DGC Director and screenwriter Jeffrey St. Jules discusses his distinguished filmography with visual artist and fellow DGC Director Randall Okita (See For Me, The Lockpicker). Okita guides their discussion from St. Jules’ early surrealist short film, The Tragic Story of Nling, through to his latest psychological thriller, Cinema of Sleep. Together they explore the ever-evolving approach to filmmaking that has led St. Jules to become one of Canada’s most distinct storytellers.

Time Stamps

00:00:13 – Introductions

00:01:55 – Does St. Jules dream?

00:04:58 – Childhood storytelling and imagination

00:08:15 – Growing up in rural Nova Scotia

00:13:50 – The Tragic Story of Nling

00:21:33 – Let the Daylight Into The Swamp

00:30:49 – How fatherhood impacted St. Jules’ filmmaking

00:33:11 – Bang Bang Baby

00:36:25 – Cinema of Sleep

00:55:39 – St. Jules’ shooting process

00:58:57 – Are film sets a war zone?

01:00:22 – The creative value of naïveté

01:04:00 – St. Jules’ writing routine

01:12:17 – Closing thoughts

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.