As herIMDb profileindicates, Sarah Podemski has an extensive roster of screen credits, particularly in her native Canada.
That’s a great question.
I have two older sisters.
I went to Jewish summer camp.
I wasn’t fully Jewish, so I felt a little bit like something was off.
I knew I was unique because I felt different.
Then, as I grew up, I understood that uniqueness was a bit of a superpower, almost.
Yeah, for sure.
I’m going to always do my best to represent myself.
I can’t represent the Native community and I can’t represent the Jewish community.
But with social media and the media, it is challenging in terms of …
It’s a very divisive time, and you want to be able to speak respectfully on these issues.
I’m very mindful of that, and I don’t take it for granted.
It’s a challenging time.
You have to tread lightly and be super mindful that you’re free to’t c’mon everybody.
It’s been hailed as being groundbreaking, which is always a great thing for a show.
How do you feel about the reception that the show has been receiving?
Now that people have seen the kind of talent that we have, they want more of it.
“Reservation Dogs” really did fit the bill.
We all felt there was something special that we were doing, but not … For us, we were doing what we’ve always done.
We’ve always written like this.
Sterlin’s been making films forever.
Taika’s been making films forever.
Filmmakers in our community have been telling our stories in this way for a long time.
It’s just that we hadn’t had the platform.
It’s exciting to finally see people responding and appreciating that new perspective.
It’s a real treat that people went on this journey with us.
How did that come together?
Did you realize that you were doing something so fresh, so funny?
You’re so right.
That has been the most challenging thing because we are so funny.
We have to laugh in the face of adversity.
It’s very similar to my Jewish background where Jews are known for comedy very similar.
Because what can you do with trauma?
You have to laugh about certain things and remember the joy in life and share laughter with each other.
Natives are so funny, and we’ve always known that we’re funny.
That’s a really important part of our culture.
Can you tell me a bit about that?
There is a close-knit group of Indigenous filmmakers that have been part of the Sundance Film Festival.
My sister Tamara was in a film for Sterlin years ago; we all went to Sundance.
There was a little tight-knit community of Indigenous filmmakers hustling to get their work done.
That’s where I met Taika.
During that time, I was able to make a film with Sterlin.
It was a little community.
It’s been amazing to see everybody rise and get incredible opportunities and now be able to work together.
I feel really lucky that we’ve been able to all come up together.
[Taika], obviously, he’s come up to a different level than I’m at.
Sterlin and Taika have known each other for a long time.
Then Sterlin is doing that with all the writers in the room.
To see this level of support everybody wants everyone else to succeed.
That’s a really important part of our community …
It’s a ladder.
But he also knew and trusted that we had the talent to do it.
People are finally acknowledging that, which feels really validating.
Like anything, it’s a business, it’s an industry, and people want to make money.
It’s great now to see that we’ve proven that people want to see stories made by us.
They want to see a fresh new perspective, which we have.
We have too much talent in this community to [not] be doing it ourselves.
It’s a really exciting time.
We’ve finally been able to shine in the way that we’ve always known that we can.
That’s also another great surprising show.
I feel lucky that I can be part of two shows that are so thoughtfully written.
The talent and the ensemble cast is so strong.
It’s nice to be on two different shows where …
I like being a part of them and I like watching them.
Are there any projects you’ve got coming up on the horizon that you might talk about?
I’m going to be shooting that in August.
That should be coming out soon.
[I’m] keeping busy and trying to continue creating.
This interview was edited for clarity.
