The YVR Screen Scene Podcast

18/07/2024

It’s Day! Exactly 300 episodes after her first appearance on the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, actress Veena Sood returns to talk about her three seasons (soon to be four!) playing cool mama Nisha on CTV’s Children Ruin Everything, and going back to her improv roots in Colin Mochrie’s Arts Club Reunion (which takes place July 19 and 20 at Vancouver’s historic Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre, Arts Club Theatre Company). Also: What impact is “wokeness” having on the comedy scene? Is the film and television industry actually, truly, and *really* diverse and inclusive? What’s it like acting opposite Kim Coates (who played her season one boyfriend, Graham, on Children Ruin Everything)? And – most pressing of all, at least to host Sabrina Rani Furminger – does she still want to be a cowgirl? Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-318-veena-sood-returns/id1457938433?i=1000662618285

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/7/18/episode-318-veena-sood-returns

28/06/2024

It’s Day! Joel McCarthy is a filmmaker (Taking My Parents to Burning Man, I Am Alfred Hitchcock), an educator, a producer, an award winner, and a celebrated industry sh*t-disturber who eschews gatekeeping, speaks truth to power, and builds community through bonkers-popular filmmaking events like Sh*ts N Giggles and RUN N GUN. On June 29, the latter caps off its ninth edition (which had 2000 filmmakers creating 149 films in 48 hours) with two electrifying screenings at Vancouver’s iconic Orpheum Theatre. In the busy days before the screenings, Joel swung by the YVR Screen Scene studio to reflect on a decade of sh*t-disturbing, whether or not he’s (gasp!) gone establishment, the health of Vancouver’s indie filmmaking scene, and why this year’s RUN N GUN: Film Community is the biggest yet. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-316-joel-mccarthy-returns/id1457938433?i=1000660575219

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/6/28/episode-316-joel-mccarthy-returns

14/06/2024

It’s Day! Bradley Stryker is an accomplished actor and filmmaker with an impressive, and growing, list of credits, including Devil in Ohio, Chesapeake Shores, and The O.C.. He wore both hats on Sheltering Season, his critically acclaimed alternate reality thriller that was not only inspired by the pandemic but was one of the first projects to go to camera after the industry re-opened in summer 2020. In the film, a woman (played with nuance and fire by Caitlyn Stryker finds herself isolated in her remote home with her brother who is seeking forgiveness for the darkest moment in their family history. In this fascinating and at times emotional conversation with Sabrina Rani Furminger, Bradley reflects on his adventures in pandemic filmmaking and storytelling, and dancing with grief. Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-315-bradley-stryker/id1457938433?i=1000659013423

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/6/14/episode-315-bradley-stryker

06/05/2024

02/05/2024

It’s Day! Actress Loretta Walsh (When Calls the Heart) returns to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to discuss The Lifespan of a Fact, the based-on-real-life play that she’s producing and starring in this month at Studio 16 in Vancouver. The Lifespan of a Fact tells the story of a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact checker for a prominent but sinking New York magazine, a talented writer with a transcendent essay about a high stakes event concerning a teenage boy, and a magazine editor-in-chief who needs to balance truth and art with the unsentimental realities of the magazine business. The Lifespan of a Fact is funny but, given how it holds up a mirror to our culture’s current fascination with bending lies into “alternative facts,” it’s also terrifyingly timely. As Emily the editor-in-chief, our dear Loretta shares the stage with longtime collaborator Ben Immanuel and Tal Shulman from So Help Me Todd, under the direction of renowned theatre artist Jennifer Clement. The Lifespan of a Fact runs May 2nd to the 12th at Studio 16, and the May 8 performance will feature a post-show Q & A with the cast, director, and special guests. And that’s not all: Loretta can currently be seen in season 11 of Hallmark Channel’s wildly popular When Calls the Heart, which kicked off its latest season on April 7. In this compelling and at times emotional interview, Loretta talks about The Lifespan of a Fact, how When Calls The Heart’s Florence has changed since season one, acting opposite Hrothgar Mathews, and the ways that theatre can soothe a broken heart. Kindred Theatre

Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-311-loretta-walsh-returns/id1457938433?i=1000654156404

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/5/1/episode-311-loretta-walsh-returns

30/04/2024

It’s Day! In this DOXA Documentary Film Festival double-header, Sabrina Rani Furminger speaks with two filmmakers whose films are featured in the 2024 edition of the popular fest. Up first is Rachel Epstein, the filmmaker behind . The film is the story of a lunch – or rather, 35 years of lunches enjoyed each week by a group of ardent leftists who congregated in a Vancouver Chinese restaurant to discuss the important topics of the moment. Among them is Rachel’s father, Norman. The Anarchist Lunch follows these revolutionaries over a period of several years, through the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and during the unfolding of resonant global events. As some members struggle with personal health issues, Rachel’s film takes on new layers to explore the meanings of activism, camaraderie, and growing old. Next up (at timecode 26:13) is Cindy Mochizuki, whose film re-introduces viewers to the famed Vancouver photographer and activist who passed away in 2018. Tamio spent several years of his childhood in an internment camp, after being held with thousands of other forcibly displaced Japanese Canadians in cruel and dehumanizing conditions at Hastings Park – and after the internment ended in 1946, Tamio and his family moved to Chatham, Ontario, once the terminus for the Underground Railroad. And that remarkable beginning is only just that: the beginning of Tamio’s remarkable life as a Civil Rights and Powell Street Festival photographer and activist. In these two fascinating conversations, the documentarians discuss legacy, activism, and the joys and challenges of fact-based filmmaking across the generations. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-310-doxa-directors-rachel-epstein-and-cindy/id1457938433?i=1000654031545

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/4/30/episode-310-doxa-directors-rachel-epstein-and-cindy-mochizuki

17/04/2024

Eventbrite has now added “🔥 Going fast” to the ticket page. No lies detected; it’s a 🌶️ ticket! https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/yvr-screen-scene-live-vfs-tickets-865547324347

CC: Vancouver Film School, UBCP / ACTRA, Directors Guild of Canada, BC District Council

17/04/2024

It’s Day! Jennifer Spence (Travelers, Continuum) returns to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about her leading role in The Trades, a new half-hour single-camera comedy series on Crave. Set in a blue-collar community where the high stress of working in a refinery are balanced by the comedic high-wire antics of its plant workers, The Trades centres around Todd (played by Robb Wells, AKA Ricky from The Trailer Park Boys), a pipefitter, and his sister and roommate, Audrey (Moonshine), who follows in her big brother’s footsteps pursuing a career in the trades as a carpenter. Jennifer plays (and shines as) Chelsea, an ambitious young executive from head office who arrives in town, announces she’s the new site manager, and immediately sets about making changes. At its heart, the eight-part comedy series – which is produced by Trailer Park Boys Inc and Kontent Use Productions for Crave – is a love letter to skilled trade workers, written with grit, humour, and heart. In this entertaining and fascinating episode, Jennifer talks The Trades, dick jokes, welding, East Coast vibes versus West Coast vibes, and acting in the presence of naughty parade floats. Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-309-jennifer-spence-returns/id1457938433?i=1000652721008

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/4/17/episode-309-jennifer-spence-returns

12/04/2024

It’s Day! When Natasha Burnett and Viv Leacock work together, something special happens. Natasha and Viv play Minnie and Joseph Canfield on . The first Black family to feature prominently on When Calls the Heart, the Canfields arrived in Hope Valley a few seasons back and quickly became touchstones for many of the town’s residents. Natasha and Viv are fun to watch, and they look like they’re having fun working together. This fun can be seen in , a film that is at once a rom-com and a mystery that spans the centuries. Natasha is Amelia, an antiques dealer from England desperate to complete the quest her late mother started to reunite two halves of a legendary locket. Amelia’s quest takes her to America, to a sleepy town on the eve of its 200th anniversary, and straight into the path of the town’s Sheriff, Marcus, played by Viv. Legend of the Lost Locket is currently streaming on Hallmark Movies Now, and will have its Hallmark Channel premiere on Saturday, April 13. In this fascinating conversation with Sabrina Rani Furminger, Natasha and Viv reflect on their journey to this moment, lost lockets, what to expect for Minnie and Joseph in season 11, what Peter DeLuise said that helped them make sense of the Canfields’ presence in Hope Valley, their shared love of Columbo, and what it is that makes their collaboration work. Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-308-natasha-burnett-and-viv-leacock/id1457938433?i=1000652240550

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/4/12/episode-308-natasha-burnett-and-viv-leacock

10/04/2024

It’s Day! The award-winning documentary feature Union Street chronicles the ongoing effects of racism, displacement, and the cultural erasure of African-Canadians in Vancouver. Before systemic and political mechanisms destroyed Hogan’s Alley – the historic Black neighbourhood located on Union Street – in the 1970s, the area was the home of train porters, speakeasies, juke joints, and a thriving community, and a regular touring stop for iconic musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald. The reverberations of this thriving community and its intentional and egregious erasure are still felt – and in the face of adversity, a new generation of Black Vancouverites is working tirelessly to rebuild community and facilitate Black joy. Union Street elevates and amplifies the voices of Black Vancouverites who have decided to create their own spaces. It examines how community spaces can help people heal from racism-related trauma, which is especially important in a city where the powers-that-be actively worked to erase you. The film is now available on Telus Optik TV Channel 8 and the TELUS originals website. Director Jamila Pomeroy joins Sabrina Rani Furminger to talk about the past, present, and future of Vancouver’s Black community, and how what happened when she tried to organize a party on Union Street speaks volumes about the barriers that exist today. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-307-jamila-pomeroy-on-the-past-present-and/id1457938433?i=1000652007988

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/4/10/episode-307-jamila-pomeroy-on-the-past-present-and-future-of-vancouvers-historic-black-community

10/04/2024

Tickets are selling *really* well for the inaugural edition of @ VFS, which takes place at 7:00 PM on Saturday, April 27, 2024. It's going to be one part live-show, one part industry party, and 100% audacious. If you've been waiting to buy, I wouldn't wait much longer! 🥳🤩 Details and tickets on Eventbrite. Join us! (And if you're a past guest of YVR Screen Scene, check your email for a promo code).

Amanda Tapping, Lexa Doig, Rukiya Bernard, & Ryan Robbins join Sabrina Rani Furminger for a live taping of the award-winning podcast

02/04/2024

It’s Day! Meredith Hama-Brown is the force behind Seagrass, one of the most talked-about feature film directorial debuts to come out of Western Canada in recent memory. Seagrass is the story of a family falling apart. Ally Maki stars as Judith, a Japanese Canadian woman who brings her family to a self-development retreat after the recent death of her mother. When Judith and her husband befriend another in*******al couple (one who seems to have the perfect marriage), Judith begins to recognize how irreparably fractured her relationship actually is. Seagrass is devastating, engrossing, and somehow at once a family drama and a ghost story and a 1990s period piece, all set against a startling Pacific North West backdrop and lovingly shot by exceptionally talented cinematographer Norm Li. Seagrass played to sold out crowds at TIFF, won the coveted International Film Critics Awards Fipresci Prize, and was selected for Canada's TIFF Top Ten showcase screening. The film had its highly anticipated North American theatrical release in February, and as of April 2, it’s available on VOD. In this fascinating and thoughtful conversation, Meredith discusses her journey to and with Seagrass, casual racism, where Seagrass should be placed in a video store, and what comes next. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-306-seagrass-filmmaker-meredith-hama-brown/id1457938433?i=1000650716930

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/3/28/episode-306-seagrass-filmmaker-meredith-hama-brown

21/03/2024

A message from Sabrina Rani Furminger: ANNOUNCING YVR SCREEN SCENE LIVE @ VFS! On April 27, join me for the first-ever live recording of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, during which I’ll be joined by powerhouses Amanda Tapping, Rukiya Bernard, Ryan Robbins, and Lexa Doig. I’ve wanted to record in front of an audience since launching the YVR Screen Scene Podcast nearly five years ago, but it was only recently that the stars aligned and I found incredible partners in Kat Montagu and Vancouver Film School. These guests, this venue, these partners... It’s a dream come true, 💯. This will be the first in what will hopefully be a regular series (i.e. every two months). It’ll be everything you’ve come to expect from the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, but with the added magic that comes from being live. AND: it’ll be a film community event, and we sure need more of those. ANNNND: a portion from the ticket sales will support the Ukrainian Canadian Advocacy Group's Rehabilitation Program for the Children of Fallen Heroes. I hope you’re able to join us. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate five years of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast than with the inaugural @ VFS. Let’s celebrate our beloved YVR Screen Scene and everyone who powers it. 7pm, VFS Cafe, Vancouver. Tickets and info here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/yvr-screen-scene-live-vfs-tickets-865547324347

12/03/2024

It’s Day! Re: Uniting is the story of a group of college friends who graduated from university together in the late 1990s and reunite for the first time in nearly a decade on Bowen Island. They all arrive on the island bearing scars from the traumas of the intervening years, as well as many secrets. The film is Drama with a capital D – but it’s also rich with moments of humour, catharsis, and so much love. Re:Uniting is the feature film directorial debut from actress-filmmaker Laura Adkin and is populated by an ensemble of powerhouses: Roger Cross, Michelle Harrison, David Lewis, Jesse L. Martin, Carmen Moore, and Bronwen Smith. Re:Uniting will screen in theatres across Canada beginning on March 15, including a special screening at Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas in Vancouver on March 16 featuring a Q&A with Laura and select cast that will be hosted by YVR Screen Scene’s Sabrina Rani Furminger. In Episode 305, Laura Adkin, Carmen Moore, and Bronwen Smith join Sabrina to talk about their adventures in island filmmaking, building chemistry in the ensemble, self-care for actors, why our 20s are hard, and what happens when you’re trying to film something with Bronwen and she suddenly sees a seal. Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-305-laura-adkin-carmen-moore-and-bronwen-smith/id1457938433?i=1000648888017

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/3/12/episode-305-laura-adkin-carmen-moore-and-bronwen-smith

04/03/2024

It’s Day! Zarqa Nawaz is a writer, film and television producer, published author, public speaker, journalist, creator of Little Mosque on the Prairie, former broadcaster, and star of Zarqa, the CBC Gem comedy series in which she plays a woman named Zarqa, who sells gullible white people brown people things. In season one, a recently divorced Zarqa worked on her business while being pursued by a gaggle of men, ending in a fantastic brawl in the mosque between her ex, her imam, and her white brain surgeon boyfriend. Season two – which hit CBC Gem last fall – began with Zarqa choosing to focus on herself and her business instead of any of the men. Zarqa’s pinning all of her hopes on her new product, Love Masala, an intoxicating new scent and love potion from her company, Zarqish Delights. And what better way to reach the masses than with an endorsement from global brand ambassador Pious Pinky Pervez, a Muslim social media influencer with millions of followers played with pious pink perfection by friend of the podcast ? Aliza portrayed Layla on Little Mosque on the Prairie, and so Zarqa is something of a reunion between Zarqa and Aliza, except this time, they’re on the same side of the camera. In this compelling conversation with Sabrina Rani Furminger, Zarqa and Aliza reflect on Little Mosque on the Prairie, their experience shooting Zarqa more than a decade later, what diversity and representation looks like in the comedy sphere, and Zarqa’s adventures in stand-up comedy. Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-303-zarqa-nawaz-and-aliza-vellani/id1457938433?i=1000647921809

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/3/4/episode-303-zarqa-nawaz-and-aliza-vellani

01/03/2024

It’s Day! Canadian improv comedy icon Colin Mochrie has spent a heckuva lot of time in Vancouver, where he's a beloved alumnus of Vancouver TheatreSports and The Improv Centre. From March 6-8, Colin will return to The Improv Centre for five sold-out performances of An Evening with Colin Mochrie (which are evenings of improv comedy and not anything else; get your minds out of the gutter). Colin’s extensive career includes Whose Line is it Anyway? on both sides of the Atlantic, two years in This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and improv tours criss-crossing the continent. In addition, Colin has used his place as a Canadian improv comedy icon to advocate for his daughter Kinley (who is Transgender) and for all Trans people. In this thoughtful – and, yes, occasionally funny – episode, Colin lays out his origin story and discusses the addictive nature of improv, Vancouver humour, comedy in our woke age, and how to be an effective ally to Trans people. Episode sponsor: . Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-302-colin-mochrie/id1457938433?i=1000647696123

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/3/1/episode-302-colin-mochrie

16/02/2024

It’s Day! For our milestone 300th episode, actress Crystal Balint returns to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about her work in The Fall of the House of Usher, how the actors, crew, and TPTB dealt with a highly publicized cast upheaval, what it means to her to be part of Mike Flanagan’s “Flanaverse,” and her delicious role in CBC and Lark Productions’ new crime procedural Allegiance. Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-300-crystal-balint-talks-the-fall-of-the/id1457938433?i=1000645567208

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/2/16/episode-300-crystal-balint-talks-the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-and-allegiance

12/02/2024

It’s Day! Earlier this month, four of the stars of Allegiance – Supinder Wraich, Stephen Lobo, Brian Markinson, and David Cubitt – joined Sabrina Rani Furminger in the YVR Screen Scene studio to discuss the new character-driven crime procedural, which premiered on CBC and CBC Gem on February 7. Supinder stars as Sabrina Sohal (Sort Of), a star rookie police officer who must grapple with the limits of the justice system as she fights to exonerate her politician father Ajeet Sohal, played by Stephen. Sabrina serves her diverse hometown of Surrey alongside veteran training officer Vince Brambilla (Enrico Colantoni). Brian appears as Ajeet’s exasperated lawyer Max Portman, and David is Superintendent Bolton, Sabrina’s commanding officer. Allegiance (a CBC Original Drama from Lark Productions) is the story of a young woman caught between her allegiance to her flag, to her badge, and to her family. In this fascinating and at times boisterous conversation, the actors talk Surrey, inclusion, YouTube comments, and the singular joy of exquisite writing. Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-299-supinder-wraich-stephen-lobo-brian-markinson/id1457938433?i=1000645024358

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/2/12/episode-299-supinder-wraich-stephen-lobo-brian-markinson-and-david-cubitt-from-allegiance

08/02/2024

It’s Day! Ukrainian filmmaker Khrystyna Syvolap returns to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to discuss her journey to find work in the Vancouver film and television industry after arriving in Canada with her young daughter in spring 2022, her February 10 screening of Viddana at Centennial Theatre (a fundraiser for the Adam Tactical Group), and why people outside of Ukraine should care about the war. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/special-episode-ukrainian-filmmaker-khrystyna-syvolap/id1457938433?i=1000644672944

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/2/8/special-episode-ukrainian-filmmaker-khrystyna-syvolap-returns

06/02/2024

It’s Day! Actress Jennifer Robertson is beloved ’round the world for her astounding work as Jocelyn Schitt for all six seasons of CBC’s iconic comedy series Schitt’s Creek, and, more recently, for playing Ellen Baker, Georgia’s regularly frazzled neighbour, on Netflix’s . Canadians will soon see the Vancouver actress in a new role: as host of The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down. The eight-episode competition series – which premieres on CBC Television and CBC Gem on February 8 – follows the trials and tribulations of 10 passionate potters, drawn from every background and every corner of the country. The series was filmed last summer on Granville Island in the space formerly occupied by Emily Carr School of Art and Design. Besides Jennifer, viewers will also get to see Seth Rogen, who is both the executive producer of The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down and as passionate about pottery as he is about pot. In our season opener, Jennifer discusses Schitt’s Creek’s Jocelyn and Ginny and Georgia’s Ellen, her misadventures doing stand-up and also trying to decipher her pre-teen’s texts, what she learned hosting The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down, and Seth Rogen’s commitment to living that . Episode sponsor: UBCP / ACTRA. Listen on Apple Podcasts, everywhere podcasts are enjoyed for free, or on the YVR Screen Scene site.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-297-jennifer-robertson/id1457938433?i=1000644345524

Listen on the YVR Screen Scene site: https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2024/2/6/episode-297-jennifer-robertson

04/01/2024

If you missed the North American premiere of Khrystyna Syvolap's staggeringly beautiful feature film Viddana at last year's YVR Screen Scene for Ukraine gala (or if you loved it so much that you want to see it again), you have another chance to catch it on the big screen: this time, at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver as part of a fundraiser for the Adam Tactical Group (defenders, drone operators, and fire support working in and around Bakhmut). The screening takes place at 7:30 PM on February 10, and Sabrina Rani Furminger will host a post-screening Q&A with the venerable filmmaker. Tickets here: https://tickets.centennialtheatre.com/TheatreManager/1/online?bestavail=3061&qty=0

03/01/2024

Yesterday Sabrina Rani Furminger posted the following to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast Patreon, which you can find here: https://www.patreon.com/YVRScreenScenePodcast . The TL/DR is that we're doubling down and leaning in to kick the podcast up several notches, and we're inviting more lovers of to join me in this journey.

"I didn’t stay up to watch Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen ring in the New Year (in true Sabrina fashion, I was fast asleep by 9pm), but all the same I was glad to say "See ya!" to 2023. It was a challenging year – both for our industry, and for me personally – and like many people, I ended the year feeling at once frayed and ravenously hungry for a new beginning.

But before we charge into 2024 and seize that new beginning, I want to pour one out for 2023, and specifically what the YVR Screen Scene Podcast community was able to accomplish over those 12 months, because we accomplished a lot.

We raised tens of thousands of dollars for Ukrainian Canadian Advocacy Group's Rehabilitation Program for the Children of Fallen Heroes via two online auctions, two galas (YVR Screen Scene for Ukraine in March, and Carol of the Bells: A Ukrainian Christmas in Music in December), and one music video masterclass featuring Mayumi Yoshida and the team behind Amanda Sum's Different Than Before. We were honoured with a wonderful (and very flattering) profile in Pancouver Magazine, which you can read here: https://pancouver.ca/sabrina-rani-furminger-makes-it-her.../ The profile was written by veteran journalist Charlie Smith, and I feel like he truly understood what it is we've been trying to create with YVR Screen Scene.

We released more than 40 episodes featuring conversations with actors, directors, writers, showrunners, and other talented artists committed to doing The Work (capital T, capital W), and we drew attention to indie work, studio fare, and all manner of pulled-from-the-headlines issues and themes.

I loved each and every episode I released this year, but my three favourites, while vastly different from each other, are classic YVR Screen Scene Podcast:

Episode 252: Amanda and Sabrina go to Paris https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2023/1/4/episode-252-amanda-and-sabrina-go-to-paris

Episode 290: ‘Sort Of’ star Bilal Baig https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2023/11/28/episode-290-sort-of-star-bilal-baig

Episode 282: How the Hollywood strikes brought to a standstill https://www.yvrscreenscene.com/home/2023/9/29/episode-282-how-the-hollywood-strikes-brought-bcfilm-to-a-standstill

Speaking of the strike: it impacted this podcast, too. Support from sponsors dried up (and I don't fault them at all: they no longer had the funds to support us). In the second half of the year, we weren’t able to feature as many actors as we normally would because of SAG-AFTRA rules around promoting projects during strikes. The impact of the strikes rippled through other sectors of the industry, including the sector in which our parent company operates.

And yet, I’m proud of the work we did in 2023, because it was driven by passion and fuelled by love and it happened despite the challenges. Every episode we were able to release was a victory. Every dollar we raised for charity meant the whole world to me and grieving kids in Ukraine.

So that was 2023. As for 2024: I want to kick everything up a notch.

First of all, in the coming weeks, I’m going to re-imagine this Patreon feed a bit. I want to move beyond early access and into more Patreon-exclusive content. Maybe it’s conversations about pop culture or current events with some of my BFFs. Maybe it’s post-interview live streams with willing guests where we answer your questions. Maybe it’s something I haven’t even thought of yet! But I want to show my appreciation to this community. You’ve shone your light on YVR Screen Scene during some difficult days. I want you to feel our gratitude reflected back at you.

Also, my Gen Z pr***en says we need something akin to a Discord server for this Patreon community – or at least somewhere online to interact and have more in-depth conversations about our episodes and other -related happenings. Discord terrifies me but the aforementioned Gen Z pr***en thinks it’s worth it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Do we need a message board? A Discord server? Comment below!

Also, I’m working on a YVR Screen Scene Live series that will take place at a very cool venue in Downtown Vancouver, and whenever we’re ready to sell tickets to those events, I’ll give Patreon members an early access code and some other special perks. This has been a dream of mine since even before the podcast, and I’m finally ready to make it so and make it happen. I’m hoping we’ll be able to announce that series in the next few weeks (although things never move as quickly as I want them to). Watch this space.

And finally, my big commitment to you is to return to a more regular posting schedule. You deserve it. The larger community deserves it. We are the only podcast of this kind doing this work in this specific way. The challenges of 2023 that prevented a regular posting schedule can stay in 2023. 2024 is ours for the taking!

Thank you for your support. Thank you for listening. Thank you for caring about and the remarkable artists who power it. Cast, crew, viewers, podcasters: we’re all part of this community. Thank you for making it possible to spotlight our community in this way.

With gratitude,
Sabrina"

creating a podcast that celebrates reel people in the BC film &