After its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the Vancouver-set feature film Seventeen screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). We spoke with writer, director and producer Justin Ducharme, as well as Aalayna, who plays December, and Nizhonniya Austin, who plays Tamara.
HNMAG: Welcome to VIFF! It’s your first full day here. You live in Vancouver, right?
Justin Ducharme: Thank you. Yes, I do.
HNMAG: That’s where the film is set, so that makes sense. Do you all live in Vancouver?
Aalayna: I’m from Manitoba, actually.
Nizhonniya Austin: I live wherever the wind takes me.
HNMAG: Justin, are you originally from Manitoba?
Justin Ducharme: Yes. I was born and raised there.
HNMAG: How long have you been in B.C.?
Justin Ducharme: About twelve or thirteen years now.
HNMAG: You’ve gotten to know it well.
Justin Ducharme: Yeah.
HNMAG: How did you get into film and television?
Justin Ducharme: I’ve always been interested in storytelling. Movies were a huge escape for me growing up. I come from a very small Métis fishing community along the shores of Lake Manitoba. I didn’t think any of this was possible. I had a very lovely English teacher who sparked a belief in me.
HNMAG: Was that in high school?
Justin Ducharme: Yeah. I moved out here when I had just turned eighteen. I decided to go to film school.
HNMAG: Which film school did you go to?
Justin Ducharme: I went to the Vancouver Film School (VFS).
HNMAG: Was it really expensive?
Justin Ducharme: Expensive? Yes. I took what I could from it, but it was an experience.
HNMAG: Kevin Smith attended VFS for about a month, and he said you learn to make movies by making movies. Do you agree?
Justin Ducharme: I agree with that one hundred percent. I learned a lot of technical things at VFS, but in terms of telling a story, finding subjects worthy of a time commitment, and exploring them as a person, I learned those things elsewhere. I had a lot of mentors in my life, and they informed me more. I also learned from the experience of making short films with five of my friends, which is what I did after VFS. Then doing something on this scale was a massive experience.
HNMAG: When did you become interested in performing?
Aalayna: My Mema said I’ve been performing since I was two, singing along to country stars in the back seat of her car. I started out as a singer. I’ve been singing my whole life. I first performed on stage when I was two, and I went on the talent-show circuit. I was welcomed into this industry through modelling. I always wanted to do music, so I didn’t think I was right for modelling or acting. When I signed with a modelling agency in 2018, I started doing commercials in and around Calgary. Through Instagram, I became visible to people like Justin.
HNMAG: Do you sing as well?
Nizhonniya Austin: I haven’t always thought of myself as a performer, but I am an artist. I’ve been an artist ever since I was a young child.
HNMAG: What medium did you gravitate toward in terms of art?
Nizhonniya Austin: When I was a kid, it was drawing. I always had dreams of being a musician or an actress. I let those dreams go as time went on. There wasn’t much representation of Native people. I’m thirty-six. I grew up during a time when it was very unacceptable to be a person of colour. That really beat me down. For me, the most viable option was to be a painter. People could see my paintings, and they didn’t have to see me. That made sense to me. I’m also a professional painter. I finally got the acting bug when I was in the TV show The Curse.
HNMAG: Was that filmed in Los Angeles?
Nizhonniya Austin: That was shot in New Mexico. I was actually scouted on Instagram.
HNMAG: Forget IMDb. These days, it’s all about social media.
Nizhonniya Austin: They told me to send in an audition tape, and I did, but I didn’t think anything would come from it. Two weeks later, I was in a room with Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie and Emma Stone. I found that I really loved acting as an art form.
HNMAG: How did you get involved in Seventeen?
Nizhonniya Austin: Justin asked me.
Justin Ducharme: Similarly, through Instagram. We had mutual online friends. I’d seen her paintings and, obviously, I’d seen The Curse. I always wanted someone who understood the consequences of crossing the border for this character.
Nizhonniya Austin: I definitely had those.
Justin Ducharme: Nizhonniya had those connections to Alaska, being from there and then living in New Mexico. Aalayna also had a connection to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside through her grandmother.
HNMAG: Okay, so that connection was real as well.
Aalayna: You could say I was “grandmothered in.”
HNMAG: It’s wonderful to have a production that shows Vancouver in a unique and authentic way. There was a shot across the water from North Vancouver. Was that filmed at CRAB Park?
Justin Ducharme: Yes.
HNMAG: There was a bench in that scene with graffiti on it.
Justin Ducharme: It said, “FUCK IT I GIVE UP.”
HNMAG: Was that practical or set dressing?
Justin Ducharme: That was already there. We scouted a lot of locations. The script called for the scene to be set on the steps of the overpass at CRAB Park, with all the blue railings. The permit was way out of our budget. Our locations manager suggested CRAB Park itself. Part of the rehearsal involved walking around with our two main characters. Taking them there was very important. It was significant to the story, and it means a lot to me personally. When we got there, our production designer noticed the graffiti. It was perfect, and we were fortunate that it was still there two weeks later.
HNMAG: It really fit the scene.
Justin Ducharme: Yeah, having her character sitting there next to it, disgruntled and frustrated, unable to get hold of someone, then taking a shot of vodka and calling it a day was really on point.
HNMAG: An important element of the film is its portrayal of sex work in Vancouver. It feels very authentic.
Justin Ducharme: From seeing the community in action and studying its history, I know sex workers are going to organize regardless of what’s going on. Everyone else needs to get up to speed. So many decisions about this community are made without consultation. Growth will come from prioritizing safety, acknowledging the realities of demand and normalizing sex work.
HNMAG: The film also screened at TIFF.
Justin Ducharme: We were there, yes. I never imagined this tiny little film would be screened at such a prestigious festival. Submitting is like throwing spaghetti at the wall. You just hope something sticks. TIFF has been very supportive. I participated in TIFF’s Filmmaker Lab and, in 2024, their Every Story Accelerator with the script. I learned so much from those experiences.
HNMAG: What’s next for Seventeen?
Justin Ducharme: We have theatrical distribution in Canada. We’ll be releasing with Vortex Media.
HNMAG: What will you be working on next?
Justin Ducharme: I have a very funny and talented friend. She’s also a performance artist and a poet. We want to make a really stupid mockumentary. I grew up in a small town, and they would have pageants like Miss Manitoba Métis or Miss Saskatoonberry. I love the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous. I’d really love a Native version of that. There are so many amazing Indigenous actresses and comedians. We could really make that work.
HNMAG: What’s a fun extra that audiences should look for from Seventeen?
Nizhonniya Austin: Performing-wise, one of my songs is in the movie.
HNMAG: That’s terrific. You’ve been so modest about being a singer.
Justin Ducharme: I loved your answer earlier, though. Primarily, you’re an artist.
Nizhonniya Austin: I just usually don’t know where to begin. I do a lot of things.
Justin Ducharme: I came to know her music through Instagram. I actually hadn’t put the song in the movie initially. My editor was listening to her album and had really fallen in love with it.
HNMAG: What’s the song?
Nizhonniya Austin: It’s called “Crooked Teeth.” It’s in the scene where they’re driving, and I’m in the back seat of the car.
HNMAG: On the way home from Surrey.
Justin Ducharme: I used a lot of music from Indigenous artists. I wanted the film to reflect the feel of the community and what we were going for.
Aalayna: I’m working on a short film, and hopefully I’ll have something to do with the soundtrack. That’s coming in the new year.
Seventeen is an engaging, well-directed drama set in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, offering a fresh and authentic perspective on Indigenous lives and sex work. Justin Ducharme approaches the material with evident care and passion. Aalayna brings a vibrant screen presence and emotional depth to her performance, while Nizhonniya Austin is a natural talent whose screen career is already gaining momentum.