4 minute read
Filming Folklore
An interview with filmmaker Jerri Thrasher
Tell us about your work.
First and foremost, I am an Inuvialuk in film. Aside from television producing, I am also a producer, writer and director. I write films that are a mix of traditional and contemporary elements about Inuit folklore, oftentimes pressing on social issues. Although written in a fictional sense, there are themes that are true to our history.
What about folklore interests you?
When I was a child, my mother read to me on a regular basis. Fortunately enough, there was one author who created Inuit children content, Michael Kusugak. His stories were so similar (if not identical) to the stories we were told from our parent(s) and I remember feeling proud that we were represented in these stories. Those were times your imagination ran wild and – as you may know – Inuit folklore is often terrifying. Those stories served a purpose: to deter children from venturing too far into dangerous territory – a survival mechanism. So, to my surprise, when I got older, I found that there wasn’t very much Inuit-based content in all forms of media. This was frustrating as we had scarier and more exciting stories than any Hollywood movie I could think of. There was this feeling of purpose and obligation to step up and be one of the content creators in the best way I knew how – through film.
The three international films that formed the anthology, The Last Walk. On the top is a still from the Alaskan version (dir. Anna Hoover); in the middle, the Northwest Territories version (dir. Jerri Thrasher); and on the bottom, the Greenland version (dir. Pipaluk Jørgensen and Johannes Lynge). Photo Courtesy of ImagiNATIVE Film Festival/Jason Ryle
Tell us about your film, The Last Walk.
This was my directorial debut. The International Sami Film Institute (in partnership with the Nunavut Film Development Corp.) created, for the first time, an Inuit Circumpolar group of filmmakers. We called ourselves the Arctic Film Circle (including Inuit Nunangat, Kalaallit Nunaat, Sapmi, Siberian Yupik/Chukchi and Inupiat). It was this group that collectively wrote what is now The Last Walk (2017). We brought back the scripts and adapted it the best we could to our regions in the circumpolar Arctic. Any which way we wrote this script, we were always going to write in themes of raising awareness and advocacy for our young people and [the] issues they face. While we were writing The Last Walk, I felt that it was important to go against the grain of what is usually portrayed. I was nervous, but, with the full support of these notable and amazing filmmakers, I gained confidence in this new area. During production, we made sure that the majority of cast and crew were Inuit. [Another] Inuvialuk woman in film, Tamara Voudrach, was an integral part of this production and she mentored me in the directing chair as our first assistant director. I don’t believe we could have accomplished what we did without her expertise and knowledge. Artless Collective Inc. out of Yellowknife produced the film with us, which was a very exciting collaboration.
Where do folklore and mythology tie into your work?
As I had mentioned earlier, I work both in a contemporary and traditional style. For The Last Walk, I used some themes from the mythology surrounding Tulugaq, the raven trickster. For my next fiction narrative, Seacrets, I will be including elements of Sedna, the sea goddess. This new film will also tie in themes around ‘The Sixties Scoop’ and the importance of regaining and maintaining your cultural identity.
What have you learned about folklores from working with other Arctic filmmakers?
That we have more similarities than not. I’ve travelled to these regions to work with these filmmakers and have felt a great sense of community and understanding. It was exciting – the first time we sat down and told each other the different adaptations to certain mythologies. For example, universally, we all have stories based around the horror genre. Sedna is depicted in slightly different views, such as her appearance and the circumstances of her transformation. Also, they all have stories of ‘little people’, interestingly enough.
What else would you like people to know?
I’m encouraging Inuvialuit to continue to create artistic content by us and for us. We should be our first audiences; when I write these films, I’m not writing them for southern audiences. If there is content they may not understand, that is up to them to do their research. Don’t ever be afraid to show a different side within your art, as long as the intention is good and you understand the responsibility that’s required. In saying that there are things that I could’ve done differently, I am applying that new knowledge to my future work. My vision for the future is to see a large database that our people can access and especially in mainstream media. We’re definitely going to get there, one story at a time.
