Five years ago, actor Giles Panton swung by the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about voicing Iron Man in Marvel Battleworld: Mystery of the Thanostones, the sleighful of Christmas movies in his filmography, what he learned playing the minister of propaganda for the American Reich in Amazon Prime’s critically acclaimed dystopian series The Man in the High Castle, and the Barbie commercial that broke up his band. It’s a fantastic episode (which you can find in the episode footnotes or wherever you listen to podcasts), but a lot can change in five years. For instance, you can move from being the guy that always loses the girl in the rom-com to the guy who gets her. You can win a Leo Award for Best Performance in an Animation Program for your work in animated horror anthology series Red Iron Road AND a UBCP/ACTRA Award for voicing Carnage and Norman Osborne in Absolute Carnage. You can get an ADHD diagnosis that explains so much of how you move through the world. You can become a dad. In this compelling conversation – at times poignant; at times funny; always authentic and entertaining – Giles reflects on the many changes of the last five years, what it takes to be a leading man, working with Andrea Brooks on Snowy with a Chance of Christmas, pursuing joy, constructing grilled cheese sandwiches, and how his ADHD diagnosis changed his life. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA
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Episode 344: The trailblazing Black Punjabi jazz singer that Canada forgot
Baljit Sangra’s new documentary issues its central question in its title: Have You Heard Judi Singh? If you have to think about it, the answer is no, because once you’ve heard Judi Singh sing, you’ll remember it – her clarity, her lyricism, the ease with which she scat and sang bebop and standards and original music – you’ll remember that you’ve heard Judi Singh sing for the rest of your life. Originally from Edmonton, gifted jazz singer Judi Singh defied expectations as a Punjabi-Black artist stepping onto the stage in the late 1950s. Though her ethereal voice captivated musicians and audiences, the music industry failed to give her the recognition she deserved—an all-too-familiar story for women and artists of colour. In this lively and deeply felt documentary portrait, Judi’s daughter Emily Hughes and Baljit retrace Judi’s life and music through archival recordings, intimate recollections, and the bohemian spaces she once inhabited. Weaving together moments of brilliance, struggle, and resilience, the film reintroduces a forgotten artist to the spotlight she always deserved.More people will have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with Judi’s voice and her remarkable story after Have You Heard Judi Singh? has its world premiere at the 2025 DOXA Documentary Film Festival. Filmmaker Baljit Sangra returns to the podcast to discuss Judi’s artistry and legacy. Episode sponsor: Directors Guild Of Canada, BC District Council
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Episode 343: House of David’s Jonathan Lloyd Walker
House of David on Amazon Prime tells the story of the shepherd boy who brought down a giant Philistine warrior with a slingshot and a stone and, ultimately, became king. But the story of David – outcast David, underdog David, King David – is more than a single parable – and the first season of House of David lays out David’s journey from childhood until moments after he felled Goliath with a single stone. Although the series – which aired its first season finale earlier this month and has already been renewed for a second season – is filmed in Greece, it boasts an impressive contingent from Vancouver. Louis Ferreira is David’s father, Jesse. Kimani Ray-Smith is stunt coordinator. Todd Giroux is post producer. Alexandra La Roche and Michael Nankin directed episodes. And Vancouver’s own Jonathan Lloyd Walker is executive producer, writer, and season one show runner. In this compelling conversation with Sabrina Rani Furminger, Jonathan discusses his journey to House of David, the joys and challenges of bringing these biblical personages to the screen, and where the show will take viewers in season two. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA
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Episode 342: Kevin Eastwood spotlights the brave British Columbians fighting wildfires
Wildfire is a phenomenal, deeply moving, and heart-pounding five-part series that airs on Knowledge Network beginning on April 29. Filmed across British Columbia in 2023, during the worst fire season on record, the series examines how an unprecedented fuel build-up, combined with a hotter, drier climate, created a volatile tinderbox situation. It also introduces us to the communities impacted by wildfires and the humans who put their lives on the line to fight fire however they can: with water, with axes, with ingenuity, and with fire itself. We see firsthand the daunting climate emergency we face and meet the people standing between British Columbians and complete devastation. Wildfire is executive produced and co-directed by friend of the pod Kevin Eastwood, and co-directed and produced by Nelson filmmakers Simon Shave and Clay Mitchell. In this fascinating episode, Kevin Eastwood reflects on what he learned about the British Columbians who are stepping up to fight these record-breaking wildfires, and how he and his team handled the logistics of filming the firefighting up close. Episode sponsor: Directors Guild Of Canada, BC District Council
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Episode 341: Supinder Wraich and Nimisha Mukerji
In this special episode of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, Allegiance star Supinder Wraich and executive producer Nimisha Mukerji reflect on the crime procedural’s emotionally searing second season. Season one introduced us to Sabrina Sohal (played by Supinder), a star rookie police officer in the CFPC who must grapple with the limits of the justice system as she fights to exonerate her politician father Ajeet Sohal, played by friend of the pod Stephen Lobo. Season two finds Sabrina earning a probationary spot as a detective in the Serious Crimes Unit, and with a new partner: Detective Corporal Zak Kalaini played by Samer Salem, from a CFPC branch in Alberta, who has a much different style of policing than Sabrina.Allegiance is set and produced in Surrey, British Columbia, and is very much a character in its own right. Season two brought us even deeper into the community, and also into issues that are at once specific to Surrey and also universal: issues like violence against women in the South Asian community; sexual predation of teen boys; violence against the unhoused; PTSD; and also grief: how we navigate it, and how we need to fold it into our lives somehow or risk losing ourselves altogether. In the first half of the episode, Supinder Wraich reflects on Sabrina’s journey in season two, her own journey in Sabrina’s detective shoes, and healing through representation. In the second half of the episode, executive producer and director Nimisha Mukerji reflects on the emotional resonance of Allegiance’s second season, and what Sabrina Sohal represents for her. Episode sponsor: Directors Guild Of Canada, BC District Council
Vancouver is one of the busiest film and television production centres on the planet. But who powers this thriving local industry? The YVR Screen Scene Podcast seeks to answer that question. Award-winning film and television journalist Sabrina Furminger conducts revealing interviews with the actors, filmmakers, and other talented artists who power the Vancouver film and television industry in this eye-opening twice-weekly podcast.
South Africa