The multiverse has long been a cinematic point of interest for many. For Fredericton-based filmmaker Arianna Martinez, her debut feature Do I Know You From Somewhere? leads viewers to question the unknown. Martinez says the film is “easier to experience than describe,”— a multiverse story without a single visual effect. 

This film follows two strangers, Olive and Benny, who serendipitously meet at a wedding. Their life unfolds to viewers in snapshots of their day at a lake house. Though all seems ordinary, things unknowingly start to shift, bit by bit. It begins with small things— disappearing magnets on the fridge, a misplaced package, but these instances slowly escalate, adding to their fear and suspicion. In an attempt to make sense of these strange happenings, Olive finds Benny replaced with a woman named Ada. However, Ada cannot understand why Olive does not recognize her, despite their effortless connection. 

Premiering on September 6 at the Toronto International Film Festival, Do I Know You From Somewhere? will be the first film out of New Brunswick to premiere at TIFF in more than a decade.

“It makes me proud to be a New Brunswicker and to have a piece of art that the community here made means so much,” Martinez explains, adding that she feels proud to highlight local talent in the province in her directorial debut. 

Not limited to one timeline, Martinez appeals to a range of ideas through otherworldly elements. Despite time-altering elements that leave the viewers fearful about the future of the relationship between Olive and Benny, Martinez captures universal feelings of longing, disappearance, and fear of the unknown. As a director, she says that magical realism was a large inspiration for this film, with elements of horror and science fiction woven into the narrative.

Aside from the supernatural nature of this film, viewers can find themselves represented in the chaos of navigating a life post-relationship. The gradual disappearance of Benny is “true to life when you suddenly stop having a relationship with somebody,” Martinez says. “You do not know them anymore and the more time passes, you start to forget and they become unimportant, even though at one point they were everything.” 

The idea of choice is central to the film as Olive and Ada’s relationship slowly comes into the foreground. Throughout key scenes, Ada shows that Olive was never truly meant for one person. Her relationships with both characters warp together through a series of hellos and goodbyes. Martinez remarked that the choices made by the characters convey that anybody can dictate their own future. 

“I loved the way we chose to shoot that feeling you get when you see somebody and you’re so captivated by them that nothing else matters. It was both visually stunning and emotional and I get goosebumps every time I watch it,” she says. 

Continuing on her journey as a New Brunswick filmmaker, she encourages aspiring Canadian filmmakers to tell their own stories. Though Martinez did not attend school for film, her passion for storytelling has taken her far—all the way to her directorial debut at TIFF. Regardless of budget or experience, Martinez pushes creatives to work with what they have. 

“The only thing stopping yourself from starting is you. Anyone can make a film because everyone has a story to tell,” she concludes.

Do I Know You From Somewhere is screening now at TIFF.