Why we prioritized hiring queer crew for an episode of The Nature of Things

By Michelle Mama, director, Fluid: Life Beyond the Binary

I spent the last year directing an episode of the iconic Canadian science series The Nature of Things. 

In Fluid: Life Beyond the Binary, comedian Mae Martin explores the science of gender and sexual fluidity in humans, other animals and plants. 

Martin — whose series, Feel Good, and recent standup special, Sap, are streaming on Netflix — is a renowned non-binary public figure and my old pal. It felt right for them to guide us on this journey. So much of their material is about the absurdity of the rigid gender binary — and they are a self-described "nerd for science." 

In my opinion, it was also imperative that most of the people behind the camera were queer so we could make the subject our own. When queer subject matter is examined through a non-queer lens, it can feel at a remove (like David Attenborough talking about penguins in Antarctica), whereas an insider perspective can provide more context, depth and nuance.

When I was approached by producer Robert Lang of Kensington Communications to direct Fluid, I discussed this philosophy with him, and he agreed. Thanks to the hard work and passion of writer Allen Booth and researchers Naomi Lang and Charlotte Odele, we were already in great shape with an outline that drew from queer scholars and scientists in the vanguard of gender and sexual-fluidity research. 

Then we hit the road to film the documentary. Martin has a punishing schedule, so we only had a day and a half to film with them. We needed a way to shoot the interstitials — the parts between the interviews — at a studio in L.A. Enter set designer and prop whiz Liza Nelson and our devoted team of lesbian elves. 

After hearing what our film was about and going on the brief "Pee-wee Herman meets science," the team set to work building, borrowing and scrounging to create a laboratory scene. The all-queer team worked day and night to assemble a set that was kooky and gorgeous, despite our budget of "ten bucks and a pack of Life Savers."

They brought a vision and perspective that was distinctly campy and perfectly aligned with the film we were making, and I am forever grateful. Queer community always comes through! 

Onto the road crew. You may be thinking, Who cares who shoots it? What difference does it really make? It matters. 

Queer people are inherently outsiders, and when you're on the outside, you see the world through a different lens. 

So much of documentary — especially in the world of science — is about curiosity. When we were on the road, we were a van full of queer people, pulling up to a university or home, engaging with our subjects in the ample downtime before we rolled the camera. We arrived at interviews a bubble of queer energy. There was electricity in the room. 

I run non-hierarchical sets and encourage conversation, engagement and questions before, during and after a shoot. When members of a queer crew are invested in the subject matter, it is more focused, more thorough and created with deep passion — and we end up with better material in the can. Full stop. 

Lulu Wei, our non-binary director of photography, fought for excellence and created a fresh visual language for the documentary. With the other queer crew — like camera operator Nico Stagias and sound guys Kip Harrop and Casey Minatrea — and our queer location PAs, we were the majority in the room. We could relax into our work and engage completely with the material. Any non-queer crew we hired were allies and longtime collaborators who embraced the vibe and understood the number 1 rule: no toxic masculinity ever!

The final piece of the puzzle was queer editor Peter Topalovic. Because the cut was handled by another queer person and through the same lens as the folks who shot it, there's a cohesiveness to Fluid that really comes through. Topalovic was diligent and outstanding as ever.

At the heart of the film is the belief that when it comes to science, the more voices in the room, the better. 

Neuroendocrinologist Simón(e) Sun is part of a group of trans scientists who are pushing against the rigid binaries of science and advocating for more inclusive research and practice. They believe science needs to embrace different ways of approaching a question. 

"So much of science is just built off of basic intuition," Sun said in the documentary. "The intuitions of white cis hetero men is just one way." 

I would say the same thing about documentary storytelling. Who is behind the camera truly matters.

About Michelle Mama

Michelle Mama is a producer, director and five-time nominee at the Canadian Screen Awards. She produced the acclaimed CBC arts series In the Making and executive-produced Canada's Drag Race and the feature documentary Summer Qamp, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023. She co-founded GAY AGENDA, a boutique production company that fosters and mentors new talent while producing screen-based content from a defiantly queer lens.