida musician Vern Williams sang and played a drum to create songs for Edge of the Knife.

"[25][nb 6] Edge of the Knife made its public premiere on 7 September at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

[30][31] Edge of the Knife is distributed internationally by Isuma,[30][29] with a United Kingdom premiere in April 2019 at Curzon Cinemas in Soho, London.

[29] Jason Asenap of High Country News praised the film's indigenous themes and noted the distinct absence of an "Anglo protagonist's worldview".

[33] Asenap called the movie "a window into the inner workings of a Haida community, its members' ideas of justice, humor, and matters as simple as food and daily entertainment".

"[34] Teresa Nieman of Screen Anarchy called Edge of the Knife "a triumph of Indigenous creativity" whose "commitment to authenticity is admirable".

[36] Nieman also wrote that the "quiet, moody, meditative" film became "truly immersive" because of untouched scenery of Haida Gwaii and because the "characters typically speak in a slow, poetic lilt".

[35] The Globe and Mail reviewer Barry Hertz commended the filmmakers for "turning a seemingly simple story of human nature into a captivating and at times stunning work" that contains "themes of guilt and redemption" presented "in a vision so distinct and unfamiliar to audiences that the film feels abundantly fresh".

[37] Volkmar Richter of The Vancouver Observer wrote that "the film is gripping, exciting and visually stunning"—it is "high drama and very modern in both pace and look".

[38] Nieman also wrote that "the movie is gorgeously shot" except for "a few overly stylized scenes depicting Adiitsʹii's increasingly feral perspective".

[35] Radheyan Simonpillai of the Toronto newspaper Now wrote: "The preservation act challenges the cast to wrap their tongues around words they don't know.