If there’s one thing that’s a definite issue, it’s when your child goes missing. So many thoughts of possibilities to what happened fill your head and the search is heavily reinforced and right away because time is of the essence. Admittedly, my brother and I had this kind of habit when we were younger, but I’d rather not dwell on that. However, it’s both similar and different when it comes to Indigenous families. When your average white child goes missing, the police get involved and do all they can. Hey, in this modern day and age, we’ve got Amber Alerts to keep everyone notified. But if somebody Indigenous goes missing, especially a girl (which is most common), the police aren’t the most reliable and it seems to be more in the hands of the family and any close friends. I wish that people would be more understanding as Indigenous people are going through the same problems as us, if not worse with all the insults and alienation and getting their lands torn about by the government who claims to be “helping consumers”. Rustic Oracle gives a good look into what a single Indigenous mother named Susan suffers when her teenage daughter Heather (McKenzie Deer Robinson) goes missing after hanging out with a guy who’s involved with some sort of gang. It results in a trek around numerous locations to find her daughter with her other younger daughter, Ivy (Lake Delisle). Along the way, they come across a mix of caring and uncaring individuals, discover dangerous and scary facts, and learn about each other a little more through these disturbing circumstances. After watching the amazing film, I spoke to one of the lead actresses, Carmen Moore who told me a little more about her character, her role, and what went into the film, which has won quite a few awards including Best Performance in the Leos and in the 2020 Okotoks Film Festival, and a Best Supporting Actress award in the 2019 American Indian Film Festival as well as Best Lead Performance (Female) at Union of B.C. Performers Annual Awards.
HNMAG: First off, I have to congratulate you for your three awards. How does it feel to get recognition for a character like Susan?
Carmen Moore: Oh, Goodness. Well, I’m more excited about the film itself getting more recognition. I think it’s a very important story that needed to be told and Sonia did it brilliantly so THAT deserves some recognition.
HNMAG: Do you feel that perhaps people will have a better understanding for the issue of indigenous people going missing?
Carmen Moore: That certainly was the hope. There’s still a lot of ignorance out there around how and why indigenous people go missing. So I’m hoping this sparks an interest in doing more research about why communities are affected this way.
HNMAG: How did you acquire the role in Rustic Oracle?
Carmen Moore: I sent in a tape and booked the role that way. Sonia told me that she had me in mind BEFORE they saw my tape so I guess I had the role long before that (laughs)
HNMAG: And what made you really want to take this role?
Carmen Moore: I saw the character and I saw the script and in my mind, I knew I wanted to be part of this film. Even since a missing Indigenous women and girl’s inquiry happened a few years ago, I still don’t think there has been enough done to figure out why our women have gone missing. It was a fresh take as well, Sonia is a brilliant storyteller. I saw her film Ladepp and thought “She really has a vision, and a voice.” and so I was excited to work with her. Telling a story like this from the perspective of the family, more specifically the eyes of an 8-year old girl going through this and the feeling of helplessness and not knowing what’s going on. The way she tells the story, it makes the audience feel what the characters are feeling so I thought that was really brilliant.
HNMAG: It must’ve been tough to get into such a stressed out role. Do you feel you could relate to Susan in a sense?
Carmen Moore: Well no, I don’t know anyone that’s gone missing, so I can’t say. But many mothers in the United States and Canada certainly do know that feeling and I felt honoured to represent them. I know what it’s like to be a tired and frustrated single mother though (laughs). But as for the rest it was certainly a challenging role, I hope that I did it justice.
HNMAG: And how was your relationship with Lake? Did you two really make some good chemistry together?
Carmen Moore: Oh my goodness, YES. She still calls me ‘Mama Carm’. She’s a beautiful and outrageously talented kid, very precocious, and I feel in love in with her the moment I met her.
HNMAG: How was the experience working with Sonia?
Carmen Moore: Sonia is my soul sister. From the moment I met her, we clicked and it’s really nice to have that kind of chemistry and energy feeding you, going to an especially stressful role like this one. Working with really great human beings is certainly a treat and her beautiful soul, her personality and her passion and understanding, and her ability to work with actors in a gentle way is really a gift.
HNMAG: Were there any particular issues you found yourself running into while on set?
Carmen Moore: No.
HNMAG: So what about the advantages of the shoot? How would you describe those?
Carmen Moore: Well, we shot for over a month which was up and down. But the cast and crew were amazing and there were definitely days that we had a lot of fun all the while understanding that we were dealing with very heavy subject matter. There was a certain amount of heaviness around us knowing that we were telling the stories of people and their real experiences. I had to try and keep that in mind. Native humour gets us through everything, so there was definitely some joking around and some good-natured teasing, to keep us afloat through all the dark heavy stuff. That is probably the best of the whole thing. Those people will remain a part of my heart for sure.
With how well the film is performing, I can only hope that it opens more eyes. It saddens me to see hardly anything getting done but it’s always nice to see films with Indigenous plots and Native stories being brought to the light. I guess as long as they keep getting made, maybe there will be progress in this big crazy world. Honestly, we could really use some progress at this time. Until things look better, let’s hope we keep seeing more and more of these films. Rustic Oracle can currently be viewed on VOD on Apple TV, Bell On Demand, Cogeco On Demand, Videotron On Demand and Vimeo on Demand. Check it out today
