Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

NSI alumna Molly McGlynn: exploring creative ideas in a nonjudgmental, supportive environment was a very special experience

Posted: 09 Dec 2019 12:23 PM PST

At the National Screen Institute, we’re blessed to see firsthand the difference training makes in the lives of storytellers. On our website throughout December we’re sharing impact stories from many of our talented alumni who’ve told us how NSI training transformed their lives and careers.

Today’s featured alumna is writer/director Molly McGlynn who, in 2014, made Given Your History through NSI Drama Prize with producer Laura Perlmutter.

Molly is an award-winning writer and director of film and television based in Los Angeles and Toronto. Her short films have screened at dozens of film festivals and won multiple awards. Her first feature film, Mary Goes Round, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017. She directed all 10 episodes of the award-winning, International Emmy-nominated short form series How To Buy a Baby. Television credits include Workin’ Moms (Netflix/CBC), Little Dog (CBC), Bad Blood (Netflix), Speechless (ABC) and Grownish (Freeform).

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How did your training through NSI help you get to the place you’re at in your career today?

NSI was one of the first major steps to launching my career. I really needed the support of something or someone to say that they believe in me. Thankfully, they did!

What was most memorable or helpful about NSI training?

The people I met. I’m still very close to many of the other filmmakers [from my year]. Additionally, having the time and space to explore your creative ideas in a nonjudgmental, supportive environment was a very special experience.

Did you make enduring connections with peers and industry folks?

Yes! Making meaningful connections with other filmmakers is crucial. These relationships become your lifeline when the industry inevitably gets tough.

Have you continued to work with any of those people?

Not directly as I moved to LA, but would in a heartbeat when I’m back in Canada.

What advice or encouragement would you give a prospective applicant considering NSI programs?

Don’t consider; just do. And do again and again and again. That being said, have someone copy edit your application and get feedback on your script. You always want to make the best first impression because, even if you don’t get in, you will likely be remembered.

What has your career trajectory looked like between when you completed training and now?

I continued on to the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), made a feature film (Mary Goes Round), started directing television and moved to LA last year.

I’m currently a producing director on ABC/Hulu’s Bless This Mess created by Liz Meriwether and Lake Bell.

I’m also trying to get the ball rolling on a second feature, and pitching my own television series. Not a lot of downtime, but trying to roll with it with as much humour and grace as I can.

What was the most transformative part of your learning experience?

The biggest thing I’ve learned in the past few years is that you can never get too comfortable. Once you think you know something or you get into a groove, everything changes and you need to re-calibrate. The ability to be flexible and resilient is crucial. Also, if you don’t take time to take care of yourself and your spirit, you will crash and it won’t be pretty. Boundaries are your friend.

Where can people find out more about your work online?

My website or Twitter.

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Keep the story going and donate today

At NSI, we’re passionate about nurturing storytellers because stories connect us all.

Now we’re in the giving season, please consider a donation to support our students as part of your charitable giving. Big or small, your gift will provide value-added essentials that make their training experience really special.

For as little as $10, you can help fund an item from the NSI Gift Guide. Things like a weekly bus pass, the cost of hiring a van for a student trip, food for a traditional feast or help hiring a mentor are all ways you can help.

Tax receipts are issued for all gifts. Thank you for considering a donation.

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Yakonnhéhkwen (It Sustains Her)

Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:36 AM PST

One woman’s journey from the depression that brought her to the brink of suicide, to the realization of her value as an Onkwehonwe woman and artist.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Candace Maracle

Filmmaker’s statement

Two years ago, while I was mid-production of my film Yakonnhéhkwen (It Sustains Her), a student I was teaching in Six Nations, Ontario committed suicide. Touched by this event, it informed the narrative of Yakonnhéhkwen placing a stronger focus on mental health and suicide. I wanted to create space to engage this discourse and empower viewers who have resonance with my main character’s story because suicide is such an epidemic on First Nation’s territories.

Yakonnhéhkwen is a Kenyen’kéha word meaning ‘it sustains her.’ Ann found healing in the rare traditional Iroquoian art form of black ash basketry. She also became keenly aware that her ancestors were there to show her the way.

This is a short film about the depression that brought her to brink of suicide and her journey home, back to her culture and learning to truly value herself as an Onkwehonwe woman and artist.

About Candace Maracle

I am Wolf Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. An award-winning filmmaker and journalist, I graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from Ryerson University.

My work as a journalist includes reporting for APTN’s National News and producing for CBC Radio’s The Current and As It Happens, and two feature-length documentaries and one short.

My first documentary, The Creator’s Game: The Quest for Gold and the Fight for Nationhood, addresses the issue of Indigenous sovereignty through the game of lacrosse and was broadcast in the US and on Australian television. My second documentary, The Grandfather of All Treaties, premiered at the 2015 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival to a sold-out audience. Both are part of Indigenous education curriculum across the country in universities and other institutions.

I am currently studying Kenienké’ha, my native tongue and also an endangered language, so I can include it in my work. My background as an Indigenous woman and journalist is prominently featured in my work bridging Onkwehonwe tradition and language with contemporary issues that affect all Canadians.

I got into documentary filmmaking because I preferred the longer form media in which to tackle Indigenous issues and tell our stories in a more comprehensive way than five-minute news pieces could proffer. I felt it was my duty as a Kanyen’kehá:ka woman to tell a better story. The distorted versions of our stories often told in mainstream media provoke aggression over insight.

It’s a journalist’s job to speak truth to power. In telling these stories we not only have the capacity to inform but also to influence the way those stories are interpreted by the rest of Canada. It is also my intention to inspire my peoples through storytelling while educating the rest of Canada.

My life’s work has been to gather information and stories from our Knowledge and Faith Keepers so I can learn them and share and preserve them through film. The themes in my work are anchored by a current event which makes my work relevant for all of Canada.

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