Suzanne Crocker’s first feature, “POV” documentary “All the Time in the World,” won 22 festival awards from around the world including nine audience choice awards, four best picture awards, and seven environmental awards.

“First We Eat” was scheduled to screen at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival. A digital version of the fest has been organized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “First We Eat” will screen in Hot Docs Festival Online, which will launch May 28 and is geo-blocked to Ontario, Canada. More information about the program and how to tune in can be found here.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

SC: Ultimately, this is a film about a mother fighting for a better world for her kids, a mother imposing that struggle on her kids, and her kids pushing back. That mother is me.

I decided to put food security to the test in the far north by removing absolutely all grocery store food from my house. For one year, I fed my family of five only food that can be hunted, fished, foraged, grown, or raised around Dawson City, Yukon. My family was not pleased with this decision — my three skeptical teenagers pushed back.

Ultimately, the story became a celebration of community and the surprising bounty of food that even a tiny community in the far North can provide.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

SC: Living in the far north, our climate and our isolation accentuates our vulnerability. A few years ago, the only road into the Yukon was closed by a landslide. Supermarket shelves began to go bare within 48 hours. That was my wake up call.

I wanted to know if we, in this era and in this landscape, could become self-sufficient for food. I decided the best way to research this would be to try it, using myself and my family as the guinea pigs.

The current pandemic has amplified just how vulnerable we all are when we are dependent on a distant food chain system.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

SC: I hope that people will start thinking about where their food comes from and then look for ways to source some of their food closer to home. When we connect with our food, we come to value and respect the land in a way we never did before.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

SC: It is definitely challenging being both the cinematographer and the subject. Framing and setting up shots, when I need to be both in front of the camera and behind it, adds extra complexity and time to each shot, and it’s even more challenging to be simultaneously growing, harvesting, gathering, processing, storing, and preparing a year’s worth of food for a family of five — especially when all the food needs to be made from scratch, including the butter, crackers, yogurt, and cheese.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

SC: In Canada we are fortunate to have several agencies that support the productions of documentary films. “First We Eat” has received its main funding from the Rogers Documentary Fund, the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada and Yukon Media Development.

I am also grateful to have received support from the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund, Northwestel, Blue Ice Docs, Good Pitch Vancouver, Growing Forward II, and Yukon’s Cold Climate Innovation Center.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

SC: I followed in the pathway of my kids. When my son was five years old, he began making stop motion animations. My kids won awards at festivals for their short films before I ever did. I

have always loved the power of story – and I especially love combining the power of story and the power of film with a healthy dose of humor thrown in.

W&H: What’s the best advice you’ve received?

SC: Trust your intuition.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

SC: Choose carefully the people you work and collaborate with. Choose people who respect your intuition and vision. Avoid people who put you down when they don’t agree with you.

There are still many unspoken undercurrents and expectations on women in our society. Combining this with working in a field in the arts, which for some is still not considered a “real job,” can be difficult burdens to bear on your own. So find allies in other female directors you can talk with and vent to.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

SC: “The Amina Profile.” I love the way Sophie Deraspe pushes the boundary of documentary in the opening of the film. It’s a great example of the endless creative possibilities within the documentary form.

Derapse’s latest fiction film, “Antigone,” is brilliant!

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?

SC: I am very fortunate. Last fall I had stocked our house once again with a year’s worth of local food. We heat our house with wood that my husband hauls from the forest and we have solar panels on our roof, so we are somewhat self-sufficient. As a mom, an unexpected benefit of COVID-19 has been the ability to spend so much more time with my teenage and adult kids now that we are all gathered under one roof and held captive by COVID-19.

I actually have been busier than ever between launching “First We Eat” and re-launching “All the Time in the World,” an equally timely story of my same family, 10 years younger, when we chose to self-isolate for nine months in the Yukon wilderness in a small cabin with no road access, no internet, no phone, no electricity, and no clocks or watches. Our previous experiences have prepared us well to cope with these unusual times.

I do however resent the increased time I must spend on the computer and I miss gathering with friends. As a filmmaker the most difficult aspect of the pandemic has been the loss of the collective viewing experience with audience. I’m afraid the virtual space just can’t match I look forward to the time when we can gather, laugh, and cry together in a physical space once again.