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Writer and creative producer, Helene Taylor, joins us to talk about her recent diagnosis with Frontotemporal Dementia, or FTD. Throughout this conversation, we cover what FTD is, how it is diagnosed, and what to do now to reduce cognitive decline.  We also discussed films such as Still Alice, which represents dementia in a very real way, especially when it comes to the experience of carers, and Shrinking, which shows a character figuring out how to maintain autonomy and live life with a degenerative disease. We also talked about the importance of prioritizing important experiences in our lives including going to events like TIFF, where we also saw other dementia related films such as The Road Not Taken and Arrested Memories Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Our guest, Tom Sinclair, is an actor and filmmaker based in Winnipeg who joined us to talk about his journey into acting and filmmaking in Manitoba and his experience working on the feature film, Champions, which was his acting debut. We first met Tom at Banff World Media Festival as he was a DSO (Disability Screen Office) delegate like Heather! DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-EP084-Champions-and-Intellectual-Disabilities-Transcript.pdf  Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Veteran Filipinx-American filmmakers and LGBTQIA+ activists Desireena Almoradie and Barbara Malaran join us to talk about their new film, BECAUSE OF YOU: A HISTORY OF KILAWIN KOLEKTIBO. This doc is the first archival look at a previously uncovered era of 90s queer activism amongst a group of Filipinxs activists and artists that started in New York City and rippled across the U.S. and Canada.  In this conversation, we discussed the history of this film's making, memory, forgiveness, finding joy in community, and the complications that live alongside any group fighting for change.  Transcript: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Episode-83-Transcript_-Because-of-You_-A-History-of-Kilawin-Kolektibo-and-Filipinx-queer-ac-cbx2.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Brian Ceci is a filmmaker and cinematographer who has worked on productions in over 30 countries across six continents. Brian's feature film debut as a director, 'Heard,' chronicles his experience being Hard of Hearing as he talks to other Hard of Hearing (HoH) creatives across BC who use their hearing loss to further their practice as artists and creatives.  Today's conversation delves into Brian's inspiration for Heard and how making this film helped him continue exploring his own place on the Hard of Hearing Spectrum. We also spoke about the Deaf community, deaf gains, deaf joy, and how riding motorcycles gives Brian a sense of normalcy in a world that can feel socially isolating.  Transcript: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-EP082_Heard_-A-Film-about-the-Hard-of-Hearing-Spectrum-transcript.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Actor, writer, and disability advocate, Alicia Grace is a spark of joy! She joined us to talk about living with blindness and a brain tumor. We talk about How to Train Your Dragon, the first film that helped her connect to her disability, and the limited series, All the Light We Cannot See, which included a blind character (and actor) who was more than her disability.  Alicia really wants to have more authentic representations of people living with a brain tumor on film and TV. Brain tumors are often used to have a character suddenly on their deathbed or show a miracle cure moment, but often people with brain tumors live on a wait-and-watch period, like Alicia, who has had her brain tumor her whole life. Her mantra is No Day But Today – a song in the musical Rent by Jonathan Larson. He inspired her to live her life in love and not fear, as she lives through six-month periods between MRI scans.  Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 family. Today's conversation dived into the inspiration for Mārama and how its themes of colonization, cultural theft, and reclaimation are told through a Māori lens. We also discussed how important it was to weave cultural safety through every part of the making of Mārama - from development through to daily on-set practice and how to preserve your mental health when working on films with sensitive subject matters. CONTENT WARNING: trauma, death, suicide READ TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-EP080-transcript_-Marama_-Maori-gothic-horror-and-the-trauma-of-colonialization-and-tda3.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 be talking about today! As a film critic and disabled person, Kristen Lopez speaks with particular authority on how disability is represented-and too often misrepresented-in movies. Popcorn Disabilities is her impassioned, yet fun and engaging, survey of how Hollywood has dealt with disability over the last century. Over the course of this episode, we talk about little-remembered gems like Tod Browning's Freaks, one of the earliest well-intentioned attempts to show disabled characters as complex, three-dimensional human beings, to a slew of contemporary films, all of which have the power to enlighten, influence, and be used as a tool for social good.   Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 empathetic conversations about faith while making her documentary with her devout mother and her father, a former pastor turned atheist. We also discussed shows like Unorthodox and films about transformation, like Barbie and Wild, and how Elyse would love to see TV and film tackle the nuanced, grey areas of the deconversion process and what it is like to live in mixed-faith families. CW: religion and religious themes DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript_EP078_Unfolding-Faith.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 look at the disability community, friendship, and the fight for equal opportunities.  In our conversation about the series, we delve into a conversation about the realities of caregiving and how often we forget that care work is labour that often goes unrecognized and unpaid.  Sarah has had the opportunity to work with Daniel and Fred throughout her career and was one of the editors on the series. In fact, this past weekend, Crip Trip won two Rosie awards, including best editor for documentary series over 30 minutes!! So proud of them!! DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript-Episode-077-Crip-Trip-and-the-Labour-of-Care-Work.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 book, Roadside: My Journey to Iraq and the Long Road Home. A military memoir by a biracial child of refugees and survivors, Roadside is about life and death, about family lost and gained, and about America, as a dream and a reality. In a world marred by a seemingly endless wave of negativity, this story of love, loss, and brotherhood may offer a faint glimmer of hope as we face an uncertain future. In this episode, we talk with Dylan about his time in Iraq as part of the US Military, the impact it had on his mental health, and what it was like to return home to a world that had moved on without him, especially when the violence he thought he'd left in the Middle East followed him home.  "An indelible story of war and survival. Roadside is a portrait of America, its wars, and the kids who fight them. It is also a map of the funny, tortured, and heartbreaking journey they must undertake if they want to return home."—Elliot Ackerman, award-winning author of On Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning. CW: We discuss PTSD, suicidal ideation, addiction, murder, and homelessness in this episode. READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript-EP076-Military-Service-and-Life-After-Deployment.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 experiences she shared on her podcast. We also discuss albinism and low vision and what Jennie would love to see represented more on film and television – obviously, our favorite subject! TRANSCRIPT:  https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript-Episode-075_-Navigating-Low-Vision-and-Albinism-on-Pretty-Blind.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 she has now found herself an advocate for it.  She recently wrote a children's book titled 'Mommy Grew A Wheelchair,' which features images of Laura (before and after her paralysis), her two kids, and the family's two big, shaggy dogs. It's currently available on Etsy or Ko-Fi. READ TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Episode-074-Transcript-Reframing-Life-After-an-Acquired-Disability.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 support can have on your mental health. We also talk about the importance of mentors in Wax's life as she navigated: homelessness as a teen in New York to being a part of the EOP program, which allowed her to have financial and emotional support to attend SUNY Fredonia and finally, to becoming an award-winning editor who maintains life-long bonds with the mentors who helped her make it all possible.  READ TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-EP073-Transcript_-PBSs-The-Class-and-the-Importance-of-Mentorship.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 suicide in youth films covering both studio-driven and independent cinema from 1900 to 2018. It aims to understand such portrayals by offering a proactive approach via a media literacy strategy for engaged audiences in order for them to interpret these portrayals. Ultimately, via their thorough analysis, films become the much-needed buffer that allows people to gain enough distance from suicide and suicidal behavior to actually talk about it, and via this interview, Alessandra gives guidance to filmmakers on how to better portray this often stigmatized topic.  Content Warning: This episode deals with death, suicide, suicidal behaviors, and their portrayals DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-EP072-Transcript-Youth-and-Suicide-in-American-Cinema-with-Alessandra-Seggi.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

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 educational and entertainment destination. Ontario Place was a third place that acted as a refuge to a lot of Torontonians until the government decided to turn the main part of the space into a private spa and despite public process, construction began in October of 2024, a month after Ali's documentary premiered.  For those of you who haven't heard of third places before, it's a sociological term that refers to the social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place"). Third places are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. They are spaces like churches, cafes, libraries, gyms, bookstores, gaming spaces, parks, and theatres, where people can gather, relax, and engage in meaningful interactions, which can positively impact mental health by fostering a sense of community and belonging. Third places are where we can both affirm our own identities and build empathy for identities different from our own.  In Ray Oldenburg and Karen Christensen's 1989 book The Great Good Place, Oldenburg argues that third places are important for democracy, civic engagement, and a sense of place. In the 2023 edition, Christensen argues that third places are also the answer to loneliness, political polarization, and climate resilience.  DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript-EP071-Ontario-Place-and-the-Importance-of-Third-Places.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast