In the 10th and final part of this series, the crew turn the mics around on themselves to discuss what they learned throughout the process of producing this series over a 10 month period.

Liam Dawe (Host/Lead Producer), Ingrid Vargas (Host/Producer), Natalie Schmidt (Outreach Coordinator), and Maria Pletneva (Editor) sit down to answer questions tossed their way by Kaamil Kareemi (CJSW Podcast Coordinator).

Alberta has seen several “Golden Eras” of filmmaking, and the industry has constantly been in a state of flux, but there are many industry professionals who are devoting their careers to help sustain and grow local and provincial film.

In Part 9, Liam and Ingrid are joined by two long standing industry members, Damian Petti (International Vice President of IATSE and President of IATSE Local 212) and Valerie Siu (Utility Sound Technician), to learn about the modern growth and phases that Albertan filmmaking has seen. Val Siu also discusses her experience working on big film sets, and bringing Pedro Pascal onto her CJSW show Breaking Techniques when he was in town for The Last Of Us (featuring clips from the episode he co-hosted).

Being a Calgary based production, the series has been focusing mainly on the Calgary and Southern Alberta film industries, but this part shifts that focus to our neighbours up in Edmonton and Northern Alberta, an area with a healthy film ecosystem that contributes to the province’s reputation and development.

In Part 8, Liam and Ingrid meet with Edmonton based producer Edmon Rotea, and Heather Noel (Programming Manager at Metro Cinema), to gain some insight into how film has grown - and differs - in the northern half of the province. Edmon explains how FAVA (Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta) has played a role in his development as a producer, while Heather provides insight into the importance of Metro Cinema in the independent and alternative film scenes.

The previous part of the series focuses on some of the institutions that help films continue to be created in Alberta, but it left out an important player in that equation; the esteemed Film Festivals that exist in the province that provide a platform for those films. Film festivals are a place where the community comes together to engage in their shared love and passion, providing a showcase for filmmakers to share their art and connect with the audiences they may be making the film for.

In Part 7, Ingrid and Liam sit down with Brian Owens (Artistic Director for CIFF; Calgary International Film Festival), Brenda Lieberman (Co-founder for CUFF; Calgary Underground Film Festival), and Mardell Olson (Chairperson of the Board of Nordlys Film & Art Festival) to discuss the role that festivals play in maintaining the film community in Alberta. The team also heads down to CUFF 2024 to chat with festival-goers about why they appreciate the film fest.

Filmmaking can be a very difficult process that requires many moving parts and the funding to ensure the production can happen. There are different types of funding and support available for filmmakers in Alberta, ranging from national associations down to localized entities that work hard to allow the industry to continue progressing.

In Part 6, Liam and Ingrid speak to members of just a few of the institutions that have come together to help build the industry up to its current state. They are joined by Alex Mitchell (CSIF; Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers), Scott Lang (Calgary Cinematheque), and Vicki Van Chau (AMAAS; Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society) who all discuss how their organizations play important roles in the development of filmmaking in the province.

In Part 5, Homesteads to Hollywood are breaking form by bringing in three independent film producers for a roundtable discussion about the state of independent film in Alberta.

Hosts Liam and Ingrid are joined by Paige K Boudreau, Kyle Thomas, and Contra who dive deep into their experiences developing as indie filmmakers, and how Alberta positively and negatively influences their approach, in an honest, engaging discussion between professionals.

Many different backgrounds and lifestyles come together to create a vibrant industry of filmmaking in Alberta, and in many ways are necessary for the industry to remain diverse and unique.

In Part 4, Ingrid and Liam are joined by Calgary filmmakers Sandi Somers and Michelle Wong to learn about how their identities play a role in their art, and how Alberta has not always been the most open and conducive environment to create films.

In Part 3, we dive into the legacy of Alberta’s Indigenous communities whose stories and contributions to Alberta’s film industry have long-been misrepresented or pigeonholed into heavy, harmful stereotypes in Hollywood.

Ingrid and Liam sit down with Siksika Filmmaker Trevor Solway, and Cree Actor Michelle Thrush, whose individual contributions to Alberta’s film and television industry have seen them subvert tropes and push boundaries around what Indigenous cinema is, and how it’s interpreted.

In Part 2, Liam and Ingrid chat with Rancher, Wrangler and Stuntman John Scott to understand the important legacy of the John Scott Ranch, an essential Hollywood filming location since its first appearance in Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man (1969).

Donning many hats over the years and experiencing the many eras and transformations of Alberta’s filmscape, John Scott sheds light on some of Alberta’s biggest blockbusters from the 1960s to now.

From Cool Runnings to The Revenant and Brokeback Mountain to The Last of Us––Cinematic starpower didn’t just happen to Alberta. So how did we get here?

In Part 1, Liam and Ingrid chat with author Mary Graham about her seminal work A Stunning Backdrop (2022), which outlines Alberta’s storied film history from 1917–1960. This new work contextualizes and sheds light on the province’s distant beginnings, star power and the contributions of Alberta’s Indigenous Peoples, whose mutually-beneficial relationship with Hollywood helped usher in a new age of economic and creative possibilities for the province.