Braaains

We had the pleasure of interviewing Writer-Director Taratoa Stappard about Mārama, his first feature film, which premiered at TIFF, where we first saw it. Mārama is a Māori gothic horror set in Victorian England in 1859, about a young Māori woman who is summoned from New Zealand to North Yorkshire, where she uncovers the horrific truth of her colonial heritage, and she must destroy the titled Englishman who has devastated her famil...

Welcome to SEASON FIVE of Braaaaains!! WHA WHA??? We're kicking things off with the fantastic Kristen Lopez, who is a freelance pop culture journalist and the author of two books: But Have You Read the Book: 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films, published by TCM and Running Press in 2023, and Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies published by Bloomsbury Academic, which we'll ...

Elyse Bouvier is a filmmaker, photographer, and writer who recently wrote and directed the short documentary, Unfolding Faith, for the National Film Board of Canada. In this nuanced and timely short film, Elyse explores how her decision to give up her faith redefined both her identity and her relationships with her parents. 

We spoke to Elyse about her deconversion from Evangelical Christianity and what it was like to have raw yet ...

Today's guests are the creators and stars of Crip Trip, a new AMI-tv series following Daniel Ennett, a quadruple amputee, and his best friend turned first-time caregiver, Frederick Kroetsch, on a cross-country road trip from Edmonton to New York City in their beat-up 1983 RV. 

Over the course of the series, they tackle the challenges of caregiving, government shortcomings, and personal growth, all while offering a unique and candid...

Our guest, Dylan Park-Pettiford, is a writer, director, and author from the San Francisco Bay Area. He served as a member of the military for six years, including a deployment in Iraq during the Iraq War. Dylan wrote for the popular courtroom drama, ALL RISE, and served as a writer and consultant for 68 WHISKEY, which follows a group of army medics deployed to a forward operating base in Afghanistan.

Dylan recently released his new...

We are excited to talk to broadcast presenter, columnist, host, speaker, and now actor, Jennie Bovard. She stars in and is an associate producer for the scripted comedy series Pretty Blind on AMI. She is also the creator & host of the Low Vision Moments podcast, where she discusses her experiences with albinism and low vision.

On today's episode, we talk about how Jennie developed the show based on the e...

Today's conversation is with Laura McKenzie about how she reframed her life after experiencing Transverse myelitis, which led to her spontaneous paralysis on New Year's Day in 2023.

Laura is a stay-at-home mom who raises her kids, loves her dogs, and is a good partner, all while being in a wheelchair and having to relearn everything she previously knew how to do. She has become immersed in the once-foreign world of disability, and ...

Our guest, Wax Taber, is a multi-award-winning documentary editor who worked on the PBS series, THE CLASS. This docuseries was set amid the turmoil of a pandemic year and follows six students from Deer Valley High School as they pursue their dreams of higher education, with their adviser, Mr. Cam, helping them overcome the challenges they face.

We talk about the importance of mentors as seen in this series and the impact this suppo...

Our co-host, Heather had the pleasure of interviewing sociologist and artist Alessandra Seggi about her latest book Youth and Suicide in American Cinema: Context, Causes, and Consequences. Alessandra is a Fulbright grantee with a PhD in Sociology and MA in Media Studies and the analysis in her book is both a personal and professional reflection on suicide in film.

Youth and suicide in American Cinema is about the portrayal of suici...

Today we delve into the importance of public and free third places and how they impact your mental health. We had the pleasure of talking with filmmaker, Ali Weinstein about her first observational documentary, Your Tomorrow, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024. 

The film is about the last year in the life of Ontario Place which became a defacto public park 10 years ago after living many lives as an e...

Welcome back to another season of Braaains. We're so excited to start the season with a fantastic interview with filmmakers, Thea Loo and Jeremiah Reyes, about Thea's latest documentary, INAY

With the desire to help answer unresolved questions and heal lingering wounds, INAY (MAMA) investigates the flawed immigration pathways between the Philippines and Canada that kept so many Filipino children from their mothers. Inay, which mean...

Today's our last episode before our Christmas break. Sad, I know, but we have such a great guest: Sadie Dingfelder. She wrote the most excellent book "Do I Know You? A Faceblind Reporter's Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination." Our conversation not only delved into face blindness (prosopagnosia) but also covered neurodivergence, aphantasia, and the importance of effective science communication. 

We also discus...

Sarah had the pleasure of interviewing Amber Sealey, director of the newly released Disney+ film OUT OF MY MIND, alongside the movie's star, Phoebe-Rae Taylor.

Out of My Mind is based on the best-selling novel of the same name and tells the story of Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, who has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as ...

We're doing something a little different today. When we were at TIFF, we had the opportunity to go to the perspectives panel -- Building Inclusive Futures: The Means of Accessibility.

The panel was a discussion on accessibility and redefining perceptions of disability within the industry and beyond. The panel included Kyla Harris (chair of We Crip Film for the BFI and producer of Patrice: The Film), Viktor Korotovskyi (freelance ph...

Today our special guests are writer/ director Bernard Gray and actor Dwain Murphy. We discussed Men's Mental Health within the Black Community and how they explored this topic in the film, The Other Stuff, which recently premiered at the Reelworld Festival in Toronto. The film offers an honest exploration of how Black men, especially those from environments of crime, straddle the paths of good and evil as they attempt to transition...

It's Halloween and we're talking about horror, disability, and access with filmmaker and navigator of the creative multiverse, Ariel Baska.

We deep dive into A Nightmare on Elm Street, Ginger Snaps, and Wait Until Dark, and discuss how each film made Ariel feel seen in some way. We also discuss their horror documentary Monsterous Me and their work as a horror filmmaker telling stories around disability through a lens of genre.

Last...

SAD JOKES is the story of Joseph, a gay filmmaker, who co-parents with Sonya who is struggling with depression. The film captures a moment in time when Joseph has to juggle his family life, love life, and artistic ambition while Sonya's away at a clinic during a mental health crisis.

Writer, director, and star, Fabian Stumm, tells us about the making of the film and how his personal life colored this film. Growing up with a dad wit...

Today we have a special guest and dear friend of Heather's, Claire Ayoub. Claire is a writer, a director, an advocate, an educator, a leader, and an amazing friend to all – she also has the debut of her feature film, EMPIRE WAIST, coming out THIS FRIDAY, September 27th at a theater near you!

Empire Waist follows a group of teens learning to love their bodies through inclusive fashion design and friendship. Not only do we talk about...

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and we have a wonderful interview with writer, director, and actress, Nadine Crocker. We talk about her film, Continue, and the importance of representing depression and suicidal ideation on film and TV. We also talk about shows like The Bear and Modern Love (amongst many).

CONT;NUE is based on true events from Nadine's life dealing with suicide and depression. After surviving a suicide attempt...