On the first episode of the Talking To Actors series, DGC Director Aubrey Arnason sits down with famed Directing Coach Judith Weston to discuss the 25th Anniversary Edition of her bestselling book, Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television. Weston’s students include directors like Alejandro Iñárritu, Ava DuVernay and Taika Watiti, and on this episode she delves into the Director-Actor relationship, what Actors want from their Director, how to help Actors find the right emotions in a scene and much more.

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.

This episode features a panel of Documentary Directors whose films screened at the 2022 Hot Docs Festival. Jennifer Baichwal, Director of Into The Weeds, Louie Palu, Director of Zero Position and Sara Dosa, Director of Fire of Love are joined by renowned film critic Johanna Schneller to discuss the notion of a "balanced" documentary, the experience of creating films in dangerous locales, the ethics of filming human suffering and how far they're willing to go for their work. 

This discussion was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto.

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.

This episode features a panel of Documentary Directors whose films screened at the 2022 Hot Docs Festival. Reg Harkema, Director of The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks, Chase Joynt, Director of Framing Agnes and Shane Belcourt, Director of Beautiful Scars come together to talk about how they navigated the complexities of their subjects, the nature of Documentary as a format, the need for specificity in storytelling and the effect their documentaries had on their own perspectives.

This discussion was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto.

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.

This episode features Odario Williams, of CBC Radio’s Afterdark and the Hip-Hop Collective Grand Analog, in conversation with Questlove about the musician’s BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary feature, Summer of Soul. The acclaimed film represents Questlove’s directorial debut and tells the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a major cultural event that has lived in obscurity for half a century. Throughout this discussion, these two eclectic artists cover Philadelphia vernacular, Questlove's initial decision to pass on Summer of Soul, the significant footage left out of the final cut, tracking down living witnesses and the massive discoveries made about the festival's lineup. 

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.

On this episode, friends and colleagues Mina Shum (Double Happiness, Ninth Floor, Meditation Park) and Don McKellar (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Last Night, Through Black Spruce) sit down to discuss their perspectives on the craft of directing. From the debate around authoritative directing styles, to the fundamental idea of being a director, these two storied artists provide insight into questions about representation, communicating with actors, and adapting to a variety of storytelling formats.

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.

This talk was originally recorded remotely in 2021.

Two of television's most prolific directors, Helen Shaver (Orphan Black, Vikings, Maid) and Jeremy Podeswa (Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid's Tale) come together to discuss their work on the recent HBO Max miniseries Station 11. A post-apocalyptic story set 20 years after a flu pandemic dismantled civilization, the show follows a group of traveling performers as they come into conflict with a violent cult. Shaver and Podeswa break down their directing approach in detail, discussing how to make a dystopic setting feel unique, filming and editing non-linear scenes, and the emotional experience of shooting a show about a pandemic, during a pandemic. 

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.

Award-winning DGC Director Jennifer Abbott discusses her two latest documentary features The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel and The Magnitude of All Things alongside filmmaker and climate activist Avi Lewis (This Changes Everything, The Take). Through the lens of Abbott's profound documentary work, these two filmmakers dissect the structure and challenges of essay films, while tackling topics like climate grief, the regulation of Big Tech, and the intertwining nature of capital, climate breakdown and the pandemic. 

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.

This talk was originally recorded over Zoom in 2021. 

Acclaimed Director Stanley Nelson sits down with DGC Director Charles Officer (Unarmed Verses, The Skin We're In, Akilla's Escape) to discuss his latest documentary feature, Attica. The two delve into the craft of documentary filmmaking, covering the nuances surrounding point of view, the mechanics and challenges of interviewing subjects, the labor invested in archival footage, and the importance of keeping an audience entertained throughout. Their invaluable discussion offers incredible insight for filmmakers, storytellers, and anybody with an interest in documentaries.

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.

Helen Shaver is joined by Director Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, The Pacific) to discuss her feature film, Happy Place. Adapted from Pamela Sinha’s stage play of the same name, the film portrays the experiences of a group of women at an in-patient care facility. Shaver speaks on the process of putting trauma on screen, preparing for heavy scenes with the film’s lead, Clark Backo, and her personal journey from actor to director.

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.

This talk was recorded remotely in 2020.

Director Jeff Barnaby is joined by Jesse Wente, Executive Director of the Indigenous Screen Office, to discuss the 2020 release of his feature film Blood Quantum. Their in-depth conversation covers many topics, including the initial audience reactions to the film, the political history of Zombie movies, and the process of challenging typical representations of Indigenous peoples. 

The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.

This talk was recorded over Zoom in 2020.