Kendall Davis is shown in a still from “Julie Takes A Walk”, a short romantic film which displays the humor of everyday life and brings attention to modern Native life and queer Native people in small towns. Davis plays ‘Julie’ in the film co-directed, written, and produced by Shea Vassar, a Cherokee Nation citizen. (Photo contributed)
By ANN TOINEETA
One Feather Intern
Shea Vassar, a Cherokee Nation citizen from Norman, Okla., is bringing a new perspective to comedy with “Julie Takes A Walk,” a short romantic comedy that she co-directed, wrote, and helped produce. This film displays the humor of everyday life and brings attention to modern Native life and queer Native people in small towns.
“Julie Takes A Walk” will be screened at The Way We See The World, an event spotlighting Indigenous pop culture organized by the Museum of the Cherokee People. The event will be held on Friday, Aug. 7 in the Council Fire Ballroom at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The following is a brief synopsis provided by the filmmakers:
“Julie’s life choices have been dictated by her family but this all changes when she is told big news just moments before walking down the aisle at her own wedding. Confused and shocked, she runs away and ends up in a small town in rural Oklahoma. That’s where Julie meets the stoic yet secretly sweet Cass, a bartender who would rather be reading than in any sort of social setting. They both can feel the instant chemistry which only furthers the identity crisis Julie is having.”
Vassar, whose initial submission of “Julie Takes A Walk” as a comedy pilot episode led to her becoming one of Sundance Institute’s 2024 Native Lab Artists in Residence, said the film seeks to capture the humor of the everyday and hard times in our lives.
“I think it’s an interesting experiment to kind of use these moments of possible trauma as a way to jump start some really ironic and humorous kind of situations that also leads you to where you’re supposed to be,” she said. “The irony that sometimes bad things have to happen for you to find the people you need.”
These moments are what initially inspired “Julie Takes A Walk” and led Vassar to create the complex characters of the film. Through them, she was able to explore questions like, “What if you were given a chance to start over?” and “What if all the expectations you had on you all of a sudden were taken away?”
“Through making this film and watching it with different audiences, I also have felt like those questions are becoming clearer,” she said. “I don’t know what the answers are, but I’m more comfortable with the unknown, which I think is what ultimately the film is talking about. We all go through these moments that really erupt and will completely change our path, but sometimes it’s just learning to be ok with that unknown and knowing that sometimes that kind of interruption has to happen in order for us to realign or be on the path we’re supposed to be on.”
With “Julie Takes A Walk”, Vassar wanted to bring Native queer people to the forefront. She and her co-director, Frankie Pedersen (Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation), believe that queer Native people should not only be allowed to imagine happy futures, but also have them.
“It starts with that imagination and believing that it’s possible, and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to make this film was just to show that trauma does happen,” she said. “The way we navigate the world as humans is not not going to be traumatic, but it’s really about being able to embrace the joy that also comes with being alive. I think that’s a hard fine line that, especially as Native communities, we have to learn to do ourselves. We have to kind of reclaim that joy and the ability to even imagine it. That’s kind of what I’m hoping is that this can just be the start of that imagination because it doesn’t hurt to dream.”
Through working on “Julie Takes A Walk”, Vassar learned many important lessons and has found that a team coming together to create art is one of the most beautiful explorations of community.
“I encourage anyone who has a vision to figure out a way to even do some proof of concept, write a proposal, or talk to your friends about it,” she said. “Right now, that’s some of the best acts of catharsis we can get in these times is just being together and being able to really find the creativity because it’s important that we create art right now. It’s important that we express ourselves.”
To learn more about Shea Vassar, visit sheavassar.com. Reserve your free tickets for The Way We See The World via the event’s Eventbrite page.
