Born-and-raised Cape Bretoner Sarah Walker was in a practice room at Acadia University preparing for her piano exam for her music degree when she got a call.
“I had this exciting news, but I couldn’t say anything,” she said.
Before she knew it, she switched to part-time studies at Acadia and moved from Wolfville, Nova Scotia back to Cape Breton.
Walker, a theatre actress, musician and dancer, was ready to embark on a new journey – in film.
She was cast in a feature-length movie being filmed in Cape Breton as a lead role. Queens of Qing Dynasty, directed by Cape Bretoner Ashley McKenzie, follows the life of Walker’s character, Star, as she navigates life in the hospital with a Shanghai student, An, played by Ziyin Zheng. Walker said the film, which is set in Cape Breton, touches on topics like neurodiversity and sexuality.
Star is a foster kid who is aging out of the foster care system. Walker said the character is external but not in an expressive way which is quite opposite from herself. The character is based on McKenzie’s friend, so Walker got to spend time with and study videos of the friend to pick up on her mannerisms and way of speaking.
“She has a very interesting way of seeing the world,” said Walker. “I don’t think I could have done it without that because I think that really helped me see how Star should react to things.”
She said Star’s character just wants to help people and doesn’t really care what others think. While Walker said herself and many others have a guard up, Star doesn’t – she sheds her layers easily, something Walker says is “refreshing.”
“I think the world needs more Stars,” she said.
Walker has an extended history of performing. She began as a dancer at Dance Sync taught by Angela Gratton. In Grade 6, she performed in Les Misérables at The Savoy Theatre, her acting debut. Since then, she gravitated towards theatre.
But film was new for Walker which made her nervous for the filming process. Theatre involves dramatic, over-the-top acting, whereas everything reads bigger in film. Walker said McKenzie helped her navigate this transition.
As someone who was so used to live shows, Walker said it was nerve-wracking thinking about how mistakes in film are documented forever, but in live theatre, they happen, and the audience usually just forgets.
During the filming process, Mckenzie would ask Walker if she wanted to see the footage after shooting a scene, but Walker chose not to watch herself back so she didn’t change anything that worked for the character.
“As every human, I’m very hard on myself and I didn’t want that to impact what I was doing,” said Walker. “That’s one thing with film is you just kind of [have] to trust the team, trust the director and trust yourself.”
After the filming concluded, Walker returned to university to continue her degree. But the excitement continued when she found out she’d be attending the Berlin International Film Festival, Berlinale 2022, in February.
When Walker attended the event in Germany, her team wasn’t the only Cape Breton representation at the festival. Director of Geographies of Solitude, Jacquelyn Mills, was also at the festival. This made Walker especially proud of her hometown.
When arriving in Berlin, Walker settled into her hotel and felt shocked.
“I was like, ‘wait, am I really here?’”
She met new people and attended other screenings. The Queens of Qing Dynasty premiere happened a couple of days into the festival, Walker’s first time seeing herself on the big screen. As the moment crept closer, she kept thinking she needed to memorize her lines or do something, a habit she picked up from live performance.
While at the festival, businesses and friends of Walker posted messages of congratulations on social media or reached out privately to share their well wishes.
“Something about coming from a small town is just so nice,” said Walker. “Cape Bretoners are proud, and I believe it to be true.”
With Walker being back at university working towards her goal of becoming a music teacher, she attributes her goals and inspiration to the arts teachers and influencers she grew up surrounded by.
While she still plans to pursue a music teacher career, if this film brings new opportunities, she’s interested in exploring those pathways.
“I think it all just goes back to, again, Cape Breton, and I’ve had so many great influences growing up in the community,” said Walker. “[This film] just sort of gave me the little push to do what they do and to touch the community as they do.”
This story was originally published here.
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