Welcome to the The Hot Seat.
Every month we will feature a filmmaker who is redefining West Coast filmmaking. It's time we start shining that ever elusive spotlight onto those in our community who are at the forefront of the BC Indie Revolution.
Each featured filmmaker will answer the same 10 questions, giving insight into their minds, inspirations, aspirations and dreams. The first five questions are rapid fire. Quick. Juicy. Intriguing. The last 5 are more profound, insightful, all about filmmaking.
This month, we're chatting with the powerhouse creative force Janessa St. Pierre to brave the Hot Seat. Let's dive in!
Janessa St. Pierre is an acclaimed Black filmmaker and Concordia University alumna with a diploma in Motion Picture Arts from Capilano University. Since her industry debut in 2017, St. Pierre has served in various roles, including Production Designer and Assistant to Director, contributing to notable projects and commercials, as of recently working as a showrunner’s assistant on Yellowjackets (Season 3) and the Legally Blonde Prequel Series ELLE.
Her storytelling prowess emerged with Think Again, which won Best Short at the IGen Youth Festival in Miami. Her directorial work on the short film Hair or No Hair garnered the Spirit Award at the Chilliwack Independent Film Festival and the 'Best of BC' title at GEMSFest, with additional accolades from the Micheaux Film Festival and LA Shorts Festival (Best Actress Awards). Selected for the VIFF catalyst mentorship program in 2023, St. Pierre continues to be a dynamic voice in cinema, celebrated for her engaging narratives and commitment to the craft.
Currently going into official prep in her Telefilm Talent to Watch funded feature based on her short, Hair or No Hair.
Photo by Brian Van Wyk at the Filmable Portrait Studio
1. What is the first film you can remember having an effect on you?
Maybe Romeo & Juliet (1997) It was something I randomly put on in my Grandma’s TV room at a christmas dinner or something purely based on the DVD cover and the crush I had on Leonardo Dicaprio. I was 6, maybe 7 and didn’t understand a lick of what they were saying or talking about but I remember being entranced by the story, visuals and performances. That goddamn fish tank scene I begged to watch over and over. It got me in my feels!
2. If you could work with one filmmaker, dead or alive, who would it be?
I would love to have the opportunity to work with Ava Duvernay one day.
3. If you could remake any film, what would it be and what would you change?
I love Aquamarine (2006) - Kinda random but what can I say, I love mermaids and folklore and it would be a dream to be able to re-make that for these times. I would probably just switch up the story so it’s not based in Florida and maybe rooted more in the folklore conventions I know from the Caribbean.
4. What is your biggest passion outside of being a creator?
I have so many passions as a stereotypical sagittarius, I’m passionate about knowledge sharing, dancing, authentic creativity, travelling, my friends, my family. Speaking up for what’s right and trying to make a tiny difference in whatever way I can. Also, I’ve recently become very passionate about Sonny Angels. They’re so darn cute.
5. What are you working on now?
BTS of Hair or No Hair (2023)
I’m currently in Prep and Pre-Production for my Talent to Watch feature Hair or No Hair based on my short film.
6. Creatively, what inspires you to continue your journey in filmmaking?
I’d always like to see more authentic representation and diverse people in front and behind the camera. I truly think that motivates me to keep going because I want to create the stories I wish I had growing up, Hell! Now, even. I’ve always believed film can help change perspectives and open hearts and minds for the better and I think thinking up new ways to even tell stories.
7. Who are your frequent collaborators and what do they bring to your projects?
I wouldn’t say I have a group of collaborators that are frequent, I’d say that’s something I actually struggle with in a city like Vancouver. But my long time friend who I knew before we ever worked on anything together is Coline Debray. She was an editor at Cycle Media but recently moved back to France (she is still freelancing and travels back & forth) I met her through dance classes we both took and I think having that connection and relationship before we worked together really solidified something special. We work so calmly and great together and I remember Post with my short film being so smooth all thanks to her.
8. What is the most rewarding part about being a BC creator? What is the most challenging?
I’d say maybe our robust resources that are available in the city. It’s a close-knit community that are independent and trying to make stuff so people genuinely want to help each other out. On the other hand, BC is expensive, Vancouver especially and it’s hard to live, so it’s hard to ask people to work for less than what is liveable here. It’s hard to ask that of folks with the little time people may have outside of what pays the bills.
9. As a filmmaker, how do you measure success?
Still from Hair or No Hair (2023)
I don’t think I know yet, personally, honestly. Just getting to create something and have that be of interest and care means something to me.
10. Tell us about a time you failed and how it helped you.
I mean I don’t really get hopes up for anything anymore. Many of the applications were sent with rejections back for Hair or No Hair and I just kept going. Sometimes I would just use the date as a deadline to avoid procrastination to take the pressure of “What if I don’t”. I think failing is part of what it means to be a filmmaker so it’s something you have to be familiar with, maybe even friends with?