My dad taught me how to whistle when I was younger and in return, I taught my kids. You can call a cab with it, attract birds/animals, get someone’s attention and if you have the power, you can summon the Northern lights… aka, the Aurora Borealis. In the Indigenous culture, if you whistle, it’s said that you can draw the lights closer. She Whistles is an Indigenous/LGBTQ film that explains it in more detail. I absolutely love that the face of films is ever expanding and always evolving to be more cultural and diverse, especially with a growing population of Indigenous, BIPOC and LGBTQ films entering the stage. What will the next 5 years bring if we can all do our part to make it the new norm and create more films and television with actors that reflect our current society and its rich cultural history.
She Whistles is a film that addresses the ongoing and unsolved tragedy of missing Indigenous women. In this film however, the script is flipped and the devil gets its due. There are sprinkles of a queer relationship throughout the film, with the heavy subject matter of assault being carried on the shoulders of the talented Sera-Lys McArthur (Burden of Truth, Arctic Air, Pretty Hard Cases) and Aidan Devine (Suicide Squad, Outlander, A History of Violence). It’s launching at Outfest in LA and it has its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia festival later this month.
It was written and directed by uber talented anomaly and Award-winning filmmaker, Thirza Jean Cuthand. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan – Thirza has been making short experimental narrative videos and films about sexuality, madness, Queer identity, love, and Indigeneity since ‘95’. Her films have screened in festivals internationally, including the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, Mix Brasil Festival of Sexual Diversity in Sao Paolo, ImagineNATIVE in Toronto, Ann Arbour Film Festival, Images in Toronto, Berlinale in Berlin, and the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival.
Sera-Lys McArthur produced the film and was the lead actress. She is a proud member of the Nakota/Assiniboine Nation and was raised by her German-Canadian single mother, also in southern Saskatchewan. Despite being raised in a remote area, Sera-Lys managed to become a working actor at age 13. At 18, she moved to New York City to study musical theatre. She earned an MA in Acting from East 15 Acting School, the University of Essex, UK – where she attended on a full scholarship and graduated at the top of her class. She is also the female lead in Robbery – an independent feature film, and a key supporting role in the novel-to-film adaptation of Monkey Beach.
Kwêskosîw (She Whistles) won the Short Subject Fiction Award at this year’s Yorkton Film Festival and recently had its world premiere at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival on June 4th, 2021. Since then it has been picked up by the Canadian International film festival, Fantasia, and the LGBTQ-oriented film festival, Outfest LA. This short film says a lot in its duration. This collaborative duo has created a story that is universal amongst all women that have ever felt marginalized, threatened, abused or vulnerable because of race, culture or status. The truth is out there and more of those stories are being told through film. The future awaits more Indigenous and LGBTQ films that can impact society and its trajectory.
Trailer: HERE
I had the very admirable pleasure of speaking with these two brilliant filmmakers/actor/writer/director/producers and it was so hard to say goodbye. Roll the tape!
HNMAG “You both teamed up to make this film, She Whistles. Thirza wrote it and Sera-Lys produced it. How did this story come to you Thirza?”
THIRZA “It stems from a situation/experience I had with green fire years ago and it had simmered in my brain for years. Soon after, these stories began to come out about missing Indigenous women being targeted by predatory people. I started putting 2 and 2 together and thought – what if there was someone out there with the power to create fire? It also comes from my experiences of being in a cab with predatory drivers. When you’re a lone woman in a cab, the driver will sometimes start talking to you and it can sometimes go sideways. I’ve heard stories of Indigenous women being driven outside the city and having to fight their way out of a situation.”
HNMAG “Was there an intention to make this film longer?”
THIRZA “Yes, this film is actually based on a feature film script that Sera-Lys and I are working on. This is a scene where she gets her power but the story continues on and evolves into a detective type story. There’s a lot of other stuff that happens and the fire power is used throughout the story.”
SERA-LYS “It was a feature script idea first, then we made a short that can be used as a calling card for Thirza’s work in this genre.”
HNMAG “I loved the film and I think you did a terrific job directing it.”
THIRZA “It was also the first time I had directed on an actual set with a crew that size. Although the cast is small, it was still very challenging to work with pyrotechnics, driving and stunts. The actors performed their scenes very well and they all gave great performances.”
HNMAG “The cast is terrific. The cab driver was a very convincing creeper.”
SERA-LYS “It can be hard to find actors willing to take on those roles, so we were really grateful to have someone as talented as Aidan Devine. He came to mind right away because he seemed to have the right demeanor and physical attributes we were looking for. He’s a very devoted actor with years of experience, so we reached out to him and we were really happy that he came onboard.”
HNMAG “Did you both decide on the casting together?”
SERA-LYS “I was already onboard as a producer, we got the funding… then Covid hit. We had to pivot and find a way to make it work with the budget and all the bodies on set. Our executive producer, Leah Jaunzems (Darius Films) had suggested that I take on the role. I was excited for the opportunity to do it because I don’t think I’m a good fit to play Stephanie in the feature, but I can play one of the other roles. I really care about this project because we’ve been developing it for so long. This was a great opportunity for Thirza and I to work together in a multifaceted context. Together, we have a writer/director, actor/producer combination.”
HNMAG “How did you both come to work with each other?”
THIRZA “I happened to be in a screenwriting competition (Female Eye) and Sera-Lys was reading the script. I won the competition and after the reading, Sera-Lys approached me to say that she wanted to produce the script if I was willing to work with her. We began to have meetings and then Leah Jaunzems came onboard and we’ve all been working together on the script since then.”
HNMAG “I’ve read that you are a big advocate for the LGBTQ community, Thirza. In this story, there’s some information indicating that Sera-Lys’s character is involved in a gay relationship – but it’s very subtle. Was that intentional?”
THIRZA – (Laughing) I think we joked about that; is this film gay enough? In the feature script, it’s very clear that they’re in a relationship, they’ve been dating and it’s a big focal point. Because of budget reasons and the scene, ‘Jackie’ is just a voice on the phone and we don’t see her, but in the feature, she’s very influential in Stephanie’s life and in her decision making. We’ll be able to explore that more in the feature.”
SERA-LYS “In the short film, we wanted it to be accessible and to show that this can happen to anyone. We also had to be streamlined about the story we were telling in this short film. Although the relationship is a very important aspect in the feature, the focal point of this story is between Stephanie and the cab driver while tying in the spirit of her mother.”
HNMAG “It’s so unfortunate and sad that so many Indigenous women have experienced the same violence and assault. Did you have any inhibitions about playing the role of a victim?”
SERA-LYS “I didn’t… I’ve played a victim in other films and I find it very empowering and cathartic to tell their story and put the truth out there. I’ve played a tragic character before, but ‘spoiler alert’ this isn’t a sad ending or tragedy, it’s an intense/exciting struggle. I’m very grateful to be able to portray a character like this, to shine a light and to showcase her strengths that many Indigenous women have. Over the years, we’ve been depicted as disposable and collect bullets at the end. In reality however, we’re very tenacious and strive for survival. We wanted to show more of her strength and power and less of the victimhood.”
HNMAG “Now Thirza, I know that your films have been screened all over the world. Where will this film (She Whistles) be screened?”
THIRZA “So far, it screened in New Zealand and it’s currently screening at Outfest in Los Angeles. It will screen at Fantasia in Montreal next week and we’re still submitting to other festivals. We’ve also been contacted by other venues that have heard about the film being screened.”
SERA-LYS “We’ve had quite a lot of interest coming our way, which is pretty exciting. We also have another festival coming up in the Fall, called – Native Spirit, which will be in the UK.”
HNMAG “Is it very unique to have a Native/Indigenous themed film festival in the UK?”
THIRZA “Yes, I had a retrospective there, a couple of years ago. It’s a cute little festival and the lady that runs it is very dedicated and pretty amazing. I think she understands what it’s like to be in a dominant culture and feel like a marginalized person. It’s a very interesting festival.”
SERA-LYS “There are a lot of parallels drawn with all the different European countries and their identities. I found that they respond much better than anticipated. I went to school there and I didn’t expect them to understand where I was coming from, but everyone seemed to get it. It’s so nice to have a global interest.”
HNMAG “Do you both want to continue making Indigenous films going forward?”
SERA-LYS “That’s definitely an element in my career that I’ve been very conscious about since it started. I can confidently say that things are changing a lot and I’m hopeful that they will continue, where we see more Indigenous actors in roles that don’t necessarily focus on their Indigenous background but rather – a regular person contributing to society and whether that’s good or bad. We can play bad guys too; as an artist, you want to be able to go there. I also feel that there needs to be a story steward, in regards to Indigenous stories. Although my focus won’t be entirely on Indigenous content, I also partner with artists/creators of film, TV and theatre that are creating Indigenous characters and I help them to do it in a respectful way. It can sometimes be difficult to navigate those waters when they reach out to me, because I’m not always as good a fit as a cultural consultant. However, because of my connections in the community, I can sometimes broker relationships between people.”
THIRZA “I feel as strongly about Indigenous characters in my work as much as queer characters. In my earlier career, I made films about being queer or Indigenous but now I’m more interested in characters that are still Indigenous or queer but are also exploring other aspects that aren’t necessarily tied to that life. I want to create more complex representations that aren’t just an Indigenous story, but a story with an Indigenous character that happens to be important.”
HNMAG “As a producer, are you looking for distribution for this film?”
SERA-LYS “We’re actually going to be featured on Crave. They were part of the Harold Greenberg Fund ‘Shorts to Feature Award’ that we received. It’ll be starting in February of 2022 and it’ll potentially run for 18 months. After it’s finished the festival run, we hope to find an International home for it as well.”
HNMAG “Do either of you ever get the opportunity to talk to the youth about a career in filmmaking or acting?”
THIRZA “I’ve done a lot of workshops and talks with a lot of queer and Indigenous youth. It’s so great working with the youth because they bring ideas/questions to me that I hadn’t thought of – I love it.”
SERA-LYS “I’m really looking forward to the lifting of the pandemic restrictions and the time when we’re able to do in person talks again. In general, I‘ve done speaking engagements with online classrooms. It brings it full circle, in terms of the importance of the work we do and how young people are impacted by it. It really gives us perspective on why we’re doing it in the first place.”
HNMAG “Do you both have other projects in the works after this one?”
SERA-LYS “I actually have another film that I’m in, it’s premiering at the Fantasia Festival, called Don’t Say Its Name. It’s a horror film by a first time Cree director, Ruben Martel. He’s also from Saskatchewan, so it’s great – we’ll have our own little section in the Fantasia venue enjoying everyone’s work. It’s great to see other people in the Indigenous community getting the recognition they deserve.”
THIRZA “I’ve been working on a web-series with Justine Ducharme and Ariel Twist, called Kin about an Indigene queer community. It’s a short comedic web-series that I’m making with APTN. I’ve also got 2 Canada Council grants to write a screenplay about potash mining, but also the monsters that live in the potash mine. I’ve also have another Canada Council grant to make a video game about a lesbian vampire. It’s a video game about ethics, where she has to make the right choices in order to find her girlfriend and to survive as a vampire – finding ethical ways of getting blood.”
HNMAG “I get the impression, Thirza, that you have a lot of comedy in you.”
THIRZA “Yeah, that’s funny because it’s not in this film, but a lot of my experimental films are very comedic and funny. I’ll probably write a comedy at some point but this is really my exploration into horror and thriller. It’s something that I’m really interested in but my career is constantly going in different directions all the time.”
HNMAG “How long did it take to make this film?”
SERA-LYS “Technically, two days. It was a two-night shoot, so we had a lot to pack into those 2 nights.”
THIRZA “There was some heavy-duty pre-production happening.”
HNMAG “I only have 1 more fun question to ask the both of you. If you could spend the entire day with anyone in the world, who would that be?”
SERA-LYS “Oh my goodness…. I think I’m going to go with Deb Haaland. She is the US Secretary of the Interior and the first Native American woman that’s held such a high influential position of that level. I would talk to her about everything and try to get to know her – I find her so fascinating.”
THIRZA “My answer might seem a little shallow… because I have a crush on Cate Blanchett, so I’d want to spend it with her (laughing).”
Both Thirza Jean Cuthand and Sera-Lys McArthur were exceptional guests and I hope to talk to them again in the future once the feature, Evil Fire is finished.
If you’d like to follow Thirza, I’ve included some links. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Sera-Lys’s.
Thirza Jean Cuthand
Twitter: @LeZbusrider
Instagram: @cabbagetownstomper
Facebook: @ThirzaCuthandArtist