MIGISI SAHGAIGAN — A cousin-duo from Eagle Lake First Nation is on the way to New Zealand to watch their dream come true.
Writer and filmmaker Morningstar Derosier along with co-director Victoria Anderson-Gardner are making a trip halfway across the world to Ōtaki, Kāpiti Coast, New Zealand, to see their short film’s premiere at Māoriland Film Festival.
The short film, My Friend Saabe, is "like a love letter" to the cousins' reserve, Migisi Sahgaigan.
“The film is about a young rez girl, Lindy, who is played by Lindy Gardner, and her best friend Saabe, which is Bigfoot. He is one of our grandfather teachers and teaches us about honesty and staying true to yourself. Him and Lindy set off on bringing healing to their community through just the simple acts of love, of medicine they can offer other people and praying for people.
“It's about this spiritual re-awakening in this community that was brought on by this determined little rez girl, which really shows that anyone is capable of making meaningful change,” Derosier said.
Derosier and Anderson-Gardner started their film careers within the last decade.
“There are a lot of really great Indigenous films that come out of New Zealand. Victoria and I have been really inspired by the work that Māoriland filmmakers put out.
“We are really honoured that we get to screen our film alongside a lot of amazing Indigenous films from, you know, all around the world."
Derosier is excited for the premiere, but said she definitely has some nerves.
“This has been a project that's very close to my heart, it's of our home community, Migisi Sahgaigan. The actors in it are community members. They’re our little cousins. I want things done in a good way, but I think Māoriland will be just a very perfect place to screen it.
“I'm really excited to engage with the audience, and talk about the beauty of Northwestern Ontario of being from the boreal forest and the deep spiritual knowledge that comes from being from this area too, being from this land,” she said.
Anderson-Gardner said the short film is a special story that is needed in this time.
“In terms of where the world is at and I think especially for Indigenous people, the message of the film is what we need right now. It's very uplifting and it's very wholesome. It showcases an Anishnaabe way of living in terms of living with the spirits. I'm mostly just excited to showcase all of that,” she said.
This is the cousins first time co-directing.
“We've both been on our own journeys for filmmaking. (Derosier's) been on a different path than me in terms of she's focused more on cinematography, more of the creation aspect, whereas I'm more focused on like screenwriting, directing and producing.
“I'm a little bit more admin focused, but also creative. This was a chance for us to finally come together in both capacities to imagine what this could look like.”
It’s great to finally be able to bring the film forward, Anderson-Gardner said.
“I think that a big part of my role as the co-director, was just making sure that Morningstar felt supported in terms of the story and then also feel free to be creative as a cinematographer as well on it,” she said.
For Anderson-Gardner, My Friend Saabe showcases a piece of Anishnaabe culture, that is not seen in mainstream media.
“It's a really interesting way for people who might not know about our seven grandfather teachings, to know Saabe is one of our grandfather teachings. This is a way of living that we've been taught for hundreds and thousands of years which really makes us stronger as Anishnaabe people. I think it's just exciting for the next generations of Anishnaabe kids to see this,” Anderson-Gardner said.
All of the talent in the film are people from Northwestern Ontario or people who are working in communities in Northwestern Ontario, Anderson-Gardner said.
“Most of our cast are community members. We worked with a lot of our family, which was great, and all of our crew are also from Northwestern Ontario.
“The voice of Saabe is elder Andrew Mandamin, which was really special to have him be a part of it and have the Anishinaabemowin in there, and have it accurate and portrayed,” she said.
“It's really awesome to have this film just be shown to so many different people because it's really a labour of love and there were a lot of hands that worked with this film. A lot of local Thunder Bay artists and I'm really grateful for their work on it. There are also a lot of Confederation College graduates who worked on the film. It just really has this beautiful spirit and energy around it,” Derosier said.
