For producer Jenna MacMillan, stepping behind the camera for the first time wasn’t about abandoning what she already knew, it was about trusting herself to lead the story. With The Snake, her offbeat directorial debut premiering in competition at this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival, MacMillan brings writer-star Susan Kent’s sharp, darkly funny script about a messy, resilient heroine to life. The film follows Jamie, a woman whose life seems permanently on the brink – juggling a collapsing relationship, a brutal dynamic with her mother, and the loss of her late grandmother’s bright-pink house. Packed with a distinctly Canadian comedic ensemble and a streak of chaotic humanity, The Snake embraces flawed characters who keep swinging even when the world knocks them down. Speaking ahead of the film’s world premiere with our Peter Gray, MacMillan reflects on stepping into the director’s chair, protecting Jamie from cliché, and why audiences are ready for heroines who are gloriously imperfect.
I know this is your directorial debut, which I imagine comes with a different kind of authorship compared to producing. What part of yourself did you have to confront – or even unlearn – in order to fully step into the director’s space with this one?
That’s such a good question. Honestly, it was about trusting that I could do it. Whenever I felt imposter syndrome creeping in, or nervous about tackling certain sequences, I’d find myself defaulting back into producer mode – micromanaging things, asking about the cost report, that sort of thing. But once I really dug in and trusted the collaborators around me, everything shifted. Susan’s (Kent) script was such a stabilizing gift, too. So a lot of it was just trusting the process and trusting that I could tell this story. And understanding (the character of) Jamie helped as well. I felt like I know many versions of this woman, so it wasn’t a huge stretch to dig into her.
Susan has talked about wanting to reject that “hot, crazy demon in the sack” trope. As a director, how do you visually protect a character from being reduced to that fantasy – especially in a comedy where big behaviour can easily tip into caricature?
Stylistically, Susan was really clear that Jamie would present herself a certain way. We leaned into that, but without diminishing her or reducing her to a type. A lot of that protection was already there in the writing and in Susan’s portrayal. From a directing standpoint, we used longer takes quite deliberately. Sometimes quick editing can distract or steer the audience toward a particular reaction. But with longer takes, you’re just watching the person – you’re stuck on the ride with them.
That was important for Jamie. You see her through every phase of this journey. Even in terms of shot size, at the beginning she can feel a bit distant. As we start to understand her pain and her motivations, the camera moves closer. The audience gets closer to her emotionally as well.
You’re premiering the film in competition at South by Southwest. Given Jamie’s personality, do you feel more like her right now – scrappy, dented, still swinging – or like someone who finally gets to claim their big bright pink house?
What a great question. I definitely feel like Jamie. I feel scrappy.
South By… was always the goal. I’d been lucky enough to attend a couple of times before, and it was such an inspiration both as a filmmaker and just as someone who loves movies and music. When I read the script and we started shooting, I kept thinking, “South by audiences would really get this.”
Comedy can be tricky at festivals. Sometimes it doesn’t translate, or it can feel very regional. But this film walks a tonal tightrope, and the spirit of South By… felt like the perfect match for that. So I’m just thrilled it’s here. But yes – scrappy is definitely the feeling.
Offbeat, dark comedy often lives in discomfort. How did you calibrate how far to push the chaos before it stops being funny and starts being painful?
That balance was really deliberate. Again, the longer takes helped because they force you to sit with the characters. I was lucky to have incredibly talented comedic actors, so part of it was just watching them and letting the rhythm develop. Often we would shoot entire scenes following one character’s perspective, then shoot the reverse side afterward. That structure created this sense of really sitting inside the moment.
And that applies to the dramatic scenes as well. The conversation Jamie has with her mom in the apartment is incredibly painful. I’m very aware that audiences want to crawl out of their skin during that scene. But the audience needed that context. Up until then, the mom can seem almost funny or eccentric, but in that moment she’s absolutely shooting to kill. I needed viewers to sit with that brutality so they’d understand what Jamie carries forward afterward.
I actually think moments like that ground the film. When something serious lands like that, the next laugh hits even harder.
Exactly.
You’ve worked with Susan before. What do you now understand about her rhythm, her vulnerabilities, her edges that helped you build Jamie together in a deeper way?
The last film we worked on together was Who’s Yer Father?, where she was the lead. I remember being so surprised and completely enraptured by her performance. She never did the thing you expected, but you couldn’t stop watching her. It was hilarious, too.
There’s a real quotability to her characters, and I knew she would bring that energy to Jamie. But she also pushed the character even further than I imagined. Jamie is a very tough character to land, and Susan’s sensibility – combined with how thoughtful she is as an actor – made me trust completely that she’d nail it. And of course, she created this person in the first place.
Jamie makes a lot of mistakes – sometimes spectacular ones. Were you more interested in redemption, or in resistance?
For me, what mattered most was that at the end of this journey – one that’s partly self-inflicted and partly shaped by people abandoning or mistreating her – Jamie is standing on her own two feet. We actually explored a lot of different endings. Susan was really generous about letting me into every draft and discussing those possibilities. But ultimately, I wanted the audience to feel like she’s going to be okay.
Maybe she reconnects with Davey. Maybe she talks to her mom again. But the key thing is that she knows herself now. She’s in her body. When she says in that final moment that she’s “still got it,” I wanted the audience to believe she does. Not that everything’s magically fixed, but that she’ll be okay being herself.
After making this film, what part of you lives in that pink house – and what part of you burned it down?
I think that pink house is actually my house. Indie filmmaking is my home. All of me lives there.
But metaphorically, there’s definitely a feeling – especially making films in Canada and just living in the world right now – that you’re constantly fighting. Sometimes it feels like you’re pushing uphill forever, and then suddenly you look around and realise, :”Oh… I think I made it here.”
That feeling really resonates with Jamie’s journey. And yes, sometimes things get burned down along the way. But that’s part of it.
I feel like in the last few years we’ve seen more stories with truly messy, flawed characters. Maybe it’s a post-COVID thing, like the world is already chaotic, so storytellers are embracing that complexity. Characters can be lovable and frustrating at the same time, and that’s what makes them feel real.
I think that’s exactly it.
I also love that this film is premiering at the Alamo Drafthouse. That feels like the perfect home for something like this.
Yes! Absolutely. But there’s also something really fun we’re doing for the premiere. I went to a party in Austin back in 2022 at this gorgeous white church. Later I found out it used to be Janis Joplin’s rehearsal space. As soon as we got into South By…, I tracked down who owned it – and we’re actually having our party there. It couldn’t be more Jamie.
That’s the perfect way to celebrate the film – throwing a party in Janis Joplin’s old rehearsal space.
Exactly.
I know you’ve had a long day, so thank you so much for taking the time to chat.
Thank you. And I hope you make it to South By… soon.
The Snake is screening as part of this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival & Conference , running between March 12th and 18th, 2026. For more information on the festival program, head to the official site here.
