STONEY NAKODA— A Stoney Nakoda actor made her debut on the global stage, walking the red carpet for her first feature film.
Zoey Snow, 12, made her silver screen debut in the movie Monkey Beach.
The supernatural mystery tells the tale of a young rebellious girl named Lisa who can see spirits and ghosts.
“Most people think that she is crazy or just in a dream seeing weird things,” Zoey said.
The film is driven by Lisa’s desire to protect her brother Jimmy, because she has been plagued by visions of him drowning since she was a child.
“He was a professional swimmer so her mom and dad thought she was crazy for trying to protect him,” Zoey said.
The movie follows Lisa on her journey through life and features scenes of her as a child, teenager and young woman.
In the film, Zoey plays the youngest version of Lisa and in many of her scenes, she is trying to protect her brother and stop him from going into the water.
The movie has moments of happiness and humour, Zoey said, but for the most part, it is an experience of melancholy and loss.
“It made me cry a lot,” Zoey said with a shy smile.
Zoey had the opportunity to visit Vancouver with her mom Nikki for the world premiere of Monkey Beach at the end of September.
Nikki added it was exciting seeing Zoey appear on the big screen, especially because she is in the film more then she anticipated.
“I saw her just as much as I saw Grace [Dove],” Nikki said with a laugh. Dove plays the oldest version of Lisa in the film.
It was the first premier she has attended, Zoey said, and it was an exciting but nerve-wracking experience. She added she hopes when the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end she will be able to go to a bigger premier if she has the opportunity.
Zoey has been in several movies as a background player, she said, but Monkey Beach served as her first time in a supporting role.
The movie was filmed in Terrace and Kitimat, B.C. for three weeks in October 2019.
Upon her arrival in Terrace, as soon as she landed she jumped into acting right away starting with a table read of the script.
“I got to work right away,” Zoey exclaimed. “The next day we were shooting.”
She was really nervous about her first scene, Zoey said, as she appeared on screen with Canadian actor Adam Beach. Beach plays Lisa's uncle Mick in the movie.
“You could see how nervous she was,” Nikki said with a laugh. “Adam came and said, ‘You guys need to give Zoey some space, giver her some time.' He sat there with Zoey.”
Nikki said she appreciated that Beach took the time to show Zoey the ropes and help her feel confident and at home while filming.
“He sat with her until she was ready to go,” Nikki said.
She would wake up at 6 or 7 a.m. each day while filming. The movie kept her busy but Zoey still found some time to hang out with her costars— Including a day swimming and visiting with the two older Lisas.
Zoey was inspired to get into acting by her older brother Zandus, an actor who has appeared in the Netflix movie Hold the Dark and the television show Fargo.
Zoey said she begged her mom to let her try acting until she relented and was able to get her first audition, landing a part on Hold the Dark.
She was not nervous for her first addition because she has found success in the industry— Zoey had already travelled to South Africa with her mom for a role in a Right to Play commercial when she was 10. Zoey has also appeared in commercials and was a background actor in the Disney+ movie Togo.
In the future, Zoey said, she hopes to tackle more challenging roles outside her comfort zone— Including taking on roles that are more mean and rebellious.
