Episodes

  • Part One: What Inspired You In 2021?
    Dec 21 2021

    This episode features:

    1:54 - 2:23 – Nicole Matiation

    2:24 - 3:19 – Jeff Newman, Nüman Films

    3:22 - 3:48 – Nicole Ungurian and Bill Crossman, Guppy Design

    3:51 - 4:11 – Julie Hackett, National Screen Institute

    4:14 - 4:24 – Alexandra Zarowny

    4:26 - 5:16 – Brad Pelman, National Screen Institute board of directors

    5:18 - 5:50 – Naomi Johnson, imagineNATIVE

    5:52 - 6:09 – Adam Garnet Jones, APTN

    6:12 - 6:33 – Heather Daughtry, Final Draft Screenwriting

    6:35 - 8:10 – John Bertrand, CBC

    8:12 - 8:42 – John Nues, National Screen Institute

    8:44 - 9:22 – Joan Jenkinson, Black Screen Office

    9:24 - 9:41 – Jessica Gibson, National Screen Institute

    9:44 - 11:10 – Jennifer Podemski, The Shine Network

    11:12 - 11:55 – Iris Merritt, Yukon Media Development

    11:57 - 13:46 – Sarah Simpson Yellowquill, National Screen Institute

    13:59 - 14:41 – Dave Barber, Winnipeg Film Group

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    16 mins
  • Part Two: What Inspired You In 2021?
    Dec 21 2021

    This episode features:

    0:46 - 1:15 – Kerry Ryan, The Winnipeg Foundation

    1:17 - 2:41 – Chris Vajcner, National Screen Institute

    2:44 - 3:04 – Adam Smoluk, Film Training Manitoba

    3:06 - 3:36 – Dahlia Thompson, CBC

    3:39 - 4:06 – Ursula Lawson, National Screen Institute

    4:09 - 4:26 – Steven Foster, Directors Guild of Canada

    4:29 - 4:50 – Esther Viragh, National Film Board of Canada

    4:53 - 5:17 – Trish Dolman, Screen Siren Pictures

    5:20 - 5:49 – Liz Janzen

    5:51 - 6:15 – Jackie Wild, TELUS

    6:17 - 6:40 – Avi Federgreen

    6:42 - 8:33 – Annelise Larson, Storypreneurs Unite

    8:35 - 8:54 – Marileen Bartlett, Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development (CAHRD)

    8:56 - 9:29 – Maxine Quigley

    9:31 - 9:48 – Maureen Judge

    9:50 - 10:26 – Michael Levine, National Screen Institute board of directors

    10:28 - 11:52 – Jennifer Holness, Hungry Eyes Media

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    13 mins
  • Part Three: What Inspired You In 2021?
    Dec 21 2021

    This episode features:

    0:46 - 2:32 – Andrew Forbes

    2:34 - 2:50 – Greg Jeffs, William F. White

    2:53 - 3:18 – Mandi Taylor, RBC

    3:20 - 3:52 – Christa Dickenson, Telefilm Canada

    3:54 - 4:11 – Adam Kirkham, Hot Docs

    4:14 - 4:43 – Heather Hawthorn Doyle

    4:46 - 5:05 - Carissa McCart, TELUS and National Screen Institute board of directors

    5:07 - 5:27 – Kenny Boyce, City of Winnipeg

    5:30 - 5:58 – Tim Southam

    6:01 - 7:01 – Marlene Kendall, National Screen Institute board of directors

    7:04 - 7:16 – Lisa Ducharme, APTN

    7:19 - 7:37 – Monique Perro, IATSE Local 856

    7:40 - 8:07 – Erin Creasey, Ontario Creates

    8:10 - 9:18 – Dan Bekerman, Scythia Films

    9:21 - 10:15 – Camilla MacEachern, Northwest Territories Film Commission

    10:18 - 10:54 – Shane Smith, Hot Docs

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    13 mins
  • Nadine Arpin
    Dec 8 2021
    “It’s taken me a long time to feel really comfortable in my skin. I feel like I’ve finally come into my own.”

    Wiiya's current project, Eve Zaremba’s Dyke Detective, follows the origin story of the 1978 graphic novel character Helen Keremos, an Indigenous lesbian detective. Nadine reveals their personal connection to the character, as they describe their grief surrounding the loss of a friend - an Indigenous woman in Sioux Lookout whose death went unsolved.



    Nadine is a graduate of the NSI IndigiDocs program.

    Wiiya: Michef pronoun, they/them



    Trigger warning: This episode contains discussions surrounding trauma and violence against Indigenous women.

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    21 mins
  • Joy Loewen
    Nov 30 2021
    “I do have a belief that we can bring people together through story. And how we support those storytellers is critical - that’s the essence of what we do at the National Screen Institute.”

    Leader, advocate, mother and friend are just a few of the many hats worn by National Screen Institute CEO Joy Loewen.

    In this episode, Joy discusses the path that led her to her current role as CEO. From growing up in Steinbach, Manitoba, to building her career in the media industry, to becoming a mother - Joy explains not only what she does but, more importantly, why she does it.

    Joy has worked with the National Screen Institute for 10 years, serving in many different roles until her appointment as CEO in January 2020. Since then, Joy has launched multiple new programs to address the needs of storytellers, created a strategic plan for the organization and navigated the challenges of working through a global pandemic.

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    33 mins
  • Cheyenne Bruneau
    Nov 23 2021
    “Art can impact people on such a soul level - and you’re complete strangers. It’s incredible that way.”

    Cheyenne Bruneau, also known as Miss Rae in the band Miss Rae & The Midnight Ramblers, wrote her first song Last Time when she was 19. She explains the meaning behind the song, and its power to transcend her own narrative and become something that her audiences can relate to.

    Cheyenne joined the National Screen Institute team in 2021 as program manager for NSI Art of Business Management - Indigenous Edition. Cheyenne is also co-program manager of the inaugural TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators.


    Cheyenne is an alumna of the CBC New Indigenous Voices program.


    Trigger warning: This episode contains discussions around domestic violence.

    Music provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Miss Rae & The Midnight Ramblers.

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    22 mins
  • Josh Epstein
    Nov 16 2021
    “I think everyone has at least one story that they can tell better than anyone else.”

    Josh co-wrote and produced the feature, Adventures in Public School, in 2014 through the NSI Features First program along with fellow grad Kyle Rideout. Josh walks us through their process, from researching the characters to premiering the film at the Toronto International Film Festival.

    Josh will work with National Screen Institute participants as a producer facilitator in the new program, NSI Series Incubator.

    Josh is an alumnus of NSI Drama Prize, NSI Features First and NSI Totally Television.

    Music provided by Blue Dot Sessions.

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    21 mins
  • Darcy Waite
    Nov 9 2021
    “Find what drives you, once you find that – it doesn’t matter if it gets hard. It’s always fun.”

    Darcy's feature film, Ruthless Souls - produced through the Telefilm Talent to Watch program - premiered at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in 2019 and was part of Telefilm’s Canadian Perspectives Program in Berlinale in 2020.


    Darcy is an alumnus of CBC New Indigenous Voices, NSI IndigiDocs and NSI Art of Business Management – Indigenous Edition.

    Music provided by Blue Dot Sessions.

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    24 mins