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.
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.
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
——————
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
-
About the NFB
For more than 80 years, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has produced, distributed and preserved those stories, which now form a vast audiovisual collection—an important part of our cultural heritage that represents all Canadians.
To tell these stories, the NFB works with filmmakers of all ages and backgrounds, from across the country. It harnesses their creativity to produce relevant and groundbreaking content for curious, engaged and diverse audiences. The NFB also collaborates with industry experts to foster innovation in every aspect of storytelling, from formats to distribution models.
Every year, another 50 or so powerful new animated and documentary films are added to the NFB’s extensive collection of more than 14,000 titles, half of which are available to watch for free on nfb.ca.
Through its mandate, its stature and its productions, the NFB contributes to Canada’s cultural identity and is helping to build the Canada of tomorrow.
-
About POV Spark
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.