Eden Robinson

Loretta Todd’s MONKEY BEACH: SLO FILM FEST 2021 INTERVIEWS: taking the novel to the screen and what it meant to the indigenous cast and crew members

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, we talk about the challenges of adapting a popular novel and finding the Zen of accepting the thanklessness of that effort. Todd also discusses the importance of shooting the film in the village where the book’s story was set and what that meant to the production costs, etc. We also talk about the amazing cast of indigenous actors and the rarity of having so many get to come together for a project like this and her efforts to create a safe place for them to bring those characters to life.

Loretta Todd’s MONKEY BEACH: SLO Film Fest 2021 Review; indigenous story and spirituality like you rarely see

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Adapted from the award-winning first novel by Eden Robinson, Monkey Beach is a family drama full of literary devices that might arguably work better on the page, like flashbacks in multiple time periods, ghosts, and magical spirits. Having to literalize such things on a non-studio budget must be challenging, and some effects feel just like effects. However, this helps to anchor the story in the real world, where fancier CG creations might have thrust it into fantasy. It might be more accurate to call this a faith-based film, except that unlike in most movies thusly described, the faith in question is not Christian, but Haisla spirituality.