On this episode of The Directors Podcast, Emmy-winning DGC Director Jon Cassar sits down with DGC President Warren P. Sonoda to discuss the craft of his storied career in the Film & TV Industry as a director and producer. Their conversation ranges from working on 24 and building a strong relationship with Kiefer Sutherland, to becoming a producer-director and trying to lift up other filmmakers. Along the way Cassar gives his advice on enjoying the chaos of a film shoot, working with actors, and what it takes to be a great director on episodic television.
Timestamps:
(00:29) - Introductions
(01:43) - Conversation starts
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
On the fifth episode of our Talking to Actors series, DGC Director Aubrey Arnason sits down with CSA-winning DGC Director Fab Filippo (Sort Of, A Time to Kill). Their conversation covers the inherent vulnerability of actors, learning to walk away from scenes unsatisfied, the art of shooting walk and talks, getting creative with ADR and tips for early-career directors working with actors.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
Director Shannon Walsh sits down with fellow filmmaker Chase Joynt discuss her latest documentary feature Adrianne & The Castle, as well as her recent book The Documentary Filmmaker's Intuition: Creating Ethical and Impactful Non-fiction Films.
Their discussion also weaves in topics like the tension between filmmaking and political organizing, the activist aesthetic, the industry's reliance on relationship building, using narration, scripting and performative scenes in documentary, and more.
The Directors Podcast (rebranded from The DGC Podcast) is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
On the second episode of the Talking To Actors series, DGC Director Aubrey Arnason sits down with DGC Director Stefan Brogren to talk about his transition from acting to directing, his early work on Degrassi webisodes, guiding first-time actors and why directors need to get their entire crew emotionally invested in every scene.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
This episode features an in-depth industry discussion between DGC Director Tiffany Hsiung (Sing Me A Lullaby, The Apology) and Nathalie-Anne Brassard, the Directors Guild of Canada's National Film Board and Documentary Director Labour Representative. Their conversation focuses on the latest agreement between the DGC and the National Film Board, which enshrines new economic and creative rights at the NFB, while delving into specifics regarding the financial repercussions of production delays, how Directors can make sure they're properly credited for their work, how the DGC can assist in resolving creative and legal disputes, and much more.
This discussion was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
This episode features three directors who screened documentary features at TIFF 2023:
Guided by DGC Director Lisa Rideout, they discuss unique approaches to cataloguing footage for the editing room, whether or not to share documentary footage with a film's subjects, some of the challenges they've encountered throughout their careers, and more.
On this episode, filmmaker and DGC Ontario Director Rep Lisa Rose Snow leads a panel of four distinct directors whose latest films played at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The panel includes Sean Garrity, director of The End of Sex; Darlene Naponse, director of Stellar; Marie Clements, director of Bones of Crows and Lindsay MacKay, director of The Swearing Jar. Their conversation begins on the subject of juggling multiple creative roles at once before delving into a discussion about the luck, serendipity and magic required to get films made.
This conversation was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto during TIFF 2022.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.
On this episode, Director Zach Lipovsky (Freaks, Kim Possible) is joined by a panel of five emerging filmmakers whose latest feature films played at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The panel includes Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, director of When Morning Comes; Sophie Jarvis, director of Until Branches Bend; Ashley McKenzie, director of Queens of the Qing Dynasty; Gail Maurice, director of Rosie; and Anthony Shim, director of Riceboy Sleeps and recipient of the 2022 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award.
Their discussion tackles the fear that comes with embarking on a large creative endeavor, as well as the writing process, tonal development and aesthetic choices that went into creating their films.
This conversation was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto during TIFF 2022.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
This episode features Hubert Davis, Director of Black Ice, and Sally El Hosaini, Director of The Swimmers, in conversation about their latest films, which both revolve around athletes and the weight they bear beyond competition itself. Black Ice pulls the history of anti-black racism in hockey to the surface and examines the struggle of Black athletes from pre-NHL to the present day, while The Swimmers dramatizes the true story of two sisters who flee war-torn Syria and make the perilous journey to Europe, with hope of competing in the Olympics. This conversation is moderated by filmmaker Charles Officer, Director of The Porter, Akilla's Escape and Unarmed Verses.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.
This conversation was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto during TIFF 2022.
Koromousso, Big Sister is making its World Premiere at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto on March 9th as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Tickets can be purchased on HotDocs.ca.
On this episode Joy Loewen, CEO of the National Screen Institute, sits down with Directors Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan to discuss their forthcoming documentary Koromousso, Big Sister. The film centers on a group of African-Canadian women fighting to take back ownership of their bodies after being victimized by female genital mutilation. Ouarme weaves her own journey with those of her friends to explore the lifelong effects of FGM, the feelings of shame and loneliness they've endured and the path they walk toward individual and collective healing.
This discussion covers many fascinating topics related to the film including how they managed to capture footage in Burkina Faso, Ouarme's choice to put herself and her story on screen, the dynamic between a first-time filmmaker in Ouarme and an experienced director in Donovan and how they navigated documenting such sensitive and emotional subject matter.
This episode features four emerging directors whose first feature films played at TIFF 2023. Their discussion is led by renowned DGC Director Zach Lipovsky and tackles the emotional and physical preparation for shooting a feature, how they turned production challenges into creative choices, the advice they wished they'd had from the beginning, and more.
The filmmakers featured on this panel are:
Ariane Louis-Seize; Director of Vampire Humanist Cherche Suicidaire Consentant (Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Adult)
Zarrar Khan; Director of In Flames
M. H. Murray; Director of I Don't Know Who You Are
Meredith Hama-Brown; Director of Seagrass
This talk was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto at TIFF 2023.
This episode features a panel of three brilliant directors in conversation about their latest films: Director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sarah Polley, whose film Women Talking has also been nominated for Best Picture at the 2023 Academy Awards; Clement Virgo, director of Brother, which was selected by TIFF as one of Canada's Top Ten Feature Films of 2022; and Tobias Lindholm, director of The Good Nurse. Fellow filmmaker and DGC President Warren Sonoda guides their discussion as they delve into the position of theme in storytelling, how they approach adaptation, the way they've evolved as artists, and much more.
This conversation was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto during TIFF 2022.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
On this episode, renowned DGC filmmaker Tiffany Hsiung guides a panel of three DGC Directors as they discuss their latest documentaries. Co-Directors Kathleen Jayme & Asia Youngman talk I'M JUST HERE FOR THE RIOT, their film about the 2011 riot which broke out following the Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup finals loss in Game 7, and Director Yasmine Mathurin discusses the sixth episode of the docu-series WITNESS which spotlights the story of a man preparing to show his children footage of the Toronto Police Department assaulting him.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.
This episode was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event at Hot Docs 2023 in Toronto.
On the fourth episode of our Talking to Actors series, DGC Director Aubrey Arnason sits down with renowned Director-Actor Amanda Tapping (Stargate SG-1, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Motherland: Fort Salem). Starting from her first experience transitioning behind the camera on Stargate SG-1, Tapping provides insight into what Directors can do if they lose an actor, how they should approach gun-for-hire episodic shoots, common communication mistakes, how to navigate emotional scenes, and more.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
On the third episode of the Talking to Actors series, DGC Director Aubrey Arnason sits down with Actor-Director Agam Darshi to discuss her work on both sides of the camera and her experience starring in and directing the feature film Donkeyhead.
This episode features Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams, Co-Directors of SATAN WANTS YOU, and Georges Hannan, Director of UNDERTAKER FOR LIFE!, in conversation with fellow DGC Director Reg Harkema (THE KIDS IN THE HALL: COMEDY PUNKS, SUPER DUPER ALICE COOPER).
Their conversation explores the modern relevance of the satanic panic, the polarizing ways Adams and Horlor portrayed their subjects, how Hannan navigated making a film about death and how both films explore religious community and belief from very different angles.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
This conversation was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto during Hot Docs 2023.
Director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Rian Johnson (Glass Onion, Knives Out, The Last Jedi) is joined by fellow filmmaker Vincenzo Natali (The Peripheral, Westworld, Splice) to discuss a suite of topics including learning to communicate with actors, Johnson's prep workflow, the movie he'd love to make and the changing landscape of film development and distribution.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.
This conversation was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto during TIFF 2022.
Prolific DGC Director and Screenwriter Atom Egoyan sits down with Executive Director of the Canadian Film Institute, Tom McSorley, for an extensive conversation about the thematic underpinnings of his work while also covering his early obsession with home movies, choosing niche filmmaking over Hollywood, the changing role of Film Festivals and how film criticism has evolved alongside technology.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
This conversation was originally recorded over Zoom in 2020.
On Earth Day 2022, we bring you a conversation between two storied and impactful Directors, Shelley Saywell (Kim's Story, A Child's Century of War) and Liz Marshall (Water on the Table, The Ghosts in Our Machine). Their discussion focuses on Marshall's latest documentary Meat the Future, which chronicles the rising "cultivated meat" industry and the possibilities it presents for an end to factory farming and a sustainable climate future. In conversation with Saywell, Marshall covers the film's soundscape and use of drone cinematography, the legal challenges of filming industrial barns, the realities of making films about difficult and potentially traumatizing subject matter, and the importance of presenting animals properly on screen.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy.
This talk was originally recorded over Zoom in October 2020.
This episode features a panel of Documentary Directors whose films screened at the 2022 Hot Docs Festival. Phyllis Ellis, Director of Category Woman, Brishkay Ahmed, Director of Fatima in Kabul, Barri Cohen, Director of Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children and Andrew Moir, Director of Don't Come Searching are all guided in discussion by fellow filmmaker and Hot Docs Programmer, Aisha Jamal, as they delve into their stylistic and musical inspirations, the color palette of their films, the mechanics of dehumanization and how to research and interview subjects about traumatic events.
This discussion was recorded live at a DGC Visionaries event in Toronto.
The DGC Podcast is produced by the Directors Guild of Canada National Directors Division and hosted by filmmakers Katia Café-Fébrissy and Aubrey Arnason.