My Friend Saabe
Short Film Makes World Premiere in New Zealand
By Kris Ketonen
A new short film has gained international attention after its premiere in New Zealand. My Friend Saabe, directed by Morningstar Derosier and Victoria Anderson-Gardner, was filmed in Migisi Sahgaigan (Eagle Lake First Nation), Derosier says, and screened in late March at the Māoriland Film Festival.
“Definitely, there were nerves,” Derosier says. “The screening day, which was on a Saturday at 1:30 pm—it was pretty shocking because it was a full house. [...] I guess I was a little bit nervous for how people were going to receive My Friend Saabe, because it’s really special to me. [...] It’s like a love letter to my community. But the reception was amazing. I don’t think I could have asked for anything better.”
The 15-minute film focuses on 13-year-old Lindy, an Anishinaabe girl living on her reserve, whose best friend is Saabe. “For a little bit of background, Saabe is Bigfoot—Sasquatch—and he is one of our seven grandfather teachers,” Derosier says. The film tells the story of Lindy’s effort to heal her community through small acts of kindness, with Saabe’s encouragement.
Derosier says she got the idea while driving through a forest of pine trees on her way back home to her community. “It was a beautiful, sunny summer day, and just kind of imagining spirits in there,” she says. “That’s kind of where the idea for this film started.” The film then came together through the Creative Sovereignty Lab. “It was just like this really great group of filmmakers and artists,” Derosier says. “We all were, you know, inspired by each other. [...] It started this perfect momentum of just gathering just the right team members for My Friend Saabe.”
A grant from the Indigenous Screen Office allowed the production to bring those team members to Migisi Sahgaigan for five days of shooting in the summer of 2023.
“I’m just really looking forward to bringing it home,” she says. “I’m just working on getting a grant so that it can screen in Thunder Bay and in Eagle Lake, because I really want it to be a special event, like a celebration.”
For more information, visit instagram.com/morningstarderosier_.