GOOD TALK WITH ROBIN MCKENNA

Robin McKenna is director, producer and writer of GIFT, a feature-length documentary and crossmedia project inspired by Lewis Hyde’s classic bestseller The Gift. GIFT, a richly cinematic film interweaving character‐driven stories, is a tribute to something that can’t be measured or counted, bought or sold. Exploring the parallels between artists’ work and a gift economy, it’s a reflection on the creative process, the reasons we “labour in service of our gifts”, and a celebration of the imagination. Recently she directed a short film with actress Geneviève Bujold, produced by the Canada’s National Film Board for the Governor General’s Awards. She is currently making THANADOULA, a short animated documentary fairytale, about a real-life “death doula” who finds her calling through the loss of her beloved older sister. She is producer and director of MEDICINE, a feature-length documentary about ayahuasca, medicine and healing, for release in 2019. Robin grew up in Montréal, Canada, and began making films with LA COURSE DESTINATION MONDE, travelling around the world alone with a camera making short, creative documentaries. Her film THE GREAT WAR EXPERIENCE won Yorkton Film Festival’s Founders’ Award in 2007. She has directed award-winning series for networks in the US and Canada, and her cinematography credits include CITY OF BORDERS (Berlinale, Hot Docs 2009) and THE TAKE with Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis (AFI Best Documentary 2004). She is an alumnus of Hot Docs’ Doc Lab, and has been a filmmaker-mentor in indigenous communities with Wapikoni Mobile.