FOR BRETT STORY, it’s all about connection. She makes documentaries to connect to her subjects, to help audiences connect to ideas, and, most important, to connect her viewers to possibilities for political change. And when it comes to the last, she’s been impressing juries. Her latest film Union (2024), which follows a scrappy labour drive at an Amazon warehouse, won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change at Sundance this year. It screens at the upcoming Hot Docs Festival.
“My relationship to art is similar to my motivation for making films,” says the hyper-articulate Story, seated on a couch at her Toronto home. “That has to do with connecting, finding ways to feel less alone in the world. When I work on a film, I never know how it will turn out, but it’s always a pretext for meeting other people.”
It’s also a way for her to redefine the meaning of political filmmaking. The best political films, she says, are less about individuals and more about systems. They’re multi-textual and respectful of everyday life. Don’t expect her to be too literal or linear; she uses the word “oblique” to describe her practice. Story likes to investigate questions for which she has no clear-cut answers. And do not expect her to make all the connections for you. She saves that pleasure for you alone.
