In her new movie “Seagrass,” Vancouver filmmaker Meredith Hama-Brown explores themes of motherhood, inter-generational trauma, racial identity, and fear.

She also sets the film against the beautiful backdrop of Gabriola Island, which serves as a visual counterpoint to her main character’s journey through grief, both personal and cultural.

“Seagrass” tells the story of a Japanese-Canadian woman who takes her family to a retreat on a fictional B.C. island after the death of her mother. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and has been nominated for and won awards at multiple festivals since.

It draws on Hama-Brown’s own Japanese-Canadian background. “Not even so much my own experiences,” she tells Life on Gabriola TV’s Althea Rasendriya, “but what I know is a common thread for Japanese-Canadians.

“There’s been so much loss of culture and personal family history because the incarceration of Japanese-Canadians in the 1940s really fractured communities to the point where language was lost, because everyone was dispersed throughout the country. And even after the war, no one was allowed to return to their previous communities — they’d been dispossessed — and so that is really what I’m looking at in terms of Japanese-Canadian identity.”

Growing up on Vancouver Island, Hama-Brown had visited nearby Gabriola on occasion, but it was discovering The Haven, a 7-acre “Centre for Transformational Learning” on the island, that made her realize it was the perfect location for filming.

“A year before shooting, myself and the director of photography Norm Lee, we went searching for different natural scenery locations but also retreat areas,” she says. “With the timing of when we wanted to shoot and the natural beauty of Gabriola and Haven, it just was absolutely the right fit.”

Althea also talks with Morag Ruckman, Co-manager of The Haven, about the benefits of the filming for the community. “I think it was great exposure for Gabriola for sure. And even just the west coast and the scenery . . . . I mean it would make anybody want to come and visit the Gulf Islands, so I think from that perspective it was definitely worth doing for the local exposure.”

As for the experience of seeing The Haven up on the big screen? “It was so fun to see -- us knowing behind-the-scenes which buildings and rooms and how they pieced it all together -- because the editing is amazing. So it was just thrilling, really.”

“Seagrass” will be available on iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, YouTube and other online services starting April 2nd. 

Life on Gabriola TV is generously sponsored by:
The Gabriola Arts Council https://artsgabriola.ca
The Haven, Gabriola Island https://haven.ca