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Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com
Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin is rather disappointed that a novel she was working on about 15 years ago never got published.
But while her novel from yesteryear was not properly completed, Koostachin, who is also a filmmaker has taken the gist of it and turned into a movie she co-wrote and directed titled Angela’s Shadow.
Koostachin, a member of Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario who now lives in Vancouver, had been mentored with her writing by the late Lee Maracle, a well-known First Nations writer.
This thriller will have its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct. 2.
A second screening of Angela’s Shadow will be shown at the Vancouver festival on Oct. 5.
Koostachin is rather pumped the world premiere will be held in her current hometown.
“That’s kind of cool but scary,” she said. “It’s exciting because the cast and crew are there. So, for me it’s a big deal. We had so many Indigenous cast and crew. It’s really great to have them present for the premiere and then celebrating together. That’s what I’m looking forward to, is seeing everyone.”
Angela’s Shadow is about a young couple, Angela (Sera-Lys McArthur) and Henry (Matthew Kevin Anderson), who are expecting a child.
They travel to a Cree community to visit Angela’s childhood nanny Mary, played by Renae Morriseau, who had portrayed the character Ellen Kenidi, in the series North of 60.
While Angela is harassed by a shadow from her past, she discovers others, including herself, must also protect themselves from her husband.
Though her novel was never published, Koostachin said she was still hoping to salvage it, perhaps through the making of a film.
“I guess I reached out to my friend Steve Neufeld, the co-writer, and asked him if maybe possibly he could kind of make an attempt at a first draft,” Koostachin said. “And he did.”
Koostachin added her novel at the time was also a first draft. She explained why she never completed it or sought to get it published.
“You work on something for so long and of course you want to see it come to life,” she said. “I had four kids at home at the time and doing I believe my masters back then. So really, I didn’t have that much time to work on it. I kind of just got that first draft done and I really didn’t move forward which maybe I should have. There was a little bit of disappointment for sure.”
But now there’s an obvious sense of pride it has been turned into a film.
“With a story you can find different kinds of ways to make it come to life,” she said. “Film for me has kind of been my focus and working with Steve was kind of like a big kick in the butt. He was like ‘We can do it, we can do it.’ And then having a co-writer helps to relieve a lot of stress too because you’re actually sharing the workload with someone. He’s an amazing writer so that worked out really well.”
Koostachin is also ecstatic that two of her sons, Asivak and Mahiigan, have significant roles in Angela’s Shadow.
While Asivak has a lengthy acting resume, including appearances in his mother’s previous works, Mahiigan doesn’t have much experience in the film industry.
“He doesn’t have as much acting experience as Asivak,” Koostachin said of Mahiigan. “And I knew that casting him could either go really good or bad. But he was actually quite good.”
Koostachin welcomed the opportunities to spend time with her children on set.
“It was great working with them both and seeing Mahiigan kind of build his confidence around his acting ability,” she said. “And I think it helped a lot to have his big brother there. It was great. I love working with my kids, when they listen.”
Now that Angela’s Shadow is complete, Koostachin was asked if she would get around to finishing her novel that was the inspiration for the film.
“I guess I could work on it again,” she said. “It’s just finding the energy and time to write a novel. If I got funding, possibly because as an artist you still have to work.”