'Stellar' star Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers brings Indigenous love, hope and healing to the screen

A beautiful love story starring Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Braeden Clarke, Darlene Naponse's film Stellar is a unique look at the power of connection, both between people and to the land.

In the film, adapted from Naponse's short story, He (Clarke) and She (Tailfeathers) meet at a dive bar in northern Ontario, and with just one touch, a meteorite hits the area.

Using very little dialogue, really leaning into the physicality of the two actors, the Anishinaabe filmmaker uses magical realism and a fantastical space to look at the reality of our history of colonization.

For Tailfeathers, she was particularly enthusiastic about getting to work with Naponse.

"I really admire and respect her work, she created such innovative works before Stellar and I knew her through the community, and was just very excited to work with her," Tailfeathers told Yahoo Canada. "Then the script was like nothing I'd ever read before for screen, it read a lot like theatre, but was also so ethereal and poetic."

The importance of seeing an Indigenous love story on screen

The actor also highlighted that this story was an opportunity to be involved in bringing an Indigenous love story to the screen, something that's been lacking.

"It sounds so silly, but so many of the stories that I think Indigenous people and Canadians as a whole are accustomed to seeing, when it comes to Indigenous representation, is often stories that revolve around tragedy, and trauma and sadness, which is all very real for our people," Tailfeathers said. "But there's also so much beauty and joy and love, and we deserve to see those stories on screen."

"So this felt like a really special moment to be able to be part of this really beautiful love story that unfolds on screen, but that also tackles these really difficult themes that relate to settler colonialism and the impact on the land, and our relationship with the land. I think the film offers a deep sense of futurity and hope to it, and joy, and all of that excited me."

In Stellar, you get to see an Indigenous woman explore sensuality and desire. While it's a compelling and affecting component of the storytelling, Tailfeathers admitted that it was "terrifying" for her.

"I think, like so many Indigenous people, my relationship with my body, with intimacy, with sex, with love, all of those things, it's been impacted by the legacy of settler colonialism," Tailfeathers said.

"My grandparents went to residential school and my father went to a Sami boarding school. So I see all of the ways that history and that legacy has impacted my family and my community, and my own relationship with my body and my own sensuality. So to tell that type of story on screen was terrifying, but was so liberating and was actually very healing for me to go through that process. I really hope that other Indigenous women, or just people in general, feel that sense of love and hope and healing that this film offers."

'Unapologetic approach to lived experience'

By leaning into the physicality of the story, with very little dialogue, the film really emphasizes the power of just a small touch.

"It's such a brave way to approach telling a story," Tailfeathers said. "This one was very sparse in terms of dialogue, but what was there was very intentional in terms of her choices."

"This film explores intimacy and love and touch in such a human way, and actually in such a radical way. It seems so simple, but I think for Indigenous audiences to see ourselves in that way on screen is a very radical thing and I am really proud to have been part of that."

In terms of Tailfeathers' collaboration with Naponse, there was a lot of communication over the phone, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the filmmaker also shared personal, in-person moments with the actor as well.

"One of the first things Darlene did, when I arrived in her home territory, was to take me to her community and to take me to one of the most sacred lakes in their community, and to offer tobacco to the water," Tailfeathers said. "I think that really speaks to who Darlene is and what her intention is as a filmmaker."

"She's very much grounded in community and culture and values, that relationship with the land first and foremost, and I think you feel that throughout the film. You get to witness nature and the land in such a profound way, like I've never seen it on screen."

Ultimately, Tailfeathers wants to see more Indigenous love stories and more Indigenous joy shown on screen.

"I think that's part of our healing process, is opening ourselves up to telling stories like this," she said.

"I think settler audiences deserve to also see Indigenous people in this light, to see us through a lens of joy and hope, and this unapologetic approach to lived experience."

Stellar is now available on VOD/Digital