Having decamped to a Gabriola Island couples’ retreat in a last-ditch attempt to save their crumbling marriage, preoccupied Judith (Ally Maki) and Steve (Luke Roberts) leave their young daughters to their own devices. In turn, 11-year-old Stephanie (Nyha Breitkreuz) quickly ditches six-year-old Emmy (Remy Marthaller) in favour of a pack of unruly teens and their accompanying temptations. Abandoned and adrift, the introverted Emmy grows fixated with an eerie cave and convinced that her late grandmother has been conjured as an unseen ghost.
Drawing from her own childhood experiences, writer-director Meredith Hama-Brown demonstrates a profound talent for eliciting unspeakably nuanced, frequently heartbreaking performances from Breitkreuz and Marthaller. Likewise, she deftly investigates the unique tensions of Judith and Steve’s interracial marriage (including her infatuation with another man). All the while, Norm Li’s highly observant cinematography provides a practically mesmerizing degree of intimacy. A deftly orchestrated, deeply moving portrait of a family at the brink of implosion, Seagrass sees Hama-Brown exude compassion and conviction in an accomplished debut.
September 29 & October 1: Q&A with director Meredith Hama-Brown & crew
Presented by
Series Media Partner
Ally Maki, Luke Roberts, Sarah Gadon, Chris Pang
Canada
2023
Northern Lights
English
At SFU Woodwards
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Norm Li, Sara Blake, Tyler Hagan, Kathleen Hepburn, Meredith Hama-Brown
Producer
Tyler Hagan, Sara Blake
Screenwriter
Meredith Hama-Brown
Cinematography
Norm Li
Editor
Kane Stewart, Shun Ando
Production Design
Louisa Birkin
Director
Meredith Hama-Brown
Meradith Hama-Brown is an actress, producer, and director. She is best known for her short Broke Bunny (2018), which won the Telus Sea to Sky Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. With this short, she also won Best Narrative Film Award at Las Cruces International Film Festival and Best Film Award at the Future of Film Show. In 2020, Brown was selected for the TIFF Filmmaker Lab and was awarded the Canada Goose Fellowship for her first feature film, Seagrass (2023).
Filmography: Seagrass (2023)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Run Terry Run
Through unseen footage from family archives, Run Terry Run explores Terry Fox’s legacy not only as a beloved hero, but as a flesh-and-blood person armed with a fierce determination and an unyielding vision of a better future.
Coward
With the First World War raging, two young Belgian soldiers develop an explosive chemistry while serving in their company’s theatre troupe. Coward is a reminder that transformative moments of tenderness can occur even amid the darkest circumstances.
Rose
Claiming to be the heir to a patch of German farmland, a disfigured soldier ignores the townsfolk’s suspicions, cultivates the land, and takes a wife, all while concealing that they were born a woman. Featuring a mesmerizing Sandra Hüller performance.
The Beloved
When Esteban Martínez, an acclaimed director with violent tendences, invites his estranged daughter to star in his latest project, the stage is set for a familial reconnection. But as tensions flare, questions about his intentions rise to the surface.
The Bryce Lee Story
A 13-year-old immigrant and aspiring filmmaker falsely claims he's related to Bruce Lee in this Vancouver Island-set film. The Bryce Lee Story is a heartfelt coming-of-age tale about identity, family, and the search for belonging.