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Love Is the First Sacred Lesson

Jess Murwin
2021 | 6 min 50 s
Short Documentary
English

Premieres March 19, 2021 on Instagram @otherlyseries.

Queerness, Indigeneity, reconnection and love are only some of the themes explored in Love Is the First Sacred Lesson, a first-person documentary. Triggered by their grandmother’s death, Jess Murwin returns home in search of answers. In this highly personal film, they explore their queerness and connection to Mi’kmaq identity, delving into these questions using a creative blend of mixed-media techniques.

This film is part of Otherly, a series of seven short documentaries about belonging, premiering on Instagram Stories.


One-Liner

Love Is the First Sacred Lesson is a first-person documentary that follows the filmmaker’s journey to connect and reconcile the different parts of their identity: queer, trans, Mi’kmaw. An existential road trip back to the East Coast.



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Team


Jess Murwin
Director

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David Oppenheim
Producer

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Kate Vollum
Associate Producer

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Anita Lee
Executive Producer

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Credits

Written and Directed by
Jess Murwin

Produced by
David Oppenheim

Executive Producer
Anita Lee

Associate Producer
Kate Vollum

Director of Photography
Jess Murwin

Sound Recordist
Jess Murwin/Charly Gilpin

Editor
Jess Murwin

Sound Designer
Amanda Ann-Min Wong

Additional Editing
Karina Garcia Casanova

Featuring
Kennlin Barlow
Lenita Denny
Duane Isaac
Paige Isaac
Misiksk Jadis
Isaac Jeddore-Gould
Dante Joe-Pierro
Geordy Marshall
Jennifer Murrin
Tyler Patterson
Margaret Robinson
John R Sylliboy
Rosie Sylliboy
Stephanie Vautour
Rowan White

Production Coordinators
Katie Murray
Frances Nyarko-Mensah

Manager, Studio Operations
Mark Wilson

Production Supervisor
Marcus Matyas

Technical Coordinator
Kevin Riley

Studio Administrator
Patricia Bourgeois
Andrew Martin-Smith

Program Mentors
Sisa Bueno
Lauren Hutchinson
Roslyn Kalloo
Sarah Rothberg
Kerri Sakamotto
Ziv Schneider
Pat Shiu

Program Production Assistant
Rand Jitan

Post Sound & Picture
SIM Toronto

Online editor
Darren Hinchy

Colourist
Arlene Moelker

Finishing Producer
Mateusz Sklarzyk

Re-recording Mixer
James Bastable

Assistant Re-recording mixer
Will Stephens

Project Coordinator
Louise Finn

Head of Operations
Alex Aslund

General Manager
Peter Gibson

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Publicist
Jennifer Mair

Marketing Managers
Gabrielle Harvey
Laurianne Désormiers

Marketing Coordinator
Eric Bondo

Social Media Strategist
Hannah Martin

Legal Counsel
Peter Kallianiotis

Otherly Title Design
Yazmin Monet

“Honour Song”
Written & Performed by Jeremy Dutcher
Courtesy of Jeremy Dutcher


Press Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.

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    The interactive arm of the iconic PBS series, POV Spark creates and advances experiential forms of storytelling, programming, and distribution, redefining US public media to be more inclusive of emerging technologies and interactive makers. POV films and projects have won 42 Emmy Awards, 25 George Foster Peabody Awards, 14 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. POV is a production of American Documentary (AmDoc), a national non-profit media arts organization that strives to make essential documentaries accessible as a catalyst for public discourse. AmDoc collaborates with passionate filmmakers to amplify their voices, and to nurture the nonfiction community. Learn more at pbs.org/pov, access POV Spark projects, and follow @povdocs on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.