ÉCU FILM FESTIVAL, 2025
James Coney
there are no words
Festival Screening
7 Parnassiens – Grande Salle
10, May 2025
Session 3 - 14:15
April, 17, 2025
In 2015, a young woman was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to only six months in prison, serving only three of those months. The young woman initially went by the name ‘Emily Doe’ but eventually made the personal choice to no longer be anonymous and go by her actual name. Her name is Chanel Miller. Her victim impact statement that she wrote and read during the sentencing hearing for Brock Turner was and is one of the most powerful statements I have ever read. I knew that as many people as possible should see and hear her words.
Hi James, thank you for talking with The New Current. Are you looking forward to screening There Are No Words at ÉCU this May?
Very much so! It is such an honour to have my film screened at such an extraordinary & important film festival and it is even more exciting that I’ll be able to attend the screening in person to interact with the viewing audience and enjoy all the other festival films and activities!
What does it mean to you to have There Are No Words nominated in the Best Non-European Documentary Category?
It means a lot to me because my film was selected as a quality representative of my home country, and I do not take that for granted. It means that people from other parts of the world are receptive to and connect with my film on an elevated level and that is encouraging beyond words.
ÉCU is the 2nd film festival selection There Are No Words has had, what has it meant to you to see you film get such a positive reaction so far?
It is truly inspiring and reaffirms that doing what I love can have a genuine impact on audiences. It pushes me to keep going and to continue to create more films.
How important are festivals like ÉCU in champion and supporting independent films and filmmakers?
Critically important. The new connections with other filmmakers that I have made, the film industry knowledge I have obtained, the new audiences that have discovered my work, and the inspiration from seeing so many great films showcased in one place are truly dreams come true for any filmmaker, new or experienced. None of that would have been possible without film festivals like this creating a space that cultivates and nourishes those types of environments. ÉCU allows independent films to thrive and the film industry overall is that much better because of it.
Can you tell me a little bit about how There Are No Words came about, what was it about Chanel Miller’s story that connected with you as a filmmaker?
Back in 2017, I came across an online article that talked about Brock Turner and his sexual assault conviction. The article included the entire victim impact statement of the women he assaulted, who went by ‘Emily Doe’ at the time. I decided to take a look at her statement. I ended up reading the entire 10+ page statement. It was one of the most powerful, heartbreaking and unforgettable things I had ever read. To read her words about all she went through impacted me in a way I was not prepared for. I immediately knew that as many people as possible needed to hear her words and I thought about creating a short film that amplified those very words. I knew that audiences would connect with her words, but I also knew that I wanted to make sure that whomever listened to her words would understand how this horrific experience has happened to countless women from all walks of life. That gave me the idea of having many different women say different parts of her statement to show the impact that rape culture has on all women and to hopefully encourage and uplift rape and sexual assault survivors. One of my core beliefs as a filmmaker is to convey important, complex, and necessary messages that I am deeply passionate about and once I read her statement, I knew this was a film I wanted to make.
Did you have any apprehensions about approaching Chanel Miller to take part in this film?
I was definitely nervous about creating a film utilising someone else’s words. I was also nervous about reaching out to her but felt that it was important to reach out to her to at the very least get her blessing and hope that she would be open to being a part of it in some way. That wasn’t possible when I initially started preparing to make this film because she was still anonymous and going by the pseudonym ‘Emily Doe’. As I got later into pre-production, she chose to reveal her true identity and I made several attempts to reach out to her about my film but was unable to connect with her. She made all of this possible and I am forever thankful and grateful to her so I do still hope I can meet her one day and say thank you in person.
Sexual assault survivors continue to face social and political struggles in speaking their truth and holding perpetrators to account. During your research for There Are No Words how embedded are the social/political issues sexual assault survivors continue to face.
The social/political issues are still so deeply embedded into our society, which is why I felt it was so necessary to make this film. Rape culture affects every part of our society from top to bottom and the more people I talked to about this film during pre-production further reminded me of this. I had several women chose to admit to me that they were rape and sexual assault survivors when I told them I was making this film. One woman even said that she hadn’t even told her husband yet about it. This reminded me that our society is so unsupportive of survivors that there are countless ones that have not said a single word to anyone about what they have gone through. The majority of society is slow to believe survivors and quick to defend offenders while the laws are severely skewed to almost never arrest, indict, convict or correctly sentence offenders either.
How important was it for you to use your film as a platform to move the conversations away from Brock Turner? I ask this because one of the things I recall most was what the judge said about Brock and in him it’s how society views assault cases - victim blaming and shaming, and holding the male up as the victim because a woman dare speak out. The judge also looking at the "severe impact" of imprisonment on the defendant's life would have yet socially oblivious to the impact that his actions would have on his victim for the rest of hers.
I am so glad you asked this. It was a purposeful decision for me to keep the focus on Chanel and not giving power to Brock’s image, name or perspective. I included no pictures of the real Brock Turner nor did I have any male actor play the role of Brock when Chanel was quoting his words. I wanted the audience to be clear that this was Chanel speaking the entire time and that she was being represented throughout the film, not Brock. To your point, the court system, society, and obviously Brock himself have all failed Chanel. Their focus was on how everything impacted Brock and not Chanel, so I decided to make sure audiences kept focus on how all of these failures impact Chanel, impact other survivors, and continue to impact survivors. Wanting survivors to be able to see themselves in Chanel helped me greatly in achieving the goal of centring her. Centring Chanel and decentring Brock was a top priority for me when making this film.
When working on a short like this how essential is the creative collaboration between you and your team Jessica Tolliver, DOP, Abby Specht, Sound, and your EP Gretchen Anderson?
It is essential to be on one accord with your team when creating this type of film. Obviously, visuals and audio are always important, but when the topic is as personal and triggering as sexual assault and rape, I had to make sure we were in sync with how the message of this film is conveyed. I purposely chose to have an all-female crew for this film because I wanted to ensure that I was holding myself accountable as a man that is choosing to tell a woman’s story. I needed these incredibly talented, highly skilled and very creative women to consistently give me constructive feedback on my creative decisions to make sure I didn’t allow my male perspective to obstruct, dismiss or disrespect Chanel and her voice, whether it be directly or indirectly. Jessica was a powerful collaborator that helped me craft imagery that was impactful yet still respectful to women and survivors. Abby gave incredible creative recommendations that greatly improved the performance quality for the several actresses that she recorded voiceovers for, and my film even inspired her to write, sing and record the original song that plays during the end credits. That wasn’t in the original plans but she brought the idea to me and I couldn’t be happier that her magnificent song closes out the film in addition to her moving original score that plays throughout the film. Gretchen was a genuine champion of bringing my vision to life and ensured our production had what it needed to flex our creative muscles as much as possible. This film wouldn’t be possible without those three exceptional, irreplaceable women.
What was the hardest scene for you to write and direct?
The scenes that involved actresses who are real-life rape survivors. I won’t say specifically how many actresses it was or who they were because I want them to speak for themselves, but having to direct scenes of actual survivors speaking dialogue from another survivor recalling an assault was very hard. Even though they chose to be a part of this film and knew what they had to do, I couldn’t help but constantly think about how hard it was for them to say the words they had to say. I was in consult with those actresses and my crew constantly to ensure I was being as respectful to them as possible at all times.
Looking back now is there anything you would have done differently on There Are No Words?
Given the positive and encouraging reception I have already received for my film and all the valuable lessons I learned that will undoubtedly make me a better filmmaker, I will say that I wouldn’t change a thing.
Have you always had a passion for filmmaking?
Ever since I first saw the film ‘Amadeus’ when I was a kid, I have had a passion for storytelling. My Radio & TV class during my senior year of high school ignited my passion for storytelling through media and then finally my 2nd film production class in college made me realise that I wanted to be a filmmaker for the rest of my life.
"Rape and sexual assault survivors deserve not only a listening ear if they choose to speak up but to know that they are not alone."
How did Joyful Rebellion Films come about?
Even after making several films during my bachelor’s program that I loved very much, I went several years after I graduated without making a single film. About 10 years after that, I finally decided that I need to lay the groundwork for my filmmaking career, so I chose to start my own small production company to make the kind of films that I wanted to make and that I wanted to see. I had so many of my own stories that I wanted to tell that I hadn’t really seen before, I heard and read so many stories from others that I wanted to make into films that had not been films before, and I knew about so many voices that needed to be heard that hadn’t been listened to enough or at all. The name of my company was inspired by the title of the Canadian Hip-Hop legend K-os’ second album ‘Joyful Rebellion’, which he called a rebellion of the current state of hip-hop, at the time. I felt my films would be a rebellion of the current state of filmmaking, so the title made sense to me.
What has been the most valuable lessons you have taken from making There Are No Words and how will these lessons help you with future projects?
To always have pre-planned, well developed, and ready to execute contingency plans for every part of your production and to trust my own instincts when it comes to how best to film a scene. For all of the future short and feature length films that I will create, I know that being as best prepared as possible for potential setbacks and trusting myself when making the final call on set will give me the best odds possible to produce the highest quality version of my vision.
What does There Are No Words say about you and the way you see the world?
I feel that it says that I am dedicated to championing the voices of the voiceless, that I am not afraid to make films that tell profoundly significant stories, that I desire to have a positive impact on the audience beyond strictly entertainment and that I love putting others first in all that I do.
What has been the best advice you’ve been given by a fellow filmmaker?
I decided to directly ask another filmmaker I respected and admired what advice did they have for me as a new filmmaker to not only have the future success I wanted but to also be able to create the impactful art I’ve always dreamed of and this was what he told me: “Become exceptional at your craft. Surround yourself with extraordinary people who force you to step your game up at every turn. Make them your people. Make sure they succeed as frequently if not more than you do.” I made sure to save it because I felt he said exactly what I needed to hear. I applied what he said to my last production and seeing how the film turned out and the reception I received along with being accepted into this very film festival is a testament to how helpful his advice truly was.
And finally, what is the message you would like your audiences to take from There Are No Words?
Since there are so many known and unknown survivors in the world, everyone needs to know that rape culture must be destroyed. Rape and sexual assault survivors deserve not only a listening ear if they choose to speak up but to know that they are not alone. They deserve nothing less than a legal system that provides an actual safe haven, strong legal protections, proper accountability for all offenders and true justice for each and every survivor.