Jessie Anthony wrote, directed and produced Brother, I Cry, which had its world premier at this yearB次元官网网址檚 virtual Vancouver International Film Fest, Sept. 24 - Oct. 7. VIFF awarded Anthony with the festivalB次元官网网址檚 B.C. Emerging Filmmaker Award. The following interview has been edited for brevity and to avoid spoilers.

Zo毛 Ducklow: How did you get into filmmaking?

Jessie Anthony: I always knew I wanted to be a storyteller since I was young. I was always dramatic, always pretending something. When I looked for summer jobs, they never had jobs in theatre. They were jobs at a gas station or something like that. So I had people in my community wrote proposals and weB次元官网网址檇 put theatre camps together, or March break camp. I went to school for performing arts [and later was] accepted to Vancouver Film SchoolB次元官网网址檚 acting program. The whole time, I saw a need for more Indigenous voices in filmmaking. Then I was accepted to CapilanoB次元官网网址檚 Indigenous Filmmaking program.

And you won the B.C. Emerging Filmmaker Award from VIFF with your first feature.

IB次元官网网址檓 still so over the moon on that one. I called my mom when I found out and cried, and said, I just remember being a little rez girl saying, I wanna make movies. I wanna be in movies. IB次元官网网址檓 gonna do this and IB次元官网网址檓 gonna do that. And then to be recognized for it, it does something to you. Comments IB次元官网网址檓 getting from home too, people saying, B次元官网网址測ou always said you were going to do this!B次元官网网址� So itB次元官网网址檚 quite an honour.

How did the story of Brother, I Cry come to you?

I had a dream where my brother had a overdose and his spirit came to me and told me, B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 scared, I donB次元官网网址檛 know where I am, I need you to find me.B次元官网网址� In my dream I went searching, and in reality, I know where all these drug house were because IB次元官网网址檝e either dropped him off or picked him up there. So I was travelling through my dream trying to find him.

When I woke up I had this overwhelming feeling that this was going to be my reality, and that I needed to do something about it. That became my final short film [for the Capilano graduation project].

Nothing I do is going to save him, he needs to want to do it himself. But maybe if I show him my fears, it might make a difference. Or it might make a difference to someone else.

Have you talked to your brother about the film?

Yes. He very much knows my thoughts. WeB次元官网网址檝e worked very hard to be where we are in our relationship with his addiction. IB次元官网网址檝e called him and read a scene to him and said, is this how it works? I know definitely called him and said, how do I steal a car? And heB次元官网网址檚 like, B次元官网网址渢his is how youB次元官网网址檇 steal a car,B次元官网网址� you know.

But he also knows that the story is a collection of people. HeB次元官网网址檚 the inspiration, and thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of influence there, but I also wrote from my experience dating someone who was addicted to crack cocaine. I wrote based on things that have happened all around me. All those characters have pieces of my personal trauma.

YouB次元官网网址檝e mentioned before that thereB次元官网网址檚 a need for more positive, empowering Indigenous stories to be told, but also that you wanted to tell this story because itB次元官网网址檚 how it is on your rez when you go home.

I was nervous that people would take it the wrong way, but at the same time, itB次元官网网址檚 truth and IB次元官网网址檓 coming at this from a place of love. I want people to have a conversation. I want people to know theyB次元官网网址檙e not alone. I want families to know that that frustration, I feel it too.

And thatB次元官网网址檚 not a race thing, thatB次元官网网址檚 not just an Indigenous thing, thatB次元官网网址檚 a universal thing.

And I get it, thereB次元官网网址檚 a need for those empowering stories. There is so much beauty and so much power in our stories. So you do have, as an artist, space to tell that truth. But I donB次元官网网址檛 know, I just felt I needed to tell that story. And it is being told from an Indigenous perspective, so I think itB次元官网网址檚 been told with a lot of respect.

Jon does this thing where he lights a cigarette from the toaster. It seems so much harder than just using a lighter.

Well thatB次元官网网址檚 just it, heB次元官网网址檚 always loosing his lighter. ItB次元官网网址檚 very common in my family, people smoke, and a lot of times youB次元官网网址檙e not allowed to smoke in the house. Even if they might find the lighter or go get one, that was just the easiest thing to do.

With [Jon], itB次元官网网址檚 a small subtle thing that he doesnB次元官网网址檛 listen, he doesnB次元官网网址檛 even listen to a simple house rule.

It was striking how each character clearly had their own backstory, their own way of responding to pain, and to JonB次元官网网址檚 addiction.

I hope I communicated inter-generational trauma without being like, B次元官网网址淭his is inter-generational trauma! This is residential schools!B次元官网网址� I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to do that, I wanted to bring people in and use the camera. I tried to put the camera like a fly on the wall to get glimpse of that cycle, and be invasive, and move with the family because thatB次元官网网址檚 what the trauma does.

Like thereB次元官网网址檚 that one scene in the kitchen where youB次元官网网址檙e in the corner, weB次元官网网址檙e in the corner watching, and you see the living room, the front door, the rest of the kitchen. Those three different spaces and the family is moving through them, and itB次元官网网址檚 like, that literally is how trauma is. ItB次元官网网址檚 sitting in the corner watching us trying to figure it out.

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Without giving away the ending, this film really doesnB次元官网网址檛 give viewers any way out, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 make us comfortable.

Yeah, this is my fear. The movie is my fear for my brother.

And IB次元官网网址檝e gotten texts from people, days after they watched saying, B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e still cracking ourselves open. Thank you, because youB次元官网网址檝e allowed me to grieve for our people.B次元官网网址� Grief that she didnB次元官网网址檛 even know that was in here that started to move. Some of the comments IB次元官网网址檝e been getting and the personal stories, IB次元官网网址檓 so grateful people have found that connection for themselves.

It takes a certain kind of bravery to make a film like this about issues that are still live for you. Like, this isnB次元官网网址檛 something that resolved and youB次元官网网址檝e had time to reflect on.

No. HeB次元官网网址檚 still very much a functioning addict. ThatB次元官网网址檚 another thing, I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to show a typical addict, I wanted to show a functioning B次元官网网址� two functioning addicts B次元官网网址� like Leah, sheB次元官网网址檚 on methadone. LetB次元官网网址檚 talk about that. Oh youB次元官网网址檙e pregnant and on methadone? ThatB次元官网网址檚 something weB次元官网网址檝e had to go through. And the shame and embarrassment that comes with that. LetB次元官网网址檚 get rid of those stigmas first.

I donB次元官网网址檛 know the answers. I donB次元官网网址檛 know any of the answers. All I know is I needed to bring up a conversation and say I love my brother and I donB次元官网网址檛 want him to die but this is the reality.

Do you have something to add to this story or something else we should report on? Email: zoe.ducklow@blackpress.ca