Influenced by watching his mom when he was a child, Greyhorse explains how his ancestors played a huge role in not just his vision behind the film, but the actual film itself. His grandmother provided the film’s Diné Bizaad voice-over narration, and other family members constantly brought him inspiration throughout the creative process.
“My mom always taught me to never dwell in the negative and always focus on what you can change and do for yourself to get out of whatever you’re going through because that’s the only thing you can control. So I began to think about who I am and all my ancestors that came before me and the people who raised me and loved me. It was the matriarchal figures in my life — my grandma, my mom, my aunties — they truly had the key to what sacrifice and resilience was in my family and what it looked like. I always admired the way they all carried themselves and were always able to provide home and the foundation of home. That was the center of this film.”
“I watched my mom navigate the world and the obstacles with so much strength and confidence,” Greyhorse continues. “And I know that that carries over to my voice and film and what intrigues me about being human, being Indigenous, being Polynesian, and the culture that affects the decisions that we make in order to keep moving forward. It’s why I’m drawn to storytelling, because storytelling is power, and sometimes it’s a power that you can’t put into words.”
The decision to use the Indigenous language Diné Bizaad for the narration was a meaningful one for Greyhorse. And having his grandmother narrate the poem just felt right.
“I’m drawn to stories that challenge me — this being one of them — stories that feel very close to home, pun intended,” he laughs. “I felt like the wisdom in her voice would carry a message far beyond just the visuals and what I had written already. I wanted her to have her moment where there was sort of this reverence of the audience to hear her speak and hear the elegance and history and beauty within our language.”
When asked what he hopes the audience will take away from his film, he explains, “I want the audience to feel the love, inspiration, growth, and empowerment that went into this film. It was just for me,” Greyhorse continues. “It was something very personal to me that I could look at and be reminded of why I’m doing this. I used it to calm my mind at a time of turmoil and take away self-doubt and reinspire me, and I hope that message comes across to audiences when they watch the film.”
For Fox Maxy, inspiration came from multiple sources — both good and bad. Her debut feature-length film, Gush, which had its premiere in the New Frontier section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, was partially inspired by Maxy’s pain. But that pain ultimately led to her finding joy as an artist and a filmmaker.
Maxy explains that making the film involved a lot of “trying to feel joy after so many long periods of pain.” She was especially inspired by the concept of transmutation. “There’s something in the filmmaking process for me — it comes from something ugly, it comes from something horrific, it comes from survival, being a woman but also being in a world with men and finding a balance and a respect between the two … after a time period of disrespect.”
