The team behind the docuseries “Lost Women of Alaska,” which explores the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis, discussed raising awareness around the disproportionate violence against Native women at the Variety FYC TV Fest on May 6.
Held in conversation with Variety’s Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay, the panel comprised of the show’s executive producers Christina Douglas, Matt Robins and Octavia Spencer.
Douglas, an Indigenous woman herself, highlighted her personal ties and long-term commitment to the issue. “My whole life I’ve been wanting to bring Indigenous stories to the screen,” said Douglas, who grew up on the Shinnecock reservation in Southampton, New York. “And with my experience in true crime, I thought: ‘I can really use my platform to shed light and spread awareness on these cases.’”
Robins seconded Douglas’ statement, saying, “This story is a once-in-a-lifetime story. I feel that we were very fortunate to have the chance to tell it, frankly.” Robbins added that the element of mystery and true crime was part of the appeal, combined with the opportunity to “shine a light on what is a crisis in Alaska” as Native women are 10 times more likely to be victims of murder than their white counterparts.
“It was a no-brainer,” agreed Spencer, who said there was “something beautifully strong about the community coming together…because there’s so many other voices that are still quieted and haven’t found justice.”
The group discussed outreach efforts, giving credit to Douglas, who had established prior relationships with many of the figures that would end up becoming part of their documentary. “It’s a community that has been through a lot, and they haven’t been heard,” said Douglas. “Sometimes they have felt that their story was exploited or misrepresented. It was really important to us that we go into this informed, listening and understanding that we will never fully understand the nuances of their lives, their survivorship and what they came through.”
A crucial turning point in the documentary came when the team filmed an interview with the perpetrator, Brian Smith, in jail, hoping for “an opportunity for him to provide closure for the families that he’s hurt. Will he give up the location of the body of one of his victims, who, still to this day, has not been discovered?”
The panel also spoke about the bravery Amber Batts, an advocate and their representative to interview Smith showed, saying “she also represents multiple other characters in our film who were brave and took the risk to put themselves on the line to bring forward that information that ended up getting him locked up for 226 years.”
The conversation wrapped up with the team asking people to share missing person cases on social media to raise awareness.
“Seeing local people in Anchorage, Alaska, saying, ‘I feel seen. This is my story being told,’” has been a highlight for Douglas. “It’s not Alaska: the great adventure frontier. This is what it’s like to be in the streets of Anchorage. This is the local experience.”
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