Interview with Ditched lead Marika Sila
A stunt performer, actress and Indigenous rights activist, Marika Sila is no stranger to the world of action-packed, empowering lead roles. From playing Sergeant Yuka Mongoyak in The Twilight Zone, to Justine Trueblood in Tribal, to most recently making her horror debut as lead protagonist, Melina, in Ditched.
Christopher Donaldson’s Ditched (2021) is survival horror at its finest, and a love letter to 1980s Carpenter-esque gore.
After a routine prison transfer crashes in the forest, young Inuit paramedic Melina finds herself surrounded by murderers with a mere 100 feet to climb out of a ditch to escape. She is trapped in the woods with two prisoner medical transfers and the police escort team, and they are all desperate to escape. The group quickly discovers that they are the victims of an ambush, with the perpetrators hunting them down one by one.
Lucy: So, Ditched gets released next week, can you tell us about the film and your role as the lead protagonist of Melina?
Marika: Yeah, so, Ditched is gory, it’s exciting. It's something that I think the world hasn’t seen before. I loved the tone that it was filmed in; I love all the lighting; I love just how raw everything is.
I myself hadn’t been one for scary movies, but after filming this and seeing how everything is done, I’ve kinda faced my fears and I’m more able to watch films in that genre now, and I just have so much fun watching horror films now after filming Ditched.
I was really honored to have the opportunity to play Melina because she is Indigenous and I am Indigenous myself, and I believe it’s so important for equal and proper representation in the mainstream media.
Lucy: You really provide a lot of education for people online about what it means to be Indigenous, and the representation that is sorely needed. What would you like to see going forward in mainstream media? How do you want to see yourself represented on screen?
Marika: I love this film because Melina is a paramedic, and I think that Hollywood, for so long has stereotyped Indigenous people in roles set over 100 years ago, and it was a great opportunity to play a modern Indigenous person in a lead role.
I just hope that this is just the beginning for equal representation in the mainstream media, where we are able to play such powerful lead characters.
Lucy: You mentioned earlier you’re getting more into horror and the genre is just so diverse. What has been your favorite horror film you’ve watched so far?
Marika: My favorite scary thriller is Get Out. I might be biased because I’ve worked with Jordan Peele, but it was just so cool to see what he got famous over, and like it brought another level of excitement to it. I just think it’s such a strong story … I love Stranger Things too, and I think that Ditched has that Stranger Things, ‘80s feel to it. That’s what had initially drawn me to the film.
Lucy: You can see that straight off the bat, I’m also a huge fan of the ‘80s horror aesthetic. You’re also a stunt performer— with Ditched being a survival horror, did you get to bring any of that to your role?
Marika: Yeah, so even though there weren't too many, I was doing all my own stunts on Ditched. Moving forward I hope to be landing more roles, where I can flex more muscles and special skills along with the acting because that's really the dream.
Lucy: That would be amazing! How did you come about landing the role on Ditched? What was the process like?
Marika: It was the first role that was actually offered to me, and that I didn't have to audition for. My agent was like, “You just got an offer. Read the script and get back to me. Can you read it tonight.?” I was driving, I had like another five hours to drive, so I ended up just booking a hotel, going through the script and asking myself, do I want to do this? How could I not want to do this? It was an obvious yes.
Lucy: As you already mentioned, you’ve had the opportunity to work with the likes of Jordan Peele — you’ve now done Twilight Zone and Tribal. What would your dream role be?
Marika: I would say to dip my feet into the Marvel universe. It’s always been a goal of mine. So hopefully someday, fingers crossed, and all I can do on my part is be the best actress and stunt performer I can possibly be, and have fun.
Lucy: Can you describe Melina a bit more as a character and the similarities you have?
Marika: She’s a strong, brave, independent woman who just wants to get back to see her daughter. I really relate to her in that sense. My family is everything to me, and everything I do is for my family, and the people I love and my community. Also, as an actress and influencer, I have to have some realm of bravery and courage and confidence, so I feel like I was able to bring that to Melina as well, which I think is really important for her character.
Lucy: Finally, what advice would you have for other Indigenous women looking to break into acting?
Marika: I would say that the most important thing is just to start studying acting and get into acting classes, and just having the courage to do it. Knowing that it's possible, I think, is the one thing we need as human beings to move forward. If someone else has done it, you can, too.
Ditched is available from January 18th on demand, and February 15th on Blu-ray.
