The 9th annual Forest City Film Festival (October 19-27) in London, Ontario, is set to showcase a powerful new voice in Canadian cinema: Rebeccah Love. This Toronto-based filmmaker, writer, and community organizer brings her debut feature film, “Fortescue,” to the festival, a drama exploring the complexities of mental health, female friendships, and societal expectations. With a background in both film production and creative writing, and a commitment to “crew-first” filmmaking, Love’s work promises a unique and insightful cinematic experience. “Fortescue” delves into the protagonist’s struggle with psychosis, a condition Love herself has navigated, offering a raw and honest portrayal rarely seen on screen.
We had the opportunity to chat with Rebecca to learn more…
“Fortescue” tackles the challenging subject of psychosis, drawing from your own experiences. Can you speak to the importance of portraying mental health authentically in film, and how your personal journey informed this portrayal?
Rebecca: My past three films have attempted to depict psychosis – it’s always a bit challenging, as I haven’t experienced this symptom in over 12 years! So the truth, the rich details of psychosis are a bit difficult to replicate, I am only working off of my own first hand experience, which was so long ago. So the depiction in my films is never quite scientific, it’s a bit stylized and built off of faded memories. My actors bring a lot to the table, sometimes drawing on their own experiences of witnessing another person’s psychotic breakdown. I like to give them as much freedom to play and invent and explore. Both Kelsey Falconer and Chelsea Preston put their own spins on their depictions, they are both so dedicated to their craft, leading to extraordinary results!
Psychosis can be expressed a million different ways, my psychosis, as a part of my Bipolar Disorder, always centered around themes. Sometimes I was obsessed with climate apocalypse, in other moments it formed around religious martyrdom. In my illness I believed myself to be a reincarnated Mother Mary, or else a reincarnated version of my great-grandmother from Baltimore, in other moments I deluded myself into thinking I was a nationally celebrated artist. Again, this was all years ago, a very disturbing stretch for me but absolutely fascinating.
In ‘Fortescue’, I continue a motif from my shorts, that is, to compare a psychotic breakdown to theatre. In both psychosis and theatrical acting, a person is existing in a totally other world. In this fictitious world, those undergoing psychosis and actors are emotionally expressive, animated, sometimes even funny. In my own breakdowns I found myself performing within my illness. There is a drama to psychosis that is very rich and weird and exciting, that is some of the energy I am bringing to ‘Fortescue’.
But I cannot turn away from the tragedy of psychosis: many people suffering from the condition end up on the street, in prison, or murdered by authorities because there is such little public conversation about these symptoms. I seek to start conversations about Bipolar, psychosis, mania, suicidality through my art in hopes that these films might open the public’s mind to these illnesses, symptoms and conditions.
This is your first feature length film (congratulations!) after creating several short films. How does this accomplishment feel on the eve of your first world premier?
Rebeccah: I am thrilled. This is a life dream of mine, I’ve been dreaming about this for twenty years. I am grateful to all of my collaborators, donors and community members who have brought me to this moment in time, especially my parents and brother.
“Fortescue” is notable for its “crew-first” filmmaking approach, prioritizing the well-being of the cast and crew. What motivated this approach, and what were some of the key strategies you implemented to ensure a safe and supportive environment on set?
Rebeccah: To be clear, we did not always ace this, but we tried our very best to prioritize the needs of our crew above the narrative or creative vision. Most film projects will prioritize the film itself above the safety and comfort of the crew. The Producers of most films are trying to milk every second, every labourer during production to get the most scenes filmed in the shortest period of time. This can lead to 12-14 hour days, gross food, and in some cases, crew members die on set due to exhaustion, prop weapons or unsafe working conditions.
In our project, we prioritized the health and safety of our crew in a few ways. First, no shooting day went over 8 hours. All cast and crew were given enough time to sleep. We made best efforts to feed our crew delicious and nutritious meals. No driver was driving around underslept. We hired a conflict resolution consultant, a psychotherapist and an intimacy/fight choreographer to give insights into the creation of an emotionally, physically and spiritually safe working environment. Many of our team members lived with complex physical and mental health illnesses, limitations and challenges. We made best efforts to accommodate their needs within our incredibly limited budget.
In the end a crew will do a better job if they feel cared for on set.
Your film features a crew with members experiencing chronic illness and disabilities. How did this impact the production process, and what message do you hope this sends to the film industry about inclusivity and accessibility?
Rebeccah: Despite our very limited budget and tight schedule, the accommodation of all physical and mental health related requests did not interfere with our production process, we even finished our shoot a day early. Again, we weren’t always perfect on the accommodations front, but we put a lot of effort into prioritizing this aspect of production, we tried our very best. Producer Tara Natalia and Associate Producers Alex Hanson and Eli Meadow-Ramraj are really to be credited for the enormous efforts they put into navigating these questions.
If we can do this on a $180 000 budget, I hope that other production companies can start to see the benefits of a disability-inclusive set.
What are your hopes for the audience’s takeaway after watching “Fortescue,” particularly for women who may be grappling with similar challenges?
Rebeccah: ‘Fortescue’ is a movie about love. Love can come in so many different forms, to anybody out there who might be struggling with mental health challenges or any kind of challenges really, remember that there are a million different ways to love and feel loved!
Fortescue makes its world premiere Thursday, October 24 at The Wolfe Performance Hall, in London, ON a part of the Forest City Film Festival. More details and tickets can be found here.