m ay 2 0 1 7 7 5 L’Esprit de L’Escalier Clockwise from top left: courtesy lynn robinson W hat’s your immigration story? Everybody has one. In Lynn Robinson’s short film And You From Yours (1993), Robinson tells the story of female immigrants uprooted from Quebec to the Northeast. Through powerful imagery Robinson conjures the range of emotions one experiences when one emigrates: the uncertainty, the acclimation, the indecision for the French Canadian woman of whether to stay or go back, and then finally the recognition of the freedoms gained. Do you know your own immigration story? And how can you avoid stereotypes when telling that story? Throughout her film, Robinson weaves the tale of her own great-grandmother’s immigration, gleaned from details shared with her by her grandmother–her mémère. The film tells an intergeneration- al tale through the medium of flash- backs set between the 1870s and 1990s. Robinson drives the narrative using an epistolary format, unique imagery of landscapes, close-ups, and scenes revisiting her family’s former home- stead. The story is told in broad strokes to allow space for the viewer to imag- ine her own experiences. What makes the film important to the French-Ca- nadian heritage immigrants is that this is one of the few examples of such a film where the women are self- voiced. If I were to express what I feel when I watch the film, I would say that I’m given freedom. It’s the freedom that only a story can give–and not just any story, but one I can relate to per- sonally and profoundly. n WatchAndYouFromYoursatwww.vimeo.com/213185748. RheaCôtéRobbinsistheauthorof ‘downthePlains,’and editorofHeliotrope-FrenchHeritageWomenCreate. And You From Yours The art of storytelling translates individual experiences into collective memories. By Rhea Côté Robbins