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In Gillian McKercher‘s first feature, “Lucky Star”, there is no escapist fantasy or whiff of bicoastal elitism. Instead, there are only temptations: Lucky (Terry Chen), an ex-gambler, starts to reach for the cards after he falls for a tax scam; his wife Noel (Olivia Cheng) wrestles with returning a lost watch amounting to the tens of thousands; their eldest, Grace (Conni Miu), wonders if she should confess her academic dishonesty. All the while, their youngest, Jenny (Summer Ly) presides over the family discord. As the characters’ internal struggles spill into their interpersonal relationships, “Lucky Star” captures an entangled mess of love and lies amid the bone-chilling cold of Alberta winter.

We brought together Gillian McKercher and three of her cast on the occasion of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) over Zoom. Together, we talked about moving beyond stereotypes, the infamous Canadian cold, and Alberta Asians.

This interview...

Despite the bouncy title, “Lucky Star” is not your average holiday movie. When Hallmark movies are shot in Canada, they often feature Winnipeg’s small-town charm of a rustic romance and fluffy snowfall). Gillian McKercher, on the other hand, introduces the grit and desolation of Alberta to her first feature. In this salt-of-the-earth tale of gambling, deception, and familial discord, McKercher paints us a picture of a second-generation Asian Canadian family struggling to get by in the dead of winter.

“Lucky Star” follows the eponymous Lucky (played by Terry Chen), who works at a mobile refurbishment business to keep his family afloat. As a reformed gambler, he, just like everyone else, is just trying to get by on honest work. His wife, Noel (Olivia Cheng), works as a high-end tailor; his eldest daughter, Grace (Conni Miu), part-times as a shop assistant while attending university; and his youngest, Jenny (Summer Ly...