Experiencing Interruptions?

Hyphen

If you’ve ever been asked the question “where are you from?”, then this film is for you. Hyphen is a documentary that pairs the beloved road movie with poignant conversations about race, culture, and identity with 22 people who live at the intersection of several realities. Join filmmaker Gabriela Warrior Renaud on an epic cross-country journey where you’ll be left questioning your concept of what Canada really is and who gets to call this country home.

  • Gabriela Warrior Renaud
    Director
  • Jared Epp
    Composer
  • Gabriela Warrior Renaud
    Writer
  • Gabriela Warrior Renaud
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    POV/personal, identity, culture, racism, multiculturalism, Canada, roadtrip, social justice, anti-racism
  • Runtime:
    60 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 26, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    14,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English, French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Gabriela Warrior Renaud

Gabriela Warrior Renaud is an independent documentary filmmaker, a communicator, and a social and climate justice activist. She strongly believes in the power of thoughtful and critical storytelling in our collective fight for equity. As a queer, mixed-race woman of colour, Gabriela understands the importance of intersectional representation and strives to hold these spaces in her work. She is fascinated by the diasporic connections to our roots, our lands and to each other, and seeks to create work that humanizes the difficult and overlooked. She approaches each project with tenderness and care and keeps her heart open to learning.

Gabriela has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with a specialization in film production from Concordia University. Her work has been shown on CBC, TVO, and film festivals across Canada, and have won awards for Best Local Film and Best Experimental Film. Gabriela is a climate communicator by profession, currently working with Farmers for Climate Solutions, a farmer-led coalition working to make agriculture part of the solution to climate change. She lives, works and plays on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People and is an active member of Ottawa’s artistic community, working to make our spaces inclusive and sustainable.

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Director Statement

The creation of Hyphen grew out of my desire to feel whole within my own fragmented identity. As a queer, mixed-race person of colour, I am deeply connected to the subject of this film.

In 2016, I packed up my dad’s SUV and drove by myself from Ottawa to Cape Breton, to Tofino, and back again, interviewing the 22 participants of the film. Hyphen is my invitation to join me in the passenger seat of my dad’s SUV, to pause and to listen to these 22 voices, as they share their experiences and perspectives.

Hyphen envelops the viewers in an immersive piece that paints a new portrait of Canada, one that reflects the fluidity of our identities and questions our concepts of "Canada". As Canadians, we hold "multiculturalism" as a pillar of our communal identity, Hyphen engages in critical discussions about how this diversity is being experienced, especially through the lens of Indigenous Peoples, Black peoples, and other people of colour. Hyphen creates a space for mixed-race folks to tell our own stories, with all their nuances and contradictions.

As a film, Hyphen plays with form by using audio from interviews to weave the narrative of the documentary, combining these with footage of intimate and everyday moments, along with
sweeping shots of an epic cross-country journey. Hyphen creates a timeless and captivating film that will stay with audiences well after they leave the cinema.