Cree actor travels to Cannes for Film Festival

Award-winning Cree actor Michelle Thrush has experienced success in her starring roles in the CBC drama Arctic Air, and for appearances on APTN and in Aboriginal communities around Alberta. But attending the prestigious International Film Festival in Cannes, France, was an exciting opportunity that brought her exposure to a whole new world.

The festival, which ran this year from May 15 to 26, began in the 1940s and has become a gathering of major actors, directors and producers, all hoping to be recognized with one of many various awards that discover, promote, and support the film industry.
Thrush is no stranger to awards herself, having won a Gemini for her role in the controversial APTN drama Blackstone, and a Rosie, which is an Alberta Film and Television Award.

“I grew up in Calgary and loved acting as a kid,” she said. “My friends remember me trying to organize and produce plays in our childhood years, hanging sheets on the clothesline to make a stage.”

She completed her education at the Plains Indian Cultural Survival School and credits PICSS with starting her on the right track to adult life. A casting director eventually saw her perform and she got her first assignment at the age of 16, a feature film shot in Edmonton entitled Isaac Littlefeathers.

But it’s to see the world’s reaction to the world premiere of Jimmy P, Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian, that excites her at Cannes. She plays Gayle Picard, the sister and confidante of fellow-actor Benicio Del Toro’s character, Jimmy Picard.

“It’s difficult to find the words to explain what I’m feeling right now. It’s beyond what I thought I’d ever do in my life,” she said.
While acting is her dream profession, she has never aimed at being an award winner, but preferred to enjoy the experience and the process of film making.

However, winning awards and being recognized at international events does help in another area of her life. She frequently travels to Aboriginal communities, working with young children to teach them to get in touch with their emotions and to express themselves holistically. By being a role model who has become successful, she shows the youth that they too can achieve their goals and ambitions.

“Even back as far as the 1990s, I have been working with kids, and I feel that recognition I have through film and television, makes my message more effective in the communities. It’s a tool that helps and people now know my name,” said Thrush.

While in Cannes, she attended and viewed as many films as she could, and welcomed any networking opportunity for upcoming projects.

“I have a pass which gets me into areas where the public can’t go, so I hope to meet producers and other actors,” she said. “I’m there to learn, and to observe and I’m going to it open-minded. I’m going to soak up the whole experience.”