Face2Face with David Peck

Imogen Thomas and David Peck talk about her new film Emu Runner, social realism, loss and grief, challenging stereotypes, intergenerational trauma, taking more time for others and indigenous rights and cultures in Australia.

Trailer

Emu Runner is a story about a nine-year-old Indigenous girl, Gem Daniels, who lives in a remote Australian town. As she copes with her mother’s unexpected death, Gem finds solace in the company of a wild emu, unwittingly connecting with her mother’s traditional totem animal.

Gem’s obsessive attachment to the emu leads her down a troubled path as she feeds it her school lunches and begins to steal extra food for it. As she spends more and more time with the emu, Gem skips school, attracting the attention of a new social worker in town, Heidi, who is convinced Gem’s family is failing to look after her.

In nature the male emu takes on the role of rearing the chicks. With the death of his wife, Gem’s father Jay Jay is left to raise Gem, her 15-yearold sister Valerie and her 17-year-old brother Ecka on his own. While Jay Jay’s commitment to his family doesn’t waver, the pressures to make ends meet and hold the family together are exacerbated by the antics of his older children and Gem’s truancy and stealing.

Emu Runner is as much Jay Jay Daniels’ story as it is Gem’s. Not only does Jay Jay face prejudices from the white community in the town, he also has to prove himself to his Indigenous family and friends, who have little confidence in his ability as a sole parent. Jay Jay is driven by a dogged determination as he strives to nurture and protect his children.

Emu Runner is a story about respecting difference. It explores the underlying racial tensions in regional Australia and the importance of traditional customs in modern Indigenous culture.

Biography

Imogen Thomas is her first narrative feature-length film. Imogen has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program at New York University.

She also holds a First-Class Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Drama, from Flinders University in South Australia. It was here that Imogen began making short films, many of which have been screened at festivals and have received awards, including Best Narrative Drama at the 11th Adelaide Film Festival for Departure.

At this time, she also pursued a career in set and costume design for the theatre, designing celebrated productions for Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre, the Adelaide Theatre Festival and Magpie2.

In 1998 Imogen was awarded the prestigious South Australian Premier’s Award for Emerging Artist of Year. This award afforded her the opportunity to undertake her Masters degree at NYU.

Imogen’s graduating film, Mixed Bag, premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2008 and went on to be screened at both national and international festivals. It received the Gold Award at the Australian Cinematographer’s Society Awards 2008 as well as being a finalist for the Wasserman and King Award, First Run Film Festival 2009, NYC. Imogen lives in Sydney, Australia, with her partner Victor Evatt and their two daughters.

For more information please head here to her website.

Image Copyright: Imogen Thomas. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nandita Das and David Peck talk about her new film Manto, dignity and context, subversive push back, normalized equality, deep convictions, having a social conscience and activism and why you need to be yourself, because everyone else is already taken.

Trailer

Synopsis

Manto begins in an optimistic India waiting to be free from British colonial rule. No one has any idea of the upheaval the Partition of India and Pakistan will soon bring. Riots between Hindu and Muslim pit neighbour against neighbour, and strain even the deepest friendship. During this period, Manto - one of history’s greatest short story writers - is torn between his beloved Bombay, and moving to Pakistan.

Increasingly, his writings bear shocking witness to a society caught up in communal violence in which people become, for no reason at all, predators or prey. Meanwhile, Manto’s own flawed humanity drives him to shine a light on the dark underbelly of society that so many chose to ignore.

As Manto fights to clear himself from charges of obscenity and maintain his freedom, his increasing alcoholism and anguish takes a toll on his family and leads him to a downward spiral. Through all of this, he continues to write, his works mirroring the harsh realities of the time as he continues to pen the truth, for which he pays the ultimate price. This is the tale of two emerging nations, two faltering cities and one man who tries to make sense of it all.

Biography

Nandita Das has acted in more than 40 feature films in 10 different languages. She made her directorial debut with Firaaq, in 2008 that won many accolades and appreciation, both in India and abroad.

Nandita also acted, wrote and directed the play Between the Lines in 2012. She was on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival twice (2005 and 2013), among others. She has a Master’s degree in Social Work and is a strong advocate for issues of social justice and human rights.

She was the Chairperson of Children’s Film Society between 2009 and 2012 and has been conferred the ‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters’ by the French Government.

Her second directorial venture, Manto, based on the life and works of Saadat Hasan Manto, one of the greatest short story writers of South Asia, recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. It was the only Indian film to be selected in 2018.

For more information please head here:

Image Copyright: Nandita Das. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are two certainties in life right? And one of those things is taxes. At least that’s the cliché we are so often reminded of in casual conversation.

Death, assisted care and ending life well are not things we often talk about. Janet Dunnett wants to change that. The stats suggest that one in four Canadians will be living in assisted care in the not so distant future. Sobering though really isn’t it?

Janet Dunnett and Face2Face host David Peck talk about her new book The Dwindling, A Daughter’s Caregiving Journey to the Edge of Life, the death positive movement, guilt, shame, responsibility and the importance of story.

Biography

Janet Dunnett came of age in a remote part of the Himalayas where she worked as a volunteer teacher of pre-schoolers. The experience led her into a career in the federal government’s development assistance program where she became adept at pushing for policies that would work to make things better for people whose voices were not being heard. Caregiving came as second nature though it was a decade of grit and bliss, she says. She took on the role of “daughter at a distance” together with her twin sister who was “daughter on deck”. Together they learned how to be ninja caregivers, and flourish in the process.

Once caregiving was over, Janet wrote a book about her experience and what she learned about what quality looks like at the edge of life, both for those who give care and those who receive it. This is crucial learning as caregiving shifts from being a family matter to being an emerging public health crisis.

Her book, called The Dwindling, A Daughter’s Caregiving Journey to the Edge of Life, is available in Canadian bookstores and everywhere on Amazon.

For more information please head here: www.journeyspress.ca

Image Copyright: Janet Dunnett. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Molly Murphy and David Peck talk about The Mudgirls Building Initiative, patriarchy, capitalism, applied activism, patience and problem solving and why its important not to leave anyone behind.

Biography

The Mudgirls are a network of women builders on the west coast of BC, Canada. They specialize in using local, natural and recycled materials and can be hired to build with you or for you and to create whatever your heart desires. They are experienced in building everything from cob cabins, ovens and benches to installing natural insulation, earthen floors and wall plasters in any style of home.

The Mudgirls live and work in Vancouver, Nanaimo, Saltspring Island, Denman Island, Lasqueti island and the Sunshine Coast.

For more information head here: www.mudgirls.ca

Image Copyright: The Mudgirls. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Filming in difficult conditions led producer Marina Cordoni to comment that she faced, …one of the most important days of her life. This was on the set of the new film Never Saw It Coming. This is a feminist drama starring her and director Gail Harvey.

Keisha Ceylon is a psychic. At least, that’s what she passes herself off as. She watches the news for stories of missing family members and by the way, she charges for this service, and likes to see the money up front. Keisha’s latest mark is a man whose wife disappeared a week ago. So she pays a visit to our troubled husband and tells him her vision. The trouble is her vision just happens to be close enough to the truth that it leaves this man rattled. And it may very well leave Keisha dead.

Please check out the new Trailer here.

This led Gail Harvey and Marina Cordoni and Face2face host David Peck to talk about the cement ceiling for women, hope, communication and hard work, people management and collaboration, pushing boundaries, and why women in the industry have faced so many different challenges than men and why sometimes we need permission to laugh.

Biography

Marina Cordoni is the Founder and Producer of MCE Inc. a Toronto based production company and film sales agency. In the nineties, Cordoni worked for various entertainment companies including the film division of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, where she handled pre-sales and completed picture sales in various foreign territories on major independent hits including '4 Weddings and a Funeral', 'Dead Man Walking', 'Fargo' and 'Sleepers'.

She was also instrumental in building a feature film production and foreign sales division at Toronto based Breakthrough Entertainment between 2008- 2013. Recent Producer credits include the latest feature from Gail Harvey ‘Never Saw It Coming’ (based on the Linwood Barclay novel) and The Butler Brothers: ‘First Round Down’ (which hit number 5 at the Canadian Box Office).

Her Executive Producer roles include ‘Blood Honey’ from filmmaker Jeff Kopas (released in fall 2017) and Jason Priestley’s feature directorial debut: ‘Cas and Dylan’.

Gail Harvey is an award-winning film director who has studied under Norman Jewison, Wim Wenders, Arthur Penn and Daniel Petrie.

Harvey has a 25-year history in the feature film industry, starting as a stills photographer on more than 100 films undertaken by all major studios in the United States and Canada. She won an international reputation by creating deep and insightful work that helped her transcend the traditional role of the on-set stills photographer. Her appeal stems from an ability to capture, in a single frame, the enduring presence and complex personalities of her subjects. Among them are Shirley MacLaine, Diane Keaton, Clint Eastwood, Elizabeth Taylor, Faye Dunaway, Martin Sheen, Mel Gibson, Robert Mitchum and Tony Curtis.

It was through her years of photographing actors, and understanding their creative processes that she became fascinated with the moving image. "After many years of developing my artistic vision through photography, I try to put all the life I've captured on the street and my studio into the performance on the screen." Harvey's first short film, Uphill in a Wheelchair (1987), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1987. That film earned her acceptance in 1989 as a director resident at The Film Centre founded by Norman Jewison. Harvey's first feature film, The Shower (1992), was nominated for three Genie Awards. Her film Striking Poses (1999), starring Shannen Doherty, premiered on Sky TV in Britain and aired on HBO and TMN. Cold Sweat (1993), starring Ben Cross, was shown at the Montreal Film Festival and has been seen around the world. Harvey also has directed several short films, and various episodic for CBC, BBC, Fox, Channel 4, Showcase, History Channel, YTV and Warner Brothers.

Other film titles include: Some Things That Stay produced by Don Carmody and Catherine Gourdier and Looking is the Original Sin (available on iTunes) which Harvey wrote, produced and directed. Her next project Never Saw It Coming is based on the bestselling novel of same name by Linwood Barclay and will star Hollywood actress Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction).

Produced By: Marina Cordoni & Gail Harvey

Executive Producers: Linwood Barclay, Jay Firestone, Steven Pasternak, Danny Webber, Michael Forsey

Produced with the Financial Participation of TELEFILM CANADA, THE NORTHERN ONTARIO HERITAGE FUND, PRODIGY PICTURES and ROLLING PICTURES.

Image Copyright: Marina Cordoni & Gail Harvey. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The current Indian act was first passed in 1876 -- it's been amended but the original act is still in force. In 2002, there were twenty major amendments made but the fact remains that it's based on an old act that was written when settlers' relationships with Indigenous people was different than it is today.

The Indian Act is a dense document and there are many things wrong with it. Today's Face2Face guest, Bob Joseph, doesn't tackle the entire Indian Act, but he does have plenty of meaningful things to say about a way forward. His book, released in the spring is called 21 Things You Didn't Know About The Indian Act.

He spoke to Face2Face host and producer David Peck about the book, identity, culture and potlatches, Canadian soul searching and why we’re not a melting pot.

Bob Joseph is the founder of Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., and member of the Gwawaenuk Nation. He has provided training on Indigenous and Aboriginal relations since 1994. He is a certified master trainer, former associate professor at Royal Roads University, and has a background in Business Administration and International Trade.

His Canadian clients include all levels of government, Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, including the World Bank, small and medium-sized corporate enterprises, and Indigenous peoples.

As an author and co-author, Bob has contributed to a number of resources relating to working with Aboriginal or Indigenous Peoples. He also manages a blog called Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples®, which is a resource that supports people in their Indigenous relations endeavours.

For more information please head here: www.ictinc.ca

Image Copyright: Bob Joseph. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dev Aujla and David Peck talk about 50 Ways to Get A Job, finding meaning in the simple things, giving back, the road less travelled and why relationships are key to pretty much everything.

Dev Aujla is the CEO of Catalog, an insight and recruiting firm that has provided talent and strategy to some of the world’s most innovative companies including BMW, GOOD Magazine, Change.org, and Planned Parenthood.

His writing and work have been featured in dozens of media outlets including the New York Times, Glamour, MSNBC, CBC and The Globe and Mail. 

He is the author of Making Good: Finding Meaning, Money and Community in a Changing World and 50 Ways to Get a Job: An Unconventional Guide to Finding Work on Your Terms. 

Image Copyright: Dev Aujla. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adriane Franklin and David Peck talk about feminine hygiene, poverty and social justice, simple solutions, her desire for a more equitable playing field and why the little things matter.

Adriane Franklin is the volunteer creator and team leader of the Mississauga Days for Girls team.  She started the team in March 2016 after hearing about it the Christmas before and thinking about what a perfect fit it would be for her.  Adriane has extensive experience, particularly in working with teenage girls through her work at camps, a pregnancy support centre, coaching teams, tutoring and her position as a secondary school business and economics teacher.

One of her hobbies is sewing and she is very interested in and passionate about social justice issues.  She also freely discusses feminine issues like inequality and health issues and has a keen interest in bettering the world for girls as she raises two of her own. So, Days for Girls is a natural fit. Days for Girls’ focus is giving days of education and work back to girls in developing countries by providing them with durable, reusable feminine hygiene kits.  The kits are donated and sewn by a team of volunteers she’s continuing to develop here in Mississauga and Oakville and will be distributed globally once assembled.  

Fore more information head here: www.daysforgirls.org

Image Copyright: Adrianne Franklin. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greg Paul and David Peck talk about his weapons of love, bad, crazy, vicious religion, belief, and the politics of fear, vulnerability, oppression, exclusion and the enormous problem of faith.

Greg Paul is a pastor and member, as well as the founder, of the Sanctuary community in Toronto. Sanctuary, a community in which people who are wealthy and people who are poor live, work and share their experiences and resources on a daily basis, makes a priority of welcoming and caring for some of the most hurting and excluded people in Canada’s largest city, including people struggling with addiction, mental illness, prostitution, and homelessness.

Greg is the author of the recently released Resurrecting Religion and several other award-winning books: Simply Open; Close Enough to Hear God Breathe; The Twenty-Piece Shuffle; and God In The Alley.  He is the father of four children, and married to Maggie, who has three children of her own.

For more information please head here: www.sanctuarytoronto

Image Copyright: Greg Paul. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew MacLeod and David Peck talk about mental health, choices and social context, addiction, brokenness, trauma, thinking collectively and a health in all policies approach to wellness.

Synopsis

Never before have individuals faced so much conflicting information about how to be healthy: a constant rotation of fad diets, extreme workout regimens and celebrity-endorsed supplements are regularly hyped as the latest cure for all modern ills. We also maintain a massive health care system that absorbs a steadily growing share of public spending. As health has increasingly come to occupy a prominent role in our lives and headlines, however, we’ve tended to ignore that many of the the most significant contributors to making and keeping us well lie outside both the medical system and our individual control—income, education, employment, housing, environmental factors and social supports. In All Together Healthy, award-winning author Andrew MacLeod digs deep to discover how to build a healthy society, examines inequities within Canada and draws on international comparisons to assess why Canada’s high spending on health care has failed to achieve better results. Meticulously researched and enlivened with interviews and personal stories, MacLeod explains the complexities of public health policy in an immediate and approachable way, making a passionate case for how best to maximize the health of the many. In Canada, this is a moment of political optimism, where the path to a healthier society seems possible, but it is uncertain whether promised changes will happen. All Together Healthy defines what’s at stake and articulates a vision of a future where the health and well-being of all citizens is of central importance.

Biography

Andrew MacLeod is the BC Legislative Bureau Chief for TheTyee.ca website. His first book, A Better Place on Earth (Harbour Publishing, 2015), won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature.

He won a 2006 Association of Alternative Newsweeklies award for news writing and was a finalist for a 2007 Western Magazine Award for best article in BC and the Yukon.

His reporting has appeared in Monday Magazine, The Georgia Straight, BCBusiness Magazine, 24 Hours, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Detroit’s MetroTimes, Portland’s Willamette Week and elsewhere. Andrew lives in Victoria, BC.

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Image Copyright: Andrew MacLeod. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.