Director and Producer Jason Brennan is a proud member of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg. Born to an Algonquin father and a Quebecer mother, Jason was fortunate to see the best of both worlds and heritages. His journey into the world of television production began in 2002, holding different production positions in Ottawa and Montreal. His horror feature film ‘ L’inhumain’ will be making its English Canada premiere this month on all major VOD platforms. We caught up with him to discuss the project and more!
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Please tell us more about your early experiences in the industry and how they shaped the direction of your career.
I’ve been in the business for about 20 years now but basically, I started off as a production assistant for a small TV show that featured a French tourist visiting different Indigenous communities in Quebec. Back then there was only a handful of professionals working in the industry and, to be honest, I don’t think there were that many directors or producers in Quebec. To be honest, I was hired to fill quotas, but I got a chance to dive into a gig and really be involved because I became the “Indigenous reference.” Soon after, another project came along and this time I had more responsibilities and I got to be more of a unit manager, but I was the only Indigenous crew on the show.
I think even back then I wondered why we weren’t telling our own stories and why other people were doing it for us. I was seeing all these shows on all these different topics that featured Indigenous angles yet didn’t really relate at all to the Indigenous experience. It was a bit of a made-up version or presented a lot of stereotypes.
Eventually, I went from being a production assistant to becoming a production manager, then a director and writer. But I was always working for someone else. Finally, I decided to take a leap and started my own company. That’s how I finally become a producer and although I was producing, I was always writing and directing some episodes of our productions, it was the best of both worlds. I went on the produce a few films and this allowed me to see how a feature film came together and I carried that experience till I was ready to make my first directorial debut which is “L’Inhumain”.
Who are your industry influences?
In terms of influences, I think there are too many to name. To be honest, I’m influenced more by different types of shows and what people have accomplished but I am also influenced by small scenes in films or on TV shows. I think I just remain a big fan of popular TV and films in general. I’m a sucker for a good sci-fi series or smart genre films. I’m a big fan of films like “Vanilla Sky”, “The Game”, and “Flatliners” because I love the “mind f*#!” aspect to them. At the same time, I’m also a big fan of Game of Thrones, Yellowstone, and other popular titles because of the storytelling piece and how they’ve created something that carried over different seasons. And of course, I’m a fan of many of my fellow Indigenous directors and writers for what they’ve been able to accomplish. I’m just a fan of good work in our industry.
For readers unfamiliar with Canada, please tell us more about Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg
It’s a small community about an hour and a half north of Ottawa. It shares its borders with the town of Milwaukee. It’s a place where the Anishnaabeg and a mainly French-speaking non-indigenous population co-exist. I think my own vision of KZ is somewhat locked in time because when I think of KZ I still recall the way it was many years ago. Growing up I spent a lot of my summers there, so I remember a lot of good memories of having fun and being carefree.
Your horror feature film L’Inhumain is now available on demand. Please tell us about what audiences can expect.
Basically, my film is about a very successful Indigenous neurosurgeon by the name of Mathieu who has had to leave his community at a young age because of school. After many years, Matt has somewhat rebuilt his life away from the community. Although he’s got a great family and a successful job, he’s still trying to fill the void left by having left behind his culture, his roots, and his family. In attempts to fill this void, he’s giving in to many different vices and the slippery slope has led him to fall prey to the Wendigo.
Your company Nish Media supports and encourages an Indigenous workforce within the industry. The same can be said for the production of L’Inhumain, which was partly filmed in Anishinaabeg Territory. Please tell us more about Nish Media, the production crew, and collaboration with the local communities.
Well, I think we’ve always been able to try and hire as many indigenous crews and work with communities in the past 15 years. Our first show, which was a hockey show, allowed us to travel to different communities to recruit the top players and this was always done with help from the communities. Over the years, we were able to develop some talent, who we still work with to this day. Ask any Indigenous producer, they will tell you that it’s part of the game and part of our social responsibility.
For L’Inhumain, it was an honor to go back home to film half of the story. This is the story as I know it from the perspective of my community, so it was very important for me to shoot there. Shooting in Kitigan-Zibi is something we love, and we recently shot our TV series there as well. It’s become our little Indigenous Hollywood, people from the community have been involved and have gained experience.
What other projects are you currently working on?
2022 was a really busy year for us at Nish. L’Inhumain was officially released and I also produced the first French Indigenous TV series for Radio-Canada. I also got to direct a really nice heritage minute on Tom Longboat. Lastly, we released a French version of the hit documentary “First Contact”.
We are now gearing up for a new series that will air in the fall called “PULSE”. It’s a beautiful series that profiles some of the top Indigenous dancers in Canada and we’re super excited about it.
Where can our readers find out more about you and your projects?
You can find all of our work on our website at “nishmedia.tv” or Follow us on our Facebook page.
images: Mathieu dans la voiture..
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