Sedna, Empress of the Sea gives new life to an Indigenous legend at R2R Film Festival
Jerry Thevenet’s animated feature introduces young audiences to residential schools
Sedna, Empress of the Sea.
R2R Film Festival 2023 presents Sedna, Empress of the Sea on March 28 at 6 pm and April 1 at 2 pm at VIFF Centre
DREAMY COLOURS, DISNEY-like drama, and melodic songs: Sedna, Empress of the Sea is an animated feature that centres on a young Inuit girl who finds herself at the bottom of the ocean after being snatched away from her father by a wicked raven. Transformed as a mermaid, she becomes the ruler of the underwater world, encountering all sorts of characters as she navigates her way back to her life above the surface. There’s much more to the cinematic tale than captivating visuals and a compelling storyline, however. Indigenous writer, director, and producer Jerry Thevenet made the film to introduce children and their families to the concept of residential schools.
Born in NunatuKavut (Labrador) of European and Inuk descent, Thevenet is the founder of Jerryco Animation, North America’s first Indigenous-owned and -operated animation studio. All of his productions feature indigenous characters, settings, and languages.
Sedna, Empress of the Sea—which will have its Canadian premiere at the 25th anniversary of the Reel to Real International Film Festival for Youth—is inspired by a story his grandmother told him when he lived with her in the 1960s as a young boy, a time when he spent Saturday mornings watching cartoons. She was a residential-school survivor. The only escape that kids like her had in those oppressive institutions came at night. Locked in their dorm rooms, children would gather together in the darkness to tell each other stories using puppets made of scraps and pieces of string. One of the inspirational tales she shared with him was the traditional Nunangat legend, “Sedna, Empress of the Sea”.
Jerry Thevenet.
“My grandmother passed away some time ago,” Thevenet shares with Stir. “She was a remarkable woman. She lived to be almost 100. She was a successful seamstress and business owner. She made fur coats, mukluks, and felt coats….Both of my grandmothers were excellent storytellers. They could scare you or make you laugh at will.
“When my grandmother first told me the story of Sedna, I couldn’t help but imagine her as a Disney character in one of the films I loved to watch while growing up,” he says. “So when I was looking for a way of introducing the subject of residential schools to young children, I thought it was the perfect vessel. It was a vivid, warm-hearted and cheerful tale featuring a powerful Indigenous female character, perfect for introducing a very sensitive subject to young children.”
Sedna, The Empress of the Sea isn’t meant to be a direct retelling of the traditional Inuit story nor is it intended as an accurate depiction of Inuit traditions, people, and culture, Thevenet is quick to note. Rather, he takes liberties based on his memories. Unlike in the film, for instance, Inuit girls don’t have face tattoos; the muktuk (whale blubber) that the little boy in the movie turns his nose up at is in fact delicious. And Inuit people don’t rub their noses together when they kiss. In the film, Sedna rubs noses with a beloved talking caribou; Thevenet included the scene because this is what he and his grandmother used to do before he drifted off to sleep.
To understand Sedna’s visual style, it’s important to recognize the context in which the story is unfolding. The film isn’t really about Sedna.
“The film is actually about a young Indigenous girl in a residential school at night telling a group of younger girls a story in order to help them escape the hardships of life at the institution,” Thevenet says. “And although she tries her best, the reality of the life they are living keeps slipping through.
“We therefore tried to create a bright, cheerful, almost Disney-esque film, but at the same time a look and feel that is slightly off balance,” Thevenet says. “The scenes are awkwardly framed; the characters, settings, and props unsettling. We achieved this by using Toon Boom’s 2D animation software Harmony combined with original music and visual effects, lighting, colour saturation, and transitions by multi-media artist Paul Baraka, who somehow managed to bring the whole thing together.”
Sedna features an original score and sound design inspired by Disney classics composed by Baraka, who also acts as F/X supervisor. The film has themes of inclusion and diversity, with one of the mermaid’s new pals being an exuberant Two Spirit character.
Thevenet’s desire to create the film goes back to when he first started out in animation several years ago and attended a film festival in Moose Factory, Ontario. One of the features he remembers seeing was a documentary about a group of young Indigenous girls living up north.
“They were so vibrant and alive, beautiful, intelligent, full of hope, and promise,” Thevenet says. “At the end of the film, I was devastated to discover that two of them had committed suicide. It broke my heart.
“I am not a very good public speaker, politician, or even advocate, but I am an impassioned storyteller,” he continues. “I couldn’t do anything to help these kids, but maybe I could have a positive impact on their siblings. All kids need positive role models, Indigenous kids especially. I decided I would dedicate my career to creating as many as I could. To date I think I’ve created about 200 of them. I think this film does a good job in providing a positive Indigenous role model and introducing Canadian children to the concept of residential schools. Hopefully the film will create dialogue between young children and their parents, teachers, and guardians about this dark period in Canadian history and its impact on Indigenous people.”
Thevenet’s interest in animation can be traced back to his early years. He loved to draw; he says it felt like it was the only thing that he was really good at. One day, his older brother drew a picture of a stickman in the corner of a paperback, and when he flipped through the pages, the character seemed to come to life.
“It was magic,” Thevenet recalls. “At school I would spend most of my time staining the corners of my text books with funny little characters to amuse my classmates with.
“In the ’60s we only had a couple of television stations,” he explains. “I lived for Saturday morning cartoons like Birdman, Rocket Robin Hood, and Spiderman. And once a week, my siblings and I would gather around the television and watch some old classic film or animated feature on The Wonderful World of Disney. My favourites were the classically animated features Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. They were so vibrant and colourful. The music, themes, characters and storylines warmed my heart and stimulated my imagination. One day I would do the same. I would eventually go on to study fine arts and graphic design in University and after a couple of decades of working as a visual artist, eventually started my own animation studio.
Through his work, Thevenet is keeping Indigenous culture at the forefront of people’s minds and imaginations, a contrast to so much of what occupies news feeds and social media.
“People are overwhelmed with stories of wars, pandemics, environmental catastrophes, and social upheaval,” Thevenet says. “They are losing perspective and empathy for one another's hardships. I hope the film will find a way of keeping the story of residential schools alive and in our thoughts and prayers.”
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