Wider Lens

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the world's most prestigious celebrations of cinema and television. For up and coming Canadian directors, a TIFF premiere means increased exposure, possible critical acclaim, and potential distribution deals - all of which could propel their careers forward. But what does international success mean to Canadian filmmakers? And how can we continue to foster generations of talent here at home?

Our guests in this episode, Directors Atom Egoyan and Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, speak with host Annie Bradley about the role TIFF played in their career progression amidst a changing Canadian film industry, the importance of artistic passion and community, and the future Canadian filmmakers face in this digital age.

Watch Atom Egoyan’s "Seven Veils" at #TIFF23: https://tiff.net/events/seven-veils

Watch Kelly Fyffe-Marshall’s "Bria Mack Gets A Life" at #TIFF23: https://tiff.net/events/bria-mack-gets-a-life

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In this episode of The Wider Lens, we’re shining a spotlight on queer film and TV with three passionate DGC Ontario Members: Director Pat Mills, Picture Editor Maureen Grant, and Production Manager Moe Rai.

Over the last few years, there has been an extraordinary push for queer representation. Audiences all over the world are connecting with queer shows shot right here in Ontario, like Sort Of, Schitt's Creek, What We Do in the Shadows, and The Umbrella Academy. From behind the camera to the production office to the editing suite, Pat, Maureen and Moe shed light on what this surge in representation means for the community, the challenges they've encountered working within a predominantly straight and cisgender industry, the power of seeing yourself reflected authentically on screen, and the profound impact representation has for future generations.

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In this episode of Wider Lens, Director, Writer, and DGC Ontario Chair Annie Bradley sits down with three women who also happen to be some of the most exciting Directors working today: Helen Shaver, Danishka Esterhazy, and Sam MacAdam. 

Helen, Danishka and Sam share their experiences in the film industry, how they define themselves and their worth as filmmakers, asserting your authority while still respecting everyone involved, and finding male allies who want to open doors for women Directors. Tune in to hear these Directors talk about the pressure to be perfect, if progress is really happening for women who dream of directing, and how vulnerability can be a feminine superpower.

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Picture Editor Matt Hannam recently wrapped Noah Baumbach's White Noise. He talks "editor's intuition," why he vibrates towards distinct creative voices, and how he's built an international career on the creative chemistry shared with some of the most respected directors on the planet.

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Stunt performer turned Director Tig Fong talks about their journey from stuntwork to directing on What We Do In The Shadows, publicly embracing their identity as a queer POC and their personal mission to make the industry a more equitable place.

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We talk to Indigenous Directors Nyla Innuksuk (Slash/Back) and Danis Goulet (Night Raiders) about using horror, science-fiction and fantasy to tell authentic, unique stories about the Indigenous experience.  

We explore how genre provides many opportunities for Indigenous filmmakers to tell original, culturally-relevant stories, how horror, science-fiction, and fantasy are already an important part of the Indigenous storytelling tradition, and how, despite a legacy of generational trauma, Indigenous filmmakers are imagining a future in which their community not only survives, but thrives.

Night Raiders is available to watch on Crave, TIFF Digital, and VOD. Slash/Back is available to watch in theatres, on TIFF Digital, and on VOD.

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We’re chatting with the exceptional creatives behind Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, the mesmerizing 6th film del Toro has made in Ontario. We're celebrating the art of filmmaking with people at the very top of their game: Nightmare Alley’s Production Designer Tamara Deverell, Costume Designer Luis Sequeira, and Producer J. Miles Dale, all frequent collaborators of del Toro who are nominated for Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards. We’ll be talking about how this creative team came together, how they used a rich tapestry of visual languages to bring del Toro’s unique vision to life on the big screen, and what it takes to shape a film as visually complex as Nightmare Alley.

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Virtual production uses game engines like Unreal and Unity to create scenes across the physical and digital worlds.  In contrast to traditional production techniques, VP encourages a more iterative, nonlinear, and collaborative process, gifting creatives with a "fix it in prep" approach to visualizing worlds conceptually before they are physically built. In our Virtual Production episode, we sit down with Cinematographer Jeremy Benning (The Expanse, Condor), DGC Ontario VFX Supervisor Sumeet Vats (The Expanse, Dark Matter) and Pixomondo VFX &VAD Supervisor Nathaniel Larouche (Watchmen, The Umbrella Academy) to discuss this game-changing technology's impact on craft, prep and the future of production.

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We sit down with the creators of Sort Of, a groundbreaking new series from CBC & HBO Max. Series co-creators Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo discuss how their own stories of transition led to their unique creative partnership. Listen in as we explore how Bilal and Fab’s openness and vulnerability led to collaborative magic, inclusivity in front of and behind the lens, and why they say now is the perfect time for diverse creators to tell their stories.

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We sit down with the worldbuilding creatives behind Apple TV+'s epic series SEE: Production Designer Caroline Hanania, DGC Ontario Art Director turned Production Designer Dean O'Dell, and DGC Ontario Supervising Location Manager John Rakich. Our guests discuss the formidable challenge of creating entire worlds, from the script to the screen. Listen in as we unpack the process of developing this unique society of sightless inhabitants, the pivotal role of expert blindness consultant Joe Strechay, and how the team interconnected to build a highly detailed, fully realized dystopian future never before seen in film and television.

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