Knowledge Network is the public broadcaster in British Columbia. But what many in the public didn’t know until an equity audit laid it bare in February was that, in the past seven years, only 1.7% of the $2 million granted by Knowledge Network to filmmakers went to filmmakers of colour, and 0% went to Indigenous majority-owned companies. To put it in perspective, 1.7% of $2 million is only $34,000. Thus, a group of diverse independent filmmakers and BC residents recently launched a petition calling for new leadership at Knowledge Network so that it can, in their words, once again become “the people’s broadcaster, and the trusted repository of BC stories.” Documentarian Joella Cabalu joins Sabrina to talk about the situation at Knowledge Network and what it reveals about the status of white supremacy in BC film. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Kathleen Robertson visits the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about her years acting on Maniac Mansion and Beverly Hills 90210 and her current gig showrunning Roku’s hit series Swimming With Sharks. The last – a dark thriller – is a reimagining of the 1994 film of the same title, about a Hollywood assistant who turns the tables on an abusive boss. But this time, the Hollywood assistant and the abusive boss are women: played by Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger respectively. Donald Sutherland, Thomas Dekker, Finn Jones, Erica Alexander, Ross Butler, and Gerardo Celasco also make appearances – as does Kathleen herself. In this fascinating and entertaining interview, Kathleen pulls back the curtain on Swimming With Sharks. She also takes us into her career journey, and talks about reinvention in an industry that isn’t always welcoming of women who want to expand into new roles. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Charissa Barton is responsible for choreographing one of the most universally beloved opening credits sequences of all time: that of Peacemaker on HBO Max. Newsweek described it as “[probably] the most memorable opening credits sequence of any superhero show in recent years.” The Hollywood Reporter went even further, calling it “one of the greatest opening credits in TV history.” In the sequence, characters like Peacemaker (John Cena), Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) perform their slammin’ robot-like dance moves to Wig Wam’s 2010 rock-metal track “Do You Wanna Taste It,” their expressions intensely stoic. Comedian Patton Oswalt echoed millions of fans when he tweeted, “Has ANYONE ever used the ‘skip intro' option in @DCpeacemaker? ‘Cuz I never will.” In this special episode, we meet the dynamic artist behind those iconic moves. Episode Sponsor: YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine

Let’s Make A Sci-Fi is audacious. The new CBC podcast follows three Vancouver comedians – Ryan Beil, Maddy Kelly and Mark Chavez – as they set out to write a successful, non-comedy sci-fi pilot with help from scientific experts and Hollywood screenwriting pros, including actor Rainn Wilson, astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, District 9 filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, showrunners Jem Garrard and Simon Barry, and Catherine Winder, CEO of Wind Sun Sky. Over the course of eight episodes, the comedians overcome challenges such as developing their story-world, plot, characters, and the science, as they prepare their pilot script for the ultimate test: a performance by professional actors, for better or worse. 

If it sounds bonkers and awesome, that’s because it is. It’s a study of writer’s rooms, how sci-fi is put together, and what works and what doesn’t. And even though the comedians are adamant that they’re not writing a comedy, Let’s Make a Sci-Fi is funny. Because the audacity of inventing universes and characters and ships is hilarious, especially when comedians set out to do it. Ryan Beil joins Sabrina to talk about the audacity of Let’s Make a Sci-Fi, and the practical lessons he learned along the way about writing science fiction. 

Episode Sponsor: YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine

Lea Salonga is the beloved singer and performer who won a Tony Award for originating the role of Kim in Miss Saigon, and who built a global fanbase for her work as the singing voices for Jasmine in Aladdin and as Mulan in Mulan and Mulan 2 – work for which the Walt Disney Company bestowed upon her the title of Disney Legend. She was the first Asian woman to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as Fantine in the 2006 revival. She has performed on the Oscar stage and on stages around the world. She starred in the critically acclaimed Sony musical-drama Yellow Rose and in the animated series Centaurworld for Netflix. She is currently filming Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin for HBO Max, and will soon embark on her “Dream Again” tour, which makes a highly anticipated stop at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 12. 

Lea was one of the first to do it the way she does it on West End and Broadway stages. She uses her magnificent voice not only to entertain, but to draw awareness to issues that matter, including anti-Asian hate. In this special episode of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, Lea talks about her remarkable journey, breaking barriers, her “Dream Again” tour, and why she is a proud member of the BTS ARMY. 

Episode Sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Agam Darshi returns to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about Donkeyhead, the feature film that she stars in, wrote, and directed. Agam plays Mona, a failed writer who carves out a life of isolation while caring for her ailing Sikh father. When Mona’s father has a debilitating stroke, her three successful siblings – played by Stephen Lobo, Sandy Sidhu, and Huse Madhavji – show up on her doorstep determined to take control of the situation. What ensues is heartbreaking, hilarious at times, riveting, and ultimately healing.

Donkeyhead had its world premiere at the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival in Toronto in December 2021, and was acquired by Array, Ava DuVernay’s distribution company that elevates and amplifies the work of BIPOC filmmakers. It hit Netflix in January, and in March 2022 it will open the 2022 Vancouver International Women in Film Festival before opening in Canadian theatres nationwide. It’s a big moment for Agam, and for all of us who crave stories we haven’t heard and seen before. 

In this poignant interview, Agam speaks about her Donkeyhead journey, the support she received from luminaries like Deepa Mehta, Kim Coates, and Ava DuVernay, and where she plans to take us next. 

Episode Sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Natasha Burnett plays Minnie Canfield, matriarch of the Canfield family, on Hallmark Channel’s When Calls The Heart. The Canfields joined the wildly popular family drama for its eighth season; over the course of 12 episodes, Minnie was revealed to be loving, fiercely protective, and level-headed – and fans, known far beyond their fandom as the Hearties, embraced Minnie and all of the Canfields, who also happened to be the first Black family to be featured on the long-running show. 

So that’s Minnie Canfield. But who is Natasha Burnett?

In this delightful interview, Natasha reflects on her winding journey to Minnie and When Calls The Heart: from her childhood growing up in England, to her time in beauty school, to her six years as Diana Ross and young Michael Jackson in a touring Motown tribute show, and, ultimately, to Hope Valley. Also included: a particularly rousing round of Favourite Things!

Episode Sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Dan Payne is a versatile actor. From John Dover on The Good Witch to Traeger in Mech X-4, from Beast in Disney’s wildly popular Descendants films to a high-powered real estate mogul in the first episode of Family Law, Dan’s handles comedy, action, genre fare, children’s entertainment, and drama with apparent equal ease. And he’s got five Leo Awards nominations – and two wins, one for Aliens Stole My Body and the other for Aliens Ate My Homework – to show for it. Dan makes it look easy, but it’s not easy. Not only is there real skill behind Dan’s effortless-looking performances, but as he’s moved through his career, he’s wrestled with depression. Dan says that depression has been a constant companion for years – and once you know that fact, it makes his entire body of incredible work all the more incredible. In this special episode of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, Dan talks about the characters, projects, joys, and challenges that have made him the in-demand actor he is today, and his journey with depression. Episode Sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

When actress-director Keegan Connor Tracy (The Magicians, Once Upon A Time) turned 50 years old in December, she vowed to take this milestone year to really sit in what it means to grow older: especially as a woman, and especially in the film and television industry. Keegan recently popped by the YVR Screen Scene studio to drink birthday champagne and join Sabrina for a fun and freewheeling conversation about the war on aging, what she learned when she let her hair turn silver, “Instagram face,” and her soon-to-launch podcast, Fine Whine. Episode Sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

We’re All In This Together is a feature film about three sisters who struggle to find a way to work together when their mother’s long tenuous mental health takes her over a waterfall in a barrel. The sisters are each plagued by their own demons – their own insecurities, addictions, traumas, mental health woes, and issues with each other – but it’s only when they learn to speak directly to each other, see the hurt in each other, acknowledge the pain that their mother’s mental illness has had on them all that they’re actually able to help her and themselves. We’re All in this Together is as moving as you’d expect from that description, and also surprisingly funny. Most importantly, it deftly and directly addresses the impact that relationships can have on our mental health, and shows what can happen when we don’t talk about mental illness within our families.

We’re All In This Together was brought to the screen by Katie Boland. Katie is an actor, a writer, and a director. She wore all three hats on We’re All In This Together – four hats if you consider that she played two characters in the feature film, which she adapted from Amy Jones’ novel of the same name and which marks her feature film directorial debut.

In this special episode of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast – the latest in our series of episodes about mental health and mental illness – Katie talks about her journey with mental illness and We’re All In This Together, and the ways in which cinema can help us navigate mental illness in the real world. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment