Lyle Mitchell began writing his first film, wild indian, when he was between 24 and 25 years old. It took him seven years and 20 drafts to write a story that follows two Native American men who come together to deal with the trauma left by the murder of one of their classmates when they were children.
“The journey to tell this story began when I felt disconnected from my roots,” the director said after the film's online premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. “I started writing about the feelings I had, about the disconnection I felt with my family and with my own community.
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Gray-eyed Michael (Fear the walking dead And Home before dark), who comes from a family of Indigenous Canadians, spoke about the representation that the film offers to these communities.
“I agree that depicting an indigenous man in this way is really strange. And I think we realized that this was an opportunity for the audience to see the complexity of our stories, of our men, as we grapple with other issues.
The actor, who plays a high society man who returns to his origins to confront his past, felt that this film allows indigenous communities to tell their own stories.
“For a long time, Hollywood showed us grotesque things. And this time, with the work of Lyle and the actors, I felt safe to tell this portrait, to recontextualize it on our terms and show these types of stories. I think it's something very necessary as a 21st century actor.
Jesse Eisenberg, who in addition to participating as an actor was one of the executive producers, said he joined the film following the mystery of the story and discovering a different perspective on indigenous cultures.
“I've never read anything like this before. I think Lyle wrote something about a culture that we don't know much about. But the film transcends the goal of inclusion and showcasing other cultures because it is well directed and the story is very powerful,” said the Oscar nominee for his work in The social network.
wild indian participates in the American Drama section of the Sundance Film Festival. The film, not yet released, features Chatke Spencer, Kate Bosworth, Phoenix Wilson and Julian Gopal in the cast.
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