In Bigfoot, I Love You, director Marcus Nash takes a simple, absurd premise — a legendary creature hiding in the forests of rural France — and turns it into something surprisingly personal. It’s a story of a legacy passed down from a parent to a child by a hairy beast wandering the forest.
In 2013, a man is shot while on a hunt in the forests of Normandy, France. His helicopter leaves without him, and he doesn’t make it home. Years later, his daughter Zadie (Nikko Austen Smith) is carving out a meager life as a filmmaker in Los Angeles. Her father put a camera in her hands and never looked back, and she hasn’t either. Her best friend and emerging director of photography, Kaya (Alan Starzinsky), is always in her corner. The two head to her father’s old storage unit to dig up some film canisters for an important job her mother set up for her. But buried in the clutter, they find something they weren’t looking for: her father’s old iPhone.
What’s on that phone stops them cold. Her father’s voice describes a discovery that hit him like a jolt — more an orgasmic tingle. And then there’s the photo. Something between a caveman and something else entirely. That same night, Zadie’s uncle Shizzle calls with a story of his own. He’s been having a dream, a vivid one, and Zadie is in it. His father once crossed paths with a magical beast deep in the French countryside, and the beast reached out to Shizzle, saying that he needed Zadie’s help. Convinced, Shizzle agrees to pay to send Zadie and Kaya on a mystical adventure.
Zadie and Kaya hit the ground running in Normandy, charming their way into a night at the local hostel thanks to the mayor, and heading straight for the forest. But the moment they start asking questions, the mood shifts. The townspeople grow tight-lipped and skittish, watching the two Americans with a mix of suspicion and outright panic.
“…the beast reached out to Shizzle, saying that he needed Zadie’s help. Convinced, Shizzle agrees to pay to send Zadie and Kaya on a mystical adventure.”
If I told you the story behind Bigfoot, I Love You, you’d 100% believe it. Director Marcus Nash and Executive Producer O’Shea Gifford were sharing a joint in Austin, Texas, when the idea hit them: finding Bigfoot in France is funny. Six months later, they were shooting in Paris. The film pulls from a cast spanning three countries, and the ambition on screen is hard to square with the budget behind it. Nash leaned into the chaos, putting much of the crew in front of the camera as well, including producer Juliet Robb, who turns up as the town’s villainous mayor. Nash has described the film as falling somewhere between a stoner comedy and a Mel Brooks picture, with a spirit of cheerful absurdism running through every frame.
Bigfoot, I Love You is a story about following your dream, no matter what substance is used to make it happen. Filmmaker Nash has created a crazy fish-out-of-water story, dropping our two protagonists in the middle of a town hiding a deeply guarded secret. There’s also a bit of heart amid the craziness, as the friendship between Zadie and Kaya is tested in pursuit of a dream. For Zadie, though, art must take the lead ahead of financial security.
Actually, the zaniness runs neck and neck with heart as Nash has pulled together a crazy group of townsfolk, each with a unique quirk and foible…and let’s not forget we still have a sasquatch on the run. I admire the pure grit it took to make Bigfoot, I Love You, cuz you really didn’t have to fly to France to make this…but they did.
Bigfoot, I Love You shows that a little bit of MJ can be the catalyst for your next big project, because sometimes the dumbest idea in the room is the best one. Director Marcus Nash bet on a crazy idea, crossed an ocean to see it through, and came back with something that’s hard not to root for.
For screening information, visit the Bigfoot, I Love You official website.
"…sometimes the dumbest idea in the room is the best one."
