By Sarah Brewer
1. What does New Brunswick give to you creatively as a filmmaker, and what makes being based here challenging?
I would say that, creatively, there’s a lot of support. There’s support financially, there’s support community-wise, which I think is very helpful when starting out as an independent or established filmmaker. There’s just a lot of opportunity.
What makes being here challenging as a filmmaker is probably the same thing: there’s not as many people. Maybe you have to drive around longer to get to different places to meet people or to go to different projects, or to get hired on different things; I’m not sure. I would say, yeah, I’m a filmmaker, but I would say, first, I’m an actor, so that brings its own set of challenges.
1.2 If you wanted to talk about that as well, feel free, because that is an interesting perspective.
I think I do have a sort of unique experience with everything just because my filmmaking is inspired by my acting. The films I’ve made have been for me to have an opportunity to act while being here. It’s funny because I attended a workshop through the Film Co-op a couple months ago, and the person facilitating, Vanessa King, asked everyone kind of like an opening question: “what’s your inspiration for writing films?” Some people said, “to go to film festivals,” or “because I want to create,” and for me, I didn’t say it, because I’m like, “to give myself parts.” I have done filmmaking outside of giving myself parts: I’ve directed, but that’s mostly music videos, which are fun. I love directing music videos. However, I doubt that I would ever write something that I wouldn’t be in. It would be an interesting challenge, but it also wouldn’t make much sense with my current goals.
2. How was it transitioning from actor to filmmaker? What pushed you in that direction, and how has this experience been?
I first did it during COVID. I moved back home, and I wanted to give myself an opportunity to act, so I just thought, “okay, I’m going to apply for a grant to make my own film.” I wrote up my own film, Jerrycan very quickly and made it. So, it was an interesting transition, because I had never directed, but I had produced before. I have a producer's brain and an actor's heart, which is what I always say — that’s kind of what I’m made of. So, directing kind of came naturally because I’ve produced before; I had strong connections with cast and crew, and that made directing feel a bit seamless, especially when it’s a collaborative process.
3. How has your work as an actor shaped the way you direct performers?
I think it’s special when you work with a director that has experience acting, and maybe it's helpful when actors have experience directing. l have always had fantastic experiences with directors in New Brunswick, and elsewhere, because they take you out for coffee, have meetings, learn about you; you build a bond, which I think it’s a no-brainer when you’re a lead character. You need to trust the person that you’re working with. That has helped a lot. I might not be the most experienced director, I might not know all the film references, and all the terminology, but that’s when I lean on my collaborators: to know that kind of stuff and to be open to communicating. When someone can feel comfortable expressing themselves in the space with you. It’s the best.
4. What kind of stories do you feel most compelled to tell right now, and what compels you to tell stories?
My first instinct is to say female-driven stories. I am inspired by my own experiences; I am inspired by my friend’s and family’s experiences. Yeah, I just like female-driven stories that are fun, funny, dramatic, silly, sad. I am also super interested in generational trauma as a topic, and kind of how and why we are the way we are. What compels me to tell stories? I think it’s just because I need to.
5. What was the original spark for Lunar Day, and did the film change as you moved from idea to production?
Yes, totally. So, the idea started because of my producer’s location. I met my producer, Eilidh Kennedy at her place in St. Andrews — a gorgeous, waterside property, very close to Minister’s Island — and we essentially just said, “okay, we have this space, what kind of story can we tell in this space?” That’s honestly where I start writing a story because of my producer brain, I kind of think of like, “okay, we need to figure out a location that’s going to be accessible, beautiful and unique. So, what do we have access to, and then let’s write a story on that.” So, that’s where Lunar Day came from. Eilidh and I had a lot of conversations; then, I just sort of wanted to write this story about a topic that isn’t talked about enough, which is the gray area of sexual assault. Also, so many stories that we see involve a traumatic event, which can be a tough watch. Everyone’s situation with trauma is always so different and unique that sometimes it’s so hard to portray all of them on screen or in a story. Essentially, this film takes place after, so you never even see what happens. You know a few details and how the person feels afterwards: what they know, what they don’t know, and how they deal with it 24 hours after it happens, because you go through quite a wave. It’s on the ocean, Passamaquoddy Bay which has the highest tides in the world. It’s very similar to what we can experience as humans within a day, specifically following something traumatic. I think it’s an interesting topic, and I really want to hear what people think.
It evolved a lot even since I submitted my application to get funding for it through the Film Co-op and through the award I got during Silver Wave. I don’t even think it’s the same story, honestly. I just felt like it was the story I had to change it into and had to tell. I sat on it for a while, too. It took me quite a long time to finish it, but I’m really glad I did because I think I needed to evolve with it. I’m excited! I hope it goes to Silver Wave, and I hope people enjoy it.
6. You shot Lunar Day on Minister’s Island. What is the significance of this location, and what were you trying to portray by shooting there?
So, this is amazing, and a really good story. My producer was also working on the island for the summertime; she was a summer student there and had asked her boss if we could film there, and he said, “yes.” Two days before production, he said, “actually, never mind,” and we did it anyway, because we have to — it’s very significant to the story. I don’t want to give away the story, but there’s obviously a journey to the island, and the tide comes back up, and you’re stranded on an island. I think a lot of people can feel like that when they go through something, and they feel alone: you feel like you’re stranded on an island. So, who do you find on that island? I think what’s found represents your community: the people that you find who have gone through something similar to you, or if someone who is close to you and can support you, they are the people who are on the island with you. That was the significance of the island.
I really wanted to film there, too, because it’s the most gorgeous place in the world, and it’s so unique. We filmed on it, and the tide went up while we were filming, and then we just had to wait it out for like six hours. So, we had dinner, had some wine, and waited until we could go back over to the mainland — it was just so special.
Also, I think the last time a film was shot there was a Baldwin brother film. It’s called Red Rover, and it was with Billy Baldwin.
7. Was there a moment on Lunar Day when you felt, “yes, this is the film?”
Although it was a heavy film at times to shoot, we did have a lot of fun throughout. There’s a scene where my character looks out at the women on the island that I walk to — spoiler but it’s okay there’s photos of them — and they’re just totally present. First of all, they all showed up on the day, which was so fun! Most of them aren’t actors; we asked them because they’re just beautiful people that I love so much, and they all just said, “yes.” Seeing them all in the linen, they just looked so beautiful! Yeah, looking at all of them looking at me felt really special. There’s a lot of impact there.
