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VanShitty Episode 1 is live. So stoked to have filmmaker Rayln Gladue on as my inaugural guest. We get into so much essential material, and I was blown away by his preparedness, authenticity, and articulation. Can not recommend this episode highly enough for what he brings to it. I won’t spoil the episode but I there are potentially triggering moments throughout given the subject matter, particularly in the space between 1:00 and 1:09. You’ll understand why when you get there so feel free to skip. Use your discretion. Link in the bio with the episode and additional links to subscribe wherever you get your Podcasts.

Happy Sunday! Today we have a conversation with June Laporte. They just had a beautiful film called You Can Live Forever come out at the Tribeca Film Festival and you can watch it today! Do it before you listen, the festival ends today!! You won’t regret it trust me, it’s a beautiful love story of a kind we don’t have enough of. Human and authentic. Go to https://tribecafilm.com/films/you-can-live-forever-2022 and rent it for 48 hours! (It’s Geoblocked in Canada but just get a 30 day free trial of a VPN if you don’t have it. NordVPN is a good option.) Alright? Watched the film? Cool. June is one of my favourite people in the world and you’ll get a great sense of their wonderful perspective on life and vulnerability in this discussion. We talk about the film industry, how they fell in love with theater as a child, loss, pets, truly expressing yourself, and the American Girl Dolls. Really grateful to June for taking the time to talk to me, and I hope this new episode of Season 2 warms your heart as much as I did mine re-listening to it.

WELCOME TO VANSHITTY SEASON 2  I am so excited to come back with my first guests of the new season: Joshua Aries and Daniel Irving. I became aware of them when I saw their incredible film Mr. James is Dead at a local gala and gave them a shouting standing ovation. In a very short time, these two have taken the local indie world by storm, cleaning up awards and charming fans at virtually every local film film event. Most recently, they got on TikTok(@danielandjosh) and amassed 14 Million Views on their first upload alone. I upload this as they film a pitch video for their next big project, and I go off to see Everything Everywhere All At Once. This couldn't be more appropriate because in their own, authentic way, these two are very much cut from the same cloth as The Daniels.  Please enjoy this conversation from months ago, and get charmed by their warmth and humor on a rainy Sunday. https://linktr.ee/danielandjosh

Heya! Today we have a wonderful episode with David K. Greene: the mastermind behind Gritzmore's 2021 Year of Content among many other delightfully absurd projects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-gWOv1Z7UM&list=PLX_GKyymZY07xHaEg2OUUnvQ_WUF8Fiyl Dave is one of my absolute favorite filmmakers in town, he creates for the pure love of it and his work is thought provoking and absurd in all the best ways. Please enjoy this long-overdue (in many ways) deep dive into Dave's process and mind. Much love! PS: If you like Vanshitty's musical intro, you only have Dave to thank.

Hey! Welcome back. Today is election day and here is an episode framed as a debate about the utility of voting as a means to get things done politically. Pretty broad, and ultimately not that much of a debate seeing as Josue and I agree on most things and we both did vote. However, the discussion touches on activism, broad and local electoral politics, and a lot of other important issues in an engaging way. If you're feeling the election fever today its a great companion. Josue is an entrepreneur, a former Independent Candidate for MLA, and Debate Coach among many other things. He has also been doing invaluable work protesting at Fairy Creek with me and many others. Please enjoy! PS: I know I'm behind and I'll have a new episode from my regular catalogue of film personalities this week as well, David K. Greene coming next!

We did it! Tenth Episode! So happy to welcome my friend Mayumi Yoshida to the show. Mayumi just got picked for TIFF and Netflix's talent accelerator program and we're bound to see a deeply personal, soulful feature from her any day now, but this conversation, I hope sounds to your ears like two friends catching up and talking about film and what it all means to us, and our place in it. I loved listening it to it for quality control and hope it brightens your day as much as it did mine. Definitely an ideal episode to jump into this Podcast if you haven't already. Recommended Viewing: Tokyo Lovers: https://vimeo.com/376049636 directed by Nach Dudsdeemaytha and Mayumi herself, starring Mayumi and Jerome Yoo AND Ikiru (1952) by Akira Kurosawa

Victor Ayala is a prolific theater and film actor who has both taught acting for years and been a student longer. We discuss the limitations and potential of acting education as we've experienced it. Though this conversation may seem niche at first glance, I highly recommend it to all of my listeners because it delves into issues related more generally to the Western teaching style of breaking people down in order to build them back up, and the recklessness of many coaches regarding trauma. It also, importantly, discusses alternatives and if a better way is possible. Thank you as always for listening.

It's Daniel Jeffery time! Daniel's one of my favorite local filmmakers and good friends. We talk about his background, his history, and take interesting detours into the the characters he's befriended along the way. It'll help to watch his newly updated docu-drama: Manboyhood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd7Eh58d25Y And if you a real freak, check out Nothing Matters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX5S6fkYbJY PS: Special thanks to David K. Greene for creating the new VanShitty Intro Jingle! 

Welcome back!  So happy to finally be able to share this episode. In it, Shaelynn Poulin and I discuss the harsh realities of working in the industry-at-large in Vancouver as a PA, the contrasts between that and the Indie film world, and issues of mental health, spirituality, and activism. Its a really good one!  Shae's film Lion (as discussed in the episode): https://youtu.be/Kvjmr0Kiwmc

This is an episode relaying Kelly Tatham and I's experiences and lessons from our 5 days in Fairy Creek. It goes into the depths and nuances of the experience that a simple post or essay can't. Must listen. 

This is episode five (not six), wherein I interview the incredibly hardworking and badass Sasha Duncan and Joel McCarthy on the history and Philosophy of RunNGun 48 hour film fest. This is a no-holds barred episode that I hope you enjoy. We get into hard hitting questions like: "Joel when I oraled you, you promised me the deal was that Stav’s Extraordinary Mixtape would get a Writing nom, now I see that we got a Directing nom instead and Steve is walking around like he wears the pants? What is this? Was I not good enough at the oral?" Other questions are also asked. This episode is unedited. Recommended viewing is the 80 RUNNGUN movies available online right now.

Today is Joel Montgrand day! Joel is one of my oldest friends in the film/theater industry. We met at my first short theatre festival, then worked together on Shooting! The Musical and Average Dicks. This dude has lived a life and he is great at telling the stories. He’s lived in South Korea teaching English on less-than-legal pretences, travelled the world, done theatre all over Canada, and now plays a key roll in arguably the most important Canadian film of the year: Beans (trailer link in Bio), a film that his been sweeping up accolades at TIFF, Berlinale, and the Canadian Screen Awards among others. Soon you’ll be able to catch it locally. So stoked to have Joel on, and so glad I was able to save this podcast from encoding hell. Enjoy!