Meet the Makers: “The People Garden” Writer, Director, Nadia Litz

Nadia Litz (left) directs Pamela Anderson in “The People Garden”.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: NADIA LITZ
Nadia Litz is an award-winning actress turned filmmaker. She debuted at Cannes in Jeremy Podeswa’s Genie award-winning film ‘The Five Senses’, then she played Sam Shepard’s daughter in 2002’s ‘After the Harvest’ for which she was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Actress. As a filmmaker she directed the short film, ‘How To Rid Your Lover Of A Negative Emotion Caused By You!’ and she wrote and directed the features, ‘Hotel Congress’, and ‘The People Garden’.

ABOUT THE FILM: “THE PEOPLE GARDEN”
When Sweetpea (Dree Hemingway) travels to Japan to break up with her rock-star boyfriend, she discovers he has gone missing in a mysterious forest.

Q: What are the emotions and themes in “The People Garden”?

Nadia: I think the film is romantic and melancholy and foreboding. I think mystery is one of the themes in the film as well as a tone. Also reinvention is a theme. How can we move past things. Can we? And do we? All of the characters in the film are at a certain step of acceptance about their reality. Blindness is a theme.. what we choose to see. What we leave out….

Q: The protagonist, Sweetpea (Dree Hemingway) arrives with a purpose that takes her on an unexpected journey. How did her character emerge and evolve on the page and on the screen?

Nadia: I felt like there was a kind of woman that I wasn’t seeing represented on screen. I wanted a young female character whose motivations weren’t entirely clear. You really have to stick with her to the very end in order to learn about her.

Q: Mak (Jai West), as the youngest forest-man, begins as an enigma who is revealed through his encounter with Sweetpea. Help us understand his character.

Nadia: Mak acts as a bit of a bridge between the Management Men (forest rangers) and the US film crew. He doesn’t belong where he is. Sweetpea doesn’t belong where she is in her life. There are a lot of clues in the film as to why Mak is in the forest. Some people have had to watch the film more than once to see them. But they are there!

Q: We must also ask about Signe (Pamela Anderson). Her avoidance of and eventual confrontation with Sweetpea propels Sweetpea to a new level. Help us understand Signe’s character.

Nadia: Yes Signe helps Sweetpea learn for sure… that is very true. Signe represents a dead end. Someone who was suppose to be a scapegoat or an antagonist. But her involvement to the real mystery is but a piece. It is ultimately irrelevant information. I also see Signe as someone Sweetpea could end up becoming. Signe is an option for how Sweetpea could live her life. But Sweetpea might want something else for her life…. Or maybe not! You have to see the film!

Q: “The People Garden” has been described as ambiguous by some observers but it could also be described as stylish, intricate, and subtle. As the filmmaker, how do you describe it?

Nadia: I think it is all of those things. Hopefully our ambiguity is earned. I think it is. Meaning that rewatching the film brings new clues to light. We don’t solve every mystery overtly but I promise you there are answers in the film. It is not obtuse. We developed it for 5 years and I tried to delicately balance what was mysterious vs what answers are given. Film should engage with an audience. It should not tell you what you are seeing, it should build enough elements: plot, visual language, music, setting, actors to engage you to participate with it. The audience is the final author of a film.

Q: How do you think your acting experience informs your work as a writer and director?

Nadia: From acting I learned about being on set. The rhythm. The adjustments one has to make. I learned about pacing oneself and energy conservation. Also because of acting I have deep empathy for what actors go through. I’m protective of them because they are the most vulnerable. Lighting and aesthetics are very important to me as a director. It is a visual medium but at the end of the day actors are number one!

Q: What final words do you want to share about “The People Garden”?

Nadia: Let it cast its spell on you.

Interview by Cathleen MacDonald
Cathleen MacDonald is a writer and filmmaker.