As Meredith Hama-BrownB次元官网网址檚 debut feature film B次元官网网址淪eagrassB次元官网网址� made waves during its festival run last fall, the Vancouver writer-director says she heard from many Japanese Canadians who thanked her for exploring a side of their experience rarely depicted on screen.

Ally Maki stars as Judith, a Japanese Canadian woman grieving the recent loss of her mother and struggling with her cultural identity as she brings her family to a couplesB次元官网网址� therapy retreat on a British Columbia island. The film tackles mixed-race relationship conflicts, intergenerational trauma, casual racism and young sibling dynamics.

B次元官网网址淭here are a lot of details in the film that IB次元官网网址檝e seen in my own family and that other people have told me that theyB次元官网网址檝e also experienced, particularly how Judith has lost touch with a lot of her own personal history and her family history,B次元官网网址� Hama-Brown, whose mother is Japanese Canadian, says on a video call from Vancouver.

Like Judith, Hama-Brown says there are gaps in what she knows about the experiences of her grandparents, who were among more than 22,000 Japanese Canadians forced into internment camps by the federal government during the Second World War.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 something thatB次元官网网址檚 very common for Japanese Canadians and Americans, because my grandparentsB次元官网网址� generation really didnB次元官网网址檛 want to talk about what happened. I think it was such a traumatic experience and they just wanted to move past it.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪eagrass,B次元官网网址� which hits theatres across North America on Friday, is a tense and tangled family drama charting the ups and downs of an interracial marriage on the verge of collapse.

Set in the 1990s, the film sees JudithB次元官网网址檚 marriage to her white Canadian husband Steve, played by Luke Roberts, fall apart as they struggle to connect at group therapy sessions for couples, while their children explore the islandB次元官网网址檚 verdant landscape. Along the way, they become frenemies with a seemingly more functional couple, played by Chris Pang and Sarah Gadon.

Earlier this month, B次元官网网址淪eagrassB次元官网网址� was named best B.C. film at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, where Hama-Brown also won the best director prize. Last year, it made Toronto International Film FestivalB次元官网网址檚 CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Top Ten list and took home the International Film Critics Prize at the fest.

Hama-Brown, who grew up in the B次元官网网址�90s, mines some of her own experiences in the film, similar to the way her award-winning short B次元官网网址淏roken BunnyB次元官网网址� dealt with themes of shattered childhood innocence. But she stresses that the plot is very much fictional.

B次元官网网址淢y family never went to this retreat altogether, and although my parents are divorced, I never saw them argue. They had a polar opposite divorce. My dad is the polar opposite of Steve.B次元官网网址�

Steve comes off as culturally insensitive and poorly equipped to deal with JudithB次元官网网址檚 intergenerational trauma. At one point, he makes a racist joke about PangB次元官网网址檚 character, a Chinese Australian.

Hama-Brown says such microaggressions were a product of the era B次元官网网址淪eagrassB次元官网网址� takes place in.

B次元官网网址淚n the B次元官网网址�90s, no one really knew how to say, B次元官网网址楾hatB次元官网网址檚 racist or that doesnB次元官网网址檛 feel right.B次元官网网址� Or when people tried, it would be disregarded as a joke. ItB次元官网网址檚 been really good exploring that type of racism in a film, because I think it can be extremely insidious and itB次元官网网址檚 something that is still so prevalent.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪eagrassB次元官网网址� is also a coming-of-age story as the coupleB次元官网网址檚 children Stephanie and Emmy, played by VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Nyha Huang Breitkreuz and VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Remy Marthaller, experience the fallout of their family crumbling.

Hama-Brown says the team found the pair of young actors through a B次元官网网址渧ery laborious casting processB次元官网网址� in which they B次元官网网址渨rote to every single kidsB次元官网网址� acting school in Canada.B次元官网网址� BreitkreuzB次元官网网址檚 audition tape came in a week and a half before they started shooting. The film marks both actorsB次元官网网址� first major roles in a movie.

B次元官网网址淭hank goodness everything came together because itB次元官网网址檚 very challenging casting kids and finding people who can carry these really challenging roles. They have mature themes, but thereB次元官网网址檚 also a ton of dialogue.B次元官网网址�

Just as challenging to scout out were the filmB次元官网网址檚 locations. Finding a retreat for a month during the summer of 2022 was nearly impossible as they were all booked up, but Hama-Brown and cinematographer Norm Li discovered one on Gabriola Island called The Haven. Group therapy sessions are actually held there in real life, although Hama-Brown jokes B次元官网网址渢heyB次元官网网址檙e probably much better than the ones portrayed in the film.B次元官网网址�

When Emmy is shown an oceanside cave that other children tell her is haunted, she becomes obsessed with it, convinced the ghost of her recently deceased grandmother is living there.

Hama-Brown says the cave, located at TofinoB次元官网网址檚 Rosie Bay, was not only hard to find but B次元官网网址渆xceptionally difficultB次元官网网址� to film in.

B次元官网网址淲hen the tide comes in, you will get trapped, so we only had three hours to work in the cave when we were there. Plus, we had a whole bunch of kids who we were bringing there and some gear that we had to walk in. It was something I was just terrified about doing until we got to it.B次元官网网址�

In the end, the scenes were well worth it. Hama-Brown says the tidal, seaweed-draped setting was integral to the film.

B次元官网网址淭he sense of place meant a lot to me. ItB次元官网网址檚 the fact that the family is going to this remote island. I wanted to have the sense of being away and surrounded by water and almost trapped. I wanted there to be this sense of isolation.B次元官网网址�

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