TORONTO -- This fall, a distinctly Indigenous story will be hitting theatres -- a feature film 20 years in the making.
That鈥檚 how long it took to bring Eden Robinson鈥檚 award-winning novel, Monkey Beach, to the big screen.
鈥淚'm still stunned that it's in the world, that it's going out there,鈥� Robinson told CTV News. 鈥淚t's just鈥� I really don't have words."
Robinson is a novelist and short story writer from the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations who has been lauded for her writing both in Canada and internationally.
Monkey Beach, which was her first novel, is the story of a young woman struggling with her supernatural abilities in the wake of her brother disappearing at sea.
The trailer begins with an ominous plunge into water, and the voice of the main character:
鈥淐ontacting the dead: lesson one,鈥� she says. 鈥淐oncentrate on nothing and everything at the same time."
The genesis of the story comes from Robinson鈥檚 family.
鈥淭he very first incarnations of Monkey Beach were a series of stories that Mom told me when I was a kid,鈥� she said.
So it鈥檚 fitting that family has helped her interpret the story in the medium of film -- her sister, Carla Robinson, is the executive producer on the film.
This dynamic duo faced many challenges bringing this story to life. At first, no one believed in the project, and turning their home village of Kitamaat, B.C., into a movie set was no small feat. But there was nowhere else the story could鈥檝e been filmed, the sisters say.
鈥淢onkey Beach is a character,鈥� Carla told CTV News. 鈥淭he pacific northwest is a character in the movie, you just can't get a stand in actor for that."
Kitamaat Village of the Haisla people is remote, home to 700 of the 1,700 Haisla members, according to the Haisla Nation鈥檚 website. It鈥檚 an 18-hour drive north from Vancouver. Transporting cast, crew and gear was another hurdle to the filmmaking process.
"It just made it worth all the hard work,鈥� Carla said. 鈥淲ith Loretta and other people who believed in the project for so many years and got told no so many times.
鈥淭o help make it happen, it was pretty magical."
Director Loretta Todd says the film is a story about empowerment.
鈥淚t really is about Indigenous women embracing their medicine,鈥� she told CTV News. 鈥淟isa, the main character, she goes on this journey to truly embrace the power she has within her.鈥�
Monkey Beach is currently touring the festival circuit, recently opening the Vancouver Film Festival. It will be in theatres across Canada soon.
And it鈥檚 not the only Robinson project to hit the screen. The sisters teamed up to turn Eden鈥檚 bestselling coming-of-age novel, Son of a Trickster, into a six-part TV series, which started airing this month.
