Episode 125: Jessie Anthony

Jessie Anthony is the filmmaking force behind Brother, I Cry. The feature film follows Jon, a young First Nations man, as he struggles to overcome addiction and avoid the multiple warrants out on him. Brother, I Cry – which won the Audience Choice award at imagineNATIVE and earned Jessie the award for Best BC Emerging Filmmaker at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival – is a story about family, addiction, and the justice system, and the ways in which people can lose themselves in all three of these competing realities. It’s evocative without being exploitative, honest without being traumatizing, and rich with empathy and heart. In short, Brother, I Cry is a stunning achievement in filmmaking, and doubly so when you consider that it’s Jessie’s first narrative feature. In this compelling and poignant interview, Jessie discusses the dream that led to Brother, I Cry, and where she’d like to take audiences next. Episode sponsor: Storyhive