Happy National Canadian Film Day, April 17!

TIFF Winner! Vancouver actress turned filmmaker Meredith Hama-Brown makes her feature directorial debut in the ’90s B.C-set relationship drama Seagrass. Her film quietly explores personal dissatisfaction through two interracial couples who meet at a couples therapy retreat on Gabriola Island. It stars Ally Maki and Luke Roberts as Judith and Steve, a seemingly happy couple on the surface, with two precocious young daughters, who are mostly left to their own devices as their parents try to make a last-ditch attempt to save their crumbling marriage through group counselling. Chris Pang and Sarah Gadon co-star as the another couple, childless and more well-adjusted in appearance, who bring a stark contrast to Judith’s family unit. Through the vacation setting and idyllic surroundings, Judith realizes how much she’s lost touch with her own heritage and identity after the loss of her mother. Hama-Brown deftly exposes the cracks in any perfect-looking family through the lens of childhood. Shot on film, Seagrass has a fresh take on its generational family drama..–Rick Chung Movies