On February 6, 2014, only three months after my wife and I moved back home to Niverville from our two-year stay in Ontario, I got an email from a filmmaker in Winnipeg named Orlando Braun. The subject line of the email read “Menno Documentary Inquiry.”
The next day, we were having coffee—not yarba—at a café near the Exchange District. It was in this meeting with Orlando that I heard the five strangest words I’d ever heard: “Mennonites are hot right now.” He was quoting a colleague of his and trying to stress that this was the perfect time to make a film, That Mennonite Joke.
Let me say that this is not the first time someone has googled “Mennonite comedian” and sent me an email. A couple of years prior, my wife and I were contacted by a major television production company in the States. They wanted to see what would happen if they put us on an old order Mennonite colony and filmed it as a reality series. The show never got off the ground due to some creative differences between the producers.
So when Orlando pitched me the idea of a documentary about Mennonite humour, I was excited, despite the fact that it could turn out to be the shortest documentary ever made.
For the next year and a half, director Orlando Braun and producer Jorge Requena followed me around. We went to comedy clubs, bookstores, theatres, and private homes. We talked to prominent authors, performers, curators, and professors who were fascinated by and immersed in Mennonite culture.
Here’s something I didn’t expect: the interviews I did actually started to influence my stand-up comedy. As a result, whole new sections of my act got developed. All of that was captured on film.
One of the highlights of this project for me was talking with award-winning author Miriam Toews. She’s made Mennonites mainstream with her candid and humorous prose. We talked about how comedy and tragedy are very closely related—and exploiting the apparent juxtaposition can actually help to create a heightened sense of comedy.
The movie debuted on February 6, 2016, exactly two years to the day that Orlando sent me that initial email. The premiere was held at the Keystone Cinema in Steinbach. It marks the first-ever world premiere of a film in that city.
The event was sold-out and there was standing-room only for the last handful of guests. Many were turned away at the door. I have a feeling that the promises of “free admission” and “free faspa” had something to do with that. Do we know our demographic or what?
It was a thrilling experience, sitting in a movie theatre and watching myself on the big screen. I can honestly say that I was only nervous for a few moments. As soon as I heard the audience laughing, I felt comfortable.
Next, the movie went on to the Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival, with two more sold-out screenings. Our little picture even took home the award for Best Short Documentary.
Then it was on to another prominent festival in Winnipeg, the Shärt International Comedy Film Fest.
The goal is to tour the movie across North America, and possibly even turn it into a full-length feature.
I’m exceptionally pleased with the movie. My hope is that it makes people more aware—and with any luck, more proud of their heritage. Delving into my roots certainly did that for me, while giving me a ton of new material.
You can watch That Mennonite Joke anytime for free on MTS Video On Demand, and it’ll be on Bravo next year. Or watch for it at a screening or film festival near you.
