Kathleen Hepburn was nine years old when her mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but it wasn’t until her thirties that she truly stared down the disease and considered its impact on her mother and family.
“It’s just been a part of my life for a long time,” says Hepburn, who explores Parkinson’s disease in her feature film directorial debut, Never Steady, Never Still. The dramatic feature (which Hepburn wrote as well as directed) screens at the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival after premiering earlier this month at the venerable Toronto International Film Festival.
Never Steady, Never Still stars Scottish actor Shirley Henderson (internationally known for playing Gail in Trainspotting and Moaning Myrtle in two Harry Potter films) as Judy, a mother wrestling with Parkinson’s in northern B.C., and Théodore Pellerin as her teen son attempting to come to grips with his slippery sexual identity while working at a job he hates in an oilfield.
Parkinson's is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The film sprung from questions Hepburn had about her own mother’s experience with Parkinson’s, including “what it felt like for her to have this disease, how it affected her and also our family, and my feelings towards her,” she says. “It was curiosity about what this disease has done to us is where [the film] came from.”
This curiosity resulted in two cinematic properties: a short in 2015 entitled Never Steady, Never Still (which won Hepburn the award for Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film at 2015 VIFF), and this new feature of the same name, which Hepburn, cast, and crew shot on location – and celebrated cinematographer Norm Li captured on stunning 35-millimetre film – in Fort St. John and Fort St. James.
Henderson’s prep for the role of a long-term Parkinson’s sufferer began long before she arrived in B.C., says Hepburn.
“I told her the symptoms are so varied, one person could be completely still at all times and another person could be constantly having a jerky motion in their body, so she had to be very selective of what symptoms she would choose to work with,” says Hepburn.
To aid her lead actor in her prep, Hepburn sent Henderson footage of her mother performing some of the motions that the character of Judy would have to do on screen: putting on shoes, getting up from her chair, falling over, and speaking. “With Parkinson’s, your vocal cords change, and speech can become very muddled,” says Hepburn.
Once filming began, it was clear to Hepburn that Henderson had the motions so ingrained in her body that “she didn’t even have to think about it,” marvels Hepburn.
Never Steady, Never Still also stars Mary Galloway, Nicholas Campbell, Lorne Cardinal and Jared Abrahamson (star of 2016 VIFF hit Hello Destroyer).
Although Never Steady, Never Still is inspired by Hepburn’s family, it isn’t autobiographical.
“The story itself is very fictional, but some of the humour that [Judy] has, and the lighter side of things, is definitely inspired by my mom,” says Hepburn, whose mother will see the film for the first time at VIFF.
Hepburn’s goals for the film are twofold: to educate audiences about Parkinson’s, and to inspire hope and reflection.
“I think people recognize the outward effects of the disease, but they’re less aware of the psychological effects,” says Hepburn. “And I want to show people that the persistence of life is quite beautiful even in the most challenging times. The fact that we continue to struggle and continue to care for one another and try to love each other is really beautiful.”
Never Steady, Never Still screens Sept. 29 at the Rio and Oct. 7 and 10 at Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas. Tickets at viff.org.
