Laura Mennell is a mystery. Sure, the Vancouver actress shines bright in all manner of roles, but who is she, really? Is she more like Nina Theroux, the character she played on Alphas who could override willpower in others and push people into doing whatever she asked of them? Is she more like Thelma Harris in The Man in the High Castle, a Nazi American journalist who was arrested for her affair with Nicole Dormer? Is she more like Rebecca from Van Helsing, a high-ranking (and bloody terrifying) vampire who had little use for human life? Or is she most like Mimi Hynek from Project Blue Book, a complex woman, wife, and mother who found her sense of self and purpose in a tangled web of government conspiracies, UFO sightings, Cold War paranoia, and a comely Russian spy? In this freewheeling conversation, Sabrina seeks to uncover the many mysteries of Laura Mennell, while also talking origin stories, sci-fi, government conspiracies, cats, filming Circle with Luna Ferguson during COVID, and favourite things. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

Veteran director Carl Bessai collaborated with 17 remarkable women in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto to create In Her City. The feature film presents 17 vignettes that are drawn from the collaborators’ lives as 20-something urban-dwellers. Every person’s experience of their city is wholly unique, and how each story is told is different – and yet the fact that these women are all striving to live their truth is the thread that binds In Her City into one deeply moving, charming, and wildly entertaining cinematic journey. In Her City screens this December as part of the 2020 Whistler Film Festival – and in this fascinating conversation, Carl Bessai discusses the hows and whys of this beautiful, sometimes whimsical, and poignant film. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

An Introvert’s Guide to High School is a lot of things: a dark comedy; a study in teen culture and the pressures that parents and society place on teens as they near the end of high school; a manifesto for introverts; and a lot of fun. Woven into this feature film about a group of high school students in an SAT prep class and all of the internal and external pressures they face are puppets, street interviews, objectively bonkers short films, and a visual effect shot worthy of a big budget blockbuster (which is wholly astounding considering the budget for the film was only $5000).

Beginning December 15, introverts and extroverts across Canada can stream An Introvert’s Guide to High School as part of the 2020 Whistler Film Festival. In this special interview, four of the creative forces behind this wildly inventive and deeply moving feature film – director Sophie Harvey, producers K.C. Novak and Laura Good, and executive producer Rachel Talalay (who, besides being the celebrated director of Tank Girl and beloved episodes of Doctor Who, Riverdale, and Sherlock, happens to be Sophie’s mom) – reflect on the heart and heartache that went into creating their darkly comic manifesto for introverted teens (and the extroverts who love them). Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Ali Liebert won a Canadian Screen Award for her nuanced portrayal of queer icon Betty McRae on Bomb Girls – but Betty is only part of Ali’s story. As a teen, Ali pursued musical theatre dreams and sang “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” at the Pacific National Exhibition. In the years since Betty, Ali has appeared in all manner of indie, big budget, and network projects, from BH90210 to Mech X4 to Ten Days in the Valley to The Devout. She’s also expanded into producer and director territory, including Cooking With Love and Spotlight on Christmas and the deeply moving Crazy8s film The Quieting, which stars friend-of-the-podcast Sara Canning in a queer identity story mined from moments in Ali’s own life. Sara and fellow friend-of-the-podcast Gabrielle Rose starred in Ali’s feature-length directorial debut, Amish Abduction, for which she was recently nominated for a big award from the Directors Guild of Canada. Ali is also an activist, and an advocate for queer youth. In 2019, when Hallmark pulled an ad featuring a gay couple, Ali – who is a star for the network – used her platform to speak out against homophobia in the film and television industry. In the fall finale of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, Ali discusses her move into the director’s chair, how Bomb Girls’ Betty McRae changed her life, and her lifelong pursuit of truth. NOTE: We'll be back with new episodes the second week of December. Episode sponsor: DGC BC

Women are vastly underrepresented in the visual effects part of the film and television industry, especially in key creative positions. In 2019, women only accounted for six per cent of visual effects supervisors ­– which is truly egregious when you consider that women make up nearly half of all film school graduates. The talent is there. Women just need the opportunity to get their foot in the studio door, and find an environment that is supportive and committed to getting them ahead. This is what FatBelly VFX is all about. FatBelly VFX is a Vancouver-based visual effects studio founded earlier this year by Shannan Louis. Shannan’s vision for FatBelly is to create a company culture that empowers and engages all of its employees, with special attention paid to uplifting and elevating women. In short, FatBelly VFX is determined to change the industry from the inside – and in this special episode of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, Shannan tells us how she’s working to level the playing field. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

YVR Screen Scene presents the Screen Scene Society Podcast. Each episode, co-hosts Christian Sloan (The Black Tapes, See) and Sabrina Furminger (The YVR Screen Scene Podcast) watch a new-ish film or television project with special guests from the film industry, and then podcast all about it. In Episode Three, Christian and Sabrina invite actor Ben Cotton into their time-traveling phone booth to talk about Bill & Ted Face the Music. The trio delves deep into the draw of nostalgia, toxic masculinity and the power of male friendship, and the ways in which the franchise has adapted to the 21st century. Also: Is Keanu too famous now to play Ted? And does Ben have the best Keanu anecdote of all time? Join us on this excellent adventure to find out!

Find Screen Scene Society on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts for free.

Jessie Anthony is the filmmaking force behind Brother, I Cry. The feature film follows Jon, a young First Nations man, as he struggles to overcome addiction and avoid the multiple warrants out on him. Brother, I Cry – which won the Audience Choice award at imagineNATIVE and earned Jessie the award for Best BC Emerging Filmmaker at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival – is a story about family, addiction, and the justice system, and the ways in which people can lose themselves in all three of these competing realities. It’s evocative without being exploitative, honest without being traumatizing, and rich with empathy and heart. In short, Brother, I Cry is a stunning achievement in filmmaking, and doubly so when you consider that it’s Jessie’s first narrative feature. In this compelling and poignant interview, Jessie discusses the dream that led to Brother, I Cry, and where she’d like to take audiences next. Episode sponsor: Storyhive

This episode contains not one but two fascinating interviews with fearless multidisciplinary creators. In the first act, filmmaker Mayumi Yoshida and singer-songwriter Amanda Sum talk about their music video for GROUPTHINK. The video – which was directed by Mayumi and filmed in summer 2020 – is in actuality a thought-provoking, evocative, and fanciful short film that explores ideas around identity and Asian stereotypes. In the second act (beginning at 30:01), we hear from actor-producer Dino Antoniou about Variant, a feature film that is perfectly suited for this moment. Variant was written and directed by the immensely talented filmmaker Tony Leech, whose credits include Hoodwinked and Escape from Planet Earth. It stars Ashlynn Yennie as Aria, an artist in LA struggling for purpose, who meets Joel (Dino), a mysterious yet charming stranger. Dino discusses the hows and whys of Variant, as well as the questions it raises about autonomy, fate, identity, and the ethics of technology. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

Suanne Braun portrayed the goddess Hathor on Stargate SG-1. Hathor was a Villain with a capital V who used everything at her disposal – including über-powerful pheromones – to get what she wanted, be it civilizations to fall at her feet or men as big-brained as Jack O’Neill to obey her every command. Hathor, according to character Dr. Daniel Jackson, was the Egyptian goddess of fertility, inebriety, and music – or, as O’Neill put it, “Sex, drugs, and rock and roll.” Part of what made this particular System Lord so memorable and beloved years after her grisly end was Suanne’s singular performance: powerful, sexy, slightly sneering, and sporting some of Stargate’s best costumes. Hathor is only one of a long list of highlights in a career of highlights, and in this riveting (and often rollicking) conversation with Sabrina Furminger, Suanne reflects on those highlights, and also dishes on her latest role: host of the popular online chat fest, Hathor Hosts, which puts her friends from genre film and TV – including many friends of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast – in the hot seat. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Pat Mastroianni played Joey Jeremiah on Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High (and, later, on Degrassi: The Next Generation). The pre-Internet incarnations of Degrassi – all shot on location in Toronto-area schools – built a massive fanbase for tackling topics that weren’t being broached anywhere else on children’s television: interracial dating; sexual violence and child abuse; teen suicide; drunk driving; epilepsy; depression; grief; abortion; bullying; poverty; teen pregnancy; AIDS; burgeoning sexuality. The original shows explored all of these heavy topics with kids playing their actual age – and, despite the gravity of the subject matter, Degrassi was entertaining. It was fun – Joey wore a fedora and formed a band called The Zit Remedy with Wheels and Snake in which they only played one song (“Everybody Wants Something”) – and it was relatable. It was must-see TV for an entire generation of Canadian kids whose adoration knew no bounds. And now we’re all grown up. Where are our Degrassi kids now? How did Degrassi change their lives? And do they know how much they meant to us Canadian kids?

And thanks to Joey Jeremiah – AKA Pat Mastroianni – we don’t have to wait any longer for answers. Pat is the filmmaker behind a new documentary called A Narbo’s Guide to Being a Broomhead, which unfolds during Degrassi Palooza, a three-day cast reunion weekend in Toronto attended by fans from all over the world. Pat intercuts poignant and funny moments from the reunion weekend with camcorder footage and personal photos from behind the scenes at Degrassi. The result is a film that gives viewers a front row seat to a one-of-a-kind fan experience, and also insight into the many ways the young actors were impacted by their time in Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. It’s a funny and moving documentary for the generation of Canadians who grew up with Snake and Wheels and Caitlin and Joey, and get an inside look into one of the most iconic and groundbreaking series to come out of Canada. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment