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Your new movie Montréal
Girls - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us
about your character in it?
Montréal
Girls
is a coming of age story about a young poet who finds his true
passion in Montreal… with the help of some lovely ladies! I played one
of the ‘Montréal Girls’, Yaz, in the feature. Yaz is an intriguing,
awe-inspiring character who captures the heart of Ramy (played by Hakim
Brahimi) and teaches him a thing or two about the underground music scene
in Montreal, as well as matters of the heart.
What did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how
much Sana Asad can we find in Yaz? For
many of my characters - there’s always a little bit of truth to each of
these personalities. I always try to put myself in a lot of these
situations and build a character from there. I had a lot of fun being this
‘all-consuming’ feminine vixen who can be a little manipulative and
mysterious. There’s a lot of layers to who she is and why she does
certain things throughout the narrative of the film. How did you
get involved with the project in the first place? Director
Patricia Chica [Patricia Chica
interview - click here] had requested an audition, and after reading the script for
the project I was ready to bring her story to life. It’s a collaborative
process and it was an absolute joy getting to explore each scene during
the rehearsal process for the project.
What
can you tell us about Montréal
Girls' director Patricia Chica, and what was your collaboration
like?
Director
Patricia Chica is someone incredibly driven and is able to facilitate a
space where artists can come together and collaborate. Earlier on in the
process, I attended one of her workshops where she taught us ‘Chi
Energy’, which sort of created a language between director and actor. It
dealt with the various chakras and as an actor who is in constant training
- gave me more tools to pick and choose from during my process from script
to camera.
Montréal
Girls is said to be the first film to be made with Chi Power
- so how has this method informed your acting, and maybe you personally?
I
took a lot away from the Chi Energy process. It was the first time I was
able to connect to a script and to a character in a spiritual way, which was an
interesting and unique process to explore. I’m extremely open-minded
about exploring different ways of opening up the mind and body because as
actors, our bodies, our voices, our experiences are our biggest assets.
What we bring to the work is an authentic experience that stands alone. My
interest in the artform starts from exploring my sense of self and
building a personality, a character from there.
Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere! The
shoot was fantastic. Being in the city of Montreal (since I’m a Toronto
local) was amazing. It’s such a brilliant world over there and I’m
glad I got to be part of a project that showcased that. We shot during the
pandemic where lockdowns were being enforced, so of course there was a
lot to work around. But everyone on set had such amazing energy that we
were able to fluidly create what we needed to and get the tasks for the
day done cohesively. Any
future projects you'd like to share? I’ll
be on set for a lead role in a series entitled Get
up, Aisha
very soon! It’s a comedy about a girl who strives to ‘cure her
depression’, and the theme alone was enough to grip me and see the
narrative play out. Mental health is all encompassing and I’m so
grateful and fortunate to be able to relate to, and bring my character Aisha’s story to life. Being an artist and doing
something
impactful is honestly such a gift. I’m really excited to share this
project when it’s ready.
What got you into
acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the
subject? Middle
school plays led to drama classes. Drama classes led to theater school.
And from there I got scouted by an acting agency and have since been doing
it - it’s a passion that sort of has always been there for me. It was
nothing that I intended on or set out to do. It’s just a part of my life
that feels right and feels like a purpose. I love what I do. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Montréal
Girls? I’ve
been working in the Canadian film market for the last 6 years. A lot of my
work consists of Canadian features and roles on American TV shows. I love
both cinema and television and have enjoyed both markets equally. How would you
describe yourself as an actress, and some of your techniques to bring your
characters to life? Again
I’m extremely open-minded to a lot of processes that involve self-work
and script-work. It depends on the writing and how I’m able to connect
to and elevate these characters. Fundamentally, I always start with what I
know and who I am as a person and how that translates to the character
I’m cast as. Actresses (and indeed actors) who
inspire you?
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Audrey
Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor - all the actors from old
Hollywood are what made up for a lot of my childhood. They - unbeknownst
to me - inspired what would become my passion! Your favourite movies?
That’s
a hard question. I don’t have one. I don’t even have a favourite genre
- mostly because I love all of it. I love comedy. I love horror. I love
drama. I love romance and I love tragedy. I think that’s what is so
special about film and TV in general - you get to be in and experience
these different worlds at any time. That’s magic to me. ...
and of course, films you really deplore? Don’t
have one. I don’t think I could talk poorly about someone else’s art.
I think what matters more is that inclusivity in casting is showcased more
as that has not always been the case for North American film and TV. As a
Pakistani-Irani actress, it’s important that I am seen and heard and
never tokenized. Your website,
social media, whatever else?
You
can imdb me for recent work: www.imdb.me/sanaasad
Instagram
for live updates: @_sanaasad
Thanks
for the interview!
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