Kevin Bourne talks with actor-producer couple Lovell Adams-Gray and Kiana Madeira about faith, marriage, and their latest film “Morningside”. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
“We’ve been able to cultivate a stronger relationship with God, knowing he wants marriage, he likes marriage, he likes to encourage marriage. He who finds a wife finds a good thing, so it’s nice to be walking in that spiritual alignment.” -Lovell Adams-Gray
Kevin: So let’s get, well, first of all, congratulations on how’s married life been so far?
Lovell: So far so good.
Kiana: Yeah.
Lovell: We’ve been able to cultivate a stronger relationship with God, knowing he wants marriage, he likes marriage, he likes to encourage marriage. He who finds a wife finds a good thing, so it’s nice to be walking in that spiritual alignment.
Kevin: So let’s talk about the film. First of all, you guys have done big roles in the past. After what you guys have done and the magnitude of those previous projects, what initially stood out to you when it comes to Morningside?
Kiana: I would say, for Morningside, we’re both executive producers on it. And for me, it was my first time being executive producer, but basically both of our first times. And it’s really cool making a project in Canada. It’s cool and also super challenging as an independent filmmaker over here. We’ve found that a lot of the work has had to kind of come from us, like mostly Ron and Joanne, but you know, us helping alongside them. And I think when you really are building something from the ground up and your heart is really in it, the end result is that much more fulfilling. You can be a part of a huge project that has a big studio backing and distribution, and everything, and you just kind of are along for the ride. It’s a different experience when you’re in the trenches, helping get it made, and then just seeing the result and for Morningside— the responses, the press push, and just the attention it’s garnering. It’s very fulfilling.
Lovell: Yeah, I have to agree.
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Kevin: And let’s talk about the significance, because we never see Canadian films actually get some sort of theatrical run. That doesn’t happen, especially a story that’s set literally in Scarborough. The press push and all these things. Can you just talk about the significance of that push and the theatrical run that it’s getting?
Lovell: I’m hoping that it encourages more theatres here in the city, Cineplex, and more of the niche theatres to display and push Canadian film so much more, because our narratives are deep and complex and need to be told. And I feel like we already go through a lot of gates trying to get these stories made and put up. So, if in our own backyard we have a little bit of an understanding that we see you, we acknowledge you, let’s put this work on display for our people to see. You know, I hope this is a beacon in that direction.
Kiana: Yeah, it’s also really cool. We’ve been talking about how cool it is to see Canadian stories on screen actually based in Canada. Because there are a lot of movies that are shot here in Toronto, but they’re playing New York or Chicago. But Morningside is so special because it really is such a Toronto story, and it’s so unapologetic in the way that the language and the accent and the music, it’s really for our people. And I haven’t seen anything like that before from Toronto.
Kevin: When it comes to Toronto culture, we have Drake and The Weeknd. I feel like the way that Toronto has succeeded at the highest level, there should be more Toronto stories out there. Do you feel like this is something that people outside of Toronto or Canada would want to watch?
“When you really are building something from the ground up and your heart is really in it, the end result is that much more fulfilling…It’s a different experience when you’re in the trenches, helping get it made.” -Kiana Madeira
Lovell: Absolutely. We have so many, like our neighbors across the pond, our neighbors south of the border, there’s so many. This film is Caribbean; it’s Filipino. There’s so many cultures outside of here that can relate and resonate with what they’re seeing in this movie. And they can resonate with that in their own way, in their own homes. And so you see something like that in this film and you go, I know that in my own home. So it’s easily relatable. And I wanna really do away with that narrative that our stories are unrelatable to the outside world because they are. The only difference is it’s a little bit colder up here.
Kiana: Yeah, and at the end of the day, it really is a universal story about community, hope, resilience. And I think sometimes as Canadians, we can want to conform to be kind of more like the U.S. because we’re afraid that if we stand in our own cultural identity, it might be off-putting, but look at what they’re doing in the UK, right? Like Top Boy, shows like that in London. They’re not changing their accent to sound more American. Instead, they’re inviting people in on the rich culture that they have. And I think Morningside is, I hope, paving a way to make Canadians more confident, to be like let’s show off all the different sides of Canada and let’s invite people and challenge them to be curious about what we have and what our culture is.
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Kevin: I’m glad you brought up the UK, because that’s always a good example. I think per capita, we have like the same amount of Black people in Canada as they have in the UK. But for some reason, their expression of Black culture finds its way on the small screen and the big screen, whereas in Canada, even though we have per capita the same amount of Black people, we haven’t been as forthright with Black stories, but for some reason the UK has found a way to make it work.
Lovell: Yeah. I would like to see more collaborations between the two of us in the future.
Kiana: Yeah, definitely.
Lovell: Because there are so many similarities between our cultures and the way we speak and the way we feel in our bodies that I was like, could you imagine more collaborations between that? That would be a partnership for the ages.
“I would like to see more collaborations between the two of us [Canada and the UK] in the future…That would be a partnership for the ages.” -Lovell Adams-Gray
Kevin: Absolutely. Now, before we go, can we talk about the roles you guys are playing in the film, without kind of giving us away too much?
Kiana: So I’m playing a character named Nicki, and she helps run the community centre, which is like the central hub of the story. She’s definitely more of the mother hen character, the tough love friend. She is a mom, she had a child at a young age. And so she’s kind of trying to put the other characters in the story on with some real wisdom and always encouraging Shanice, played by Joanne Jansen, to know her worth and set boundaries. And she’s the friend that’s gonna tell you maybe what you don’t wanna hear, but what you need to hear. And always coming from a place of love and just cares deeply about the community.
Lovell: And I play Jay, me and my brother, Breeze, we run around the city, do it all as in ends. And I’m in a relationship with Joanne, who plays Shanice. And yeah, we get into a whole bunch of just, you know, worlds collide when it comes to the relationship aspect of things. And, you know, Jay’s just a guy trying to figure it out, trying to do right by others and by himself, and he just keeps getting in his own way. But he has all the knowledge, but none of the wisdom and understanding. If that makes sense. So he understands what he needs to do, but hasn’t been able to apply it yet to himself. And so he hasn’t gotten to the other side of what that whole perspective means. So I think he’s well on his way. If I were to continue the story, you’d see him in a whole other life, like an office job, chilling, being like, “Okay, I did it. I did something.”You know?
Kevin: Now for you guys as a couple, like having this experience of executive producing something together, has this sparked something? Are you guys looking to do more executive producing together?
Lovell: Absolutely. Creating our own work is something that I feel is strong in the Canadian artist identity. And Kiana and I both have our own individual production companies, hers with Tavia and Zara, and mine with B2B, I mean the boys. And so we definitely want to do some collaborations together and bring some more, not only Canadian stories, but monumental stories that can blend so many different forms.
Kiana: Yeah, Lavelle’s also an amazing writer. So he has a script in the works, God willing, that will get made. So we’re talking a lot about writing too. Well, Lavelle will write and I’ll just give some ideas and produce.
“I feel like in this world, I’ve been finding that a lot of people are just searching for something. So I would say to people in the industry, if you have a belief in anything, and for us specifically, it’s believing in Jesus as Christians, don’t shy away from that.” – Lovell Adams-Gray
Kevin: That’s good. Now, before we go, I want to tap back into the faith component because you guys have touched on it in the beginning. There’s a lot of people who struggle with how to balance faith with being in this industry. I talk to writers who are struggling with how to do both. The industry is so dark. There are even actors that are like, “How do I navigate this industry?” What advice do you have for someone who’s a person of faith who struggles to kind of integrate?
Lovell: It’s easy as an actor, especially starting out, to place your value in the work that you do, in the work that you get, like auditions, and trying to be seen, trying to be famous, trying to get ahead, just like everyone else. But I believe that if you seek Him first, all your things will be established, right? If you set your works with the Lord in mind, he will establish your thoughts. So it’s knowing where your compass is. And I think the darkness in the industry comes from the lack of belief. And sometimes you can get clouded and jaded and confused and your morality goes all off whack. You start with one intention and end up doing something else because you just get caught up, right? And I think for us, God keeps us focused.
I feel like in this world, I’ve been finding that a lot of people are just searching for something. So I would say to people in the industry, if you have a belief in anything, and for us specifically, it’s believing in Jesus as Christians, don’t shy away from that because you’d be amazed at how many people are actually like, “Wow, I’m a Christian too. I’m just afraid to talk about it. And it’s so inspiring that you guys talk about it”. I think there’s so much power, like Morningside, right in the community, and strengthening your faith through finding like-minded people who have similar beliefs and just always also being open-minded to people who don’t have the same beliefs and always just coming from a place of love in your work, in the way that you navigate yourself on set, when you’re connecting with new people in the industry, just always coming from a place of love.
Kiana: Yeah, and not being afraid to collaborate and being open to collaboration. That’s the call as followers of Jesus.
Lovell: And I think for us, we’re also now establishing that we want to keep the Sabbath, you know what I mean? We want to keep the Sabbath and make sure that we rest and make sure that we keep it holy and lock in on him. And that has been a saving grace experience.
Kevin: That’s amazing. You guys give me a lot of hope as a youngish couple who are doing your thing together. My wife and I work together as well. I always like to see couples doing their thing together. I think it’s a cheat code for success.
Kiana: Oh yeah, totally. I think so, for sure.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 340 international voters for the 81st and 8nd Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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