Push In - The CineVic Podcast

What does it take to produce three feature documentaries, a feature comedy, and have two more in the works? Producer Leslie Bland shares the “special sauce” that’s made his production companies Orca Cove Media and Less Bland Productions so successful. There’s plenty to learn as he tells host Joyce Kline why filmmaking pulled him away from a successful career in live professional theatre, how he made cross-cultural connections through his collaboration with Cowichan filmmaker Harold Joe, and h...

Did you know Victoria had one of the first film studios in Canada and the province’s first film commission? Here's your chance to learn the fascinating history of filmmaking in southern Vancouver Island from someone who knows the film scene inside and out - outgoing Head of the Vancouver Island South Film & Media Commission, Kathleen Gilbert. Kathleen took on the job of Commissioner in 2010 after a lengthy career as a location manager for film and TV. Under her dedicated leadership by 202...

From how to apply for the position, to how much you’ll get paid, Victoria’s 2022-24 Artist-in-Residence Kemi Craig shares everything you ever wanted to know about her job but were afraid to ask! Kemi is a dancer, filmmaker, multi-media creator and performance artist whose work encompasses immersive, multi-sensory, site-specific installations and performances that encourage audience and community engagement. After getting her start in film at Cinevic Society of Independent Filmmakers, sh...

With all the talk about toxic masculinity, it’s a real treat to watch a film that explores traditionally held “masculine” qualities like aggression, competitiveness — even homophobia — while also acknowledging masculinity’s potential for tenderness, nurturance, and protectiveness. Working with amateur actors from the Bogotá barrio, filmmaker Andrés Felipe Ángel manages to pull that off and more in his sensitive autobiographical coming of age film Rage. It’s a real treat to hear Andrés s...

Is your concept brave enough to be “not safe, taboo," or “mean and awful”? Filipina/Canadian filmmaker Ana de Lara thinks it just might make a great comedy! In Part I of our interview with this multiple award-winning Filipina/Canadian actor/writer/director/producer, Ana tells us about Best Friend Me—her six-episode comedy web series that involves the topic of...suicide? Learn from this comedy pro how she works with family, knows when an idea has legs, and how you too, can “...

If you’re interested in ways a filmmaker’s career can advance, this is an episode you won’t want to miss! Listen up as multiple award-winning Vancouver writer/director Connor Gaston shares the roots of his fascination with reincarnation, the value of graduating from programs like the Canadian Film Centre and the TIFF Talent Lab, and what ultimately got him meetings in Hollywood that landed him an LA manager. Connor’s films have screened in prestigious festivals around the world includin...

Last episode, we heard from one of the most requested camera operators in Canada, award-winning, daredevil cinematographer DAVID MALYSHEFF. David is known for delivering the goods under extreme conditions - filming from horseback, helicopters, and even Zodiacs crashing their way through rapids. This episode, David fills us in on his quieter, but no less moving, personal passion project - creating a 90-minute documentary on the late Jewish composer Peter Gary and Gary’s epic holocaust ...

Film sets are high pressure environments with brutally long hours and the traditionally hierarchical structure of a military campaign. In this episode, filmmaker and much sought-after editor Lesley Marshall tells us how she balances the needs of her young daughter with her work in the film industry, why she thinks we should demand on set childcare, and what employing anti-oppression based filmmaking and horizontal leadership structures would look like. Lesley is an award-winning filmmaker who...

Pride yourself on being hard working and dedicated to your art? Well, this interview with award-winning Victoria animator Denver Jackson will make you feel like a total slacker! Buckle up as this one-man powerhouse shares how he got into animation, the brutal details of his typical work day, the importance of keeping focus to complete projects, and why he’ll never use generative AI. Denver Jackson has singlehandedly written, directed, animated and edited numerous award-winning short animation...

Host Joyce Kline reaches across the Pacific for a fun chat with Singapore based, BAFTA-nominated animator Calleen Koh. Calleen’s short To Kill the Birds and the Bees—a real highlight of this year’s Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival—will screen again in Ottawa June 21st as part of Short Circuit’s National Tour. Hear how this talented young filmmaker stays gutsy with her daring and quirky material and her take on everything from Catholic Sex Ed and the filmmaking scene ...

What’s it like to pitch to a panel of judges in front of a live theatre audience— when you think you’re awful at pitching? That was the challenge for multi-talented filmmaker Daniel Kwon, the writer, director, editor and co-producer of 2022’s Cinespark winning film The Girl in the Forest. Daniel is a true renaissance man: filmmaker, screenwriter, director, editor, colorist, set decorator, videographer, graphic designer, motion graphic design, storyboard artist and animator. Fresh from his f...

Revealing what your family’s really like behind the scenes can be a giant leap of faith that few have the courage—and family support—to take. In her sensitive short The Mess We’re In, emerging Vancouver writer/director JAMIE LAM draws upon personal experience growing up in the loving home—of a hoarder! While the film never sugar coats the stress this caused Jamie growing up, it’s a triumph of love over tidying up. It was a hit in this year’s Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival and won ...

Wondering how much you should budget for insurance in your Telefilm Talent to Watch application, or what insurance you actually need for making a short film? This interview with Front Row Insurance Brokers VP Mike Groner covers everything you ever wanted to know about insurance but were afraid to ask! Pure information gold — and just in time to make that Telefilm deadline. Since starting his insurance career twenty years ago in LA, Mike has worked with Hollywood creators providing insur...