Firecracker Department with Naomi Snieckus

Rev up your year with a brand new season of The Firecracker Department Podcast! Let's ignite 2024 with an explosive lineup of captivating conversations. Join our sensational host, Naomi Snieckus, and an array of global artists as they take you on a heart-pounding journey into the depths of creativity and inspiration. But that's not all – mark your calendars because later this spring, we're bringing you The Blaze Sessions, a special mini-season featuring the extraordinary co-host Jennifer Podemski. It's a dynamic duo that will set your imagination ablaze! Each episode promises an electric blend of insights and innovation you won't want to skip. So, whether you're strolling down the street, pumping iron at the gym, whipping up a storm in the kitchen, or lost in your own universe, tune in and let us transport you to an action-packed realm of unbridled creativity. Get ready to fire up your imagination and dive headfirst into a whirlwind of inspiration with The Firecracker Department Podcast – the ultimate destination for all things thrilling and ingenious!

Jennifer Holness is not only a force to be reckoned with, but she is a beacon of change in the industry. An award-winning filmmaker and the co-founder of Hungry Eyes Media (with her partner Sudz Sutherland), she is the first ever recipient of the Firecracker Department's Red Point Award, going to women over 50 who are still creating incredible content and leading the way in out community. After a life-changing health scare in her early twenties, Jennifer learned to go forth confidently in the direction of her dreams to direct and produce, and never look back. Throughout her incredible career, she shares with Naomi and Amanda how she is able to fully immerse herself in a story to help spark change, and how centering on a theme helps her pinpoint what the story will transform into. She also acknowledges that despite her increasing drive to change the world, she needs to be able to take care of herself and her family. And through the trials, stress, and pressure, Jennifer is still able to live a life that is full of joy.

With a career spanning decades and a multitude of incredible roles in beautiful shows, it's no wonder actor Wendy Crewson is one of Canada's brightest and most beloved stars. With credits like Air Force One, Good Sam, Pretty Hard Cases, she is also known as a staunch advocate for ACTRA and FilmOntario and for the role she's played in helping change the landscape of the industry. But, Wendy says she's learned the most important person to stand up for, ultimately, is herself. She tells Naomi and Amanda about how much she loves to celebrate her own accomplishments and those of her fellow actors (she still gets excited about award nominations), especially when it comes to the next generation. She also shares that even after all these years, nothing will ever beat the rush of going into an audition room. Wendy Crewson has courage to wear an orange formal gown to a casual event, to stand up for what she believes in and above all, to be herself.

In the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Mary Young Leckie had one of her infamous lightbulb moments, which inspired her to produce such amazing shows as M.V.P and the brilliant and award- winning film Maudie. With an immense passion for telling Canadian stories and steadfast activism throughout her career, Mary reveals she has an unwavering belief in all of the stories she tells. She also details the determination she has found to push through the sometimes-long journeys to produce her work. She shares how reaching out within the artistic community can fuel you, why we should always forgive those who have wronged us and how often the best way to wind down is to belt it out with a rock ‘n roll choir at Carnegie Hall.

Juggling a work-life balance is difficult for many of us, but perhaps even more so for the multi-hyphenate extraordinary talent that is Jennifer Podemski. As she has navigated her career through acting, writing, directing, producing and showrunning (with her beautiful film Little Bird coming up), not to mention her companies The Shine Network and Red Cloud Studios she has learned a few valuable lessons along the way. She tells Naomi and Amanda about how the art of fear management and the importance of celebrating the “little wins” have helped guide her through various iterations of her career. She also speaks to the freedom of owning your own artistic work, and how important it is to adapt the way we tell Indigenous stories so they are no longer extractive, but instead allow the community to maintain agency over their collective experience. Even though she's achieved success on a global scale, Jennifer will always be thankful for the creativity her grandmother fostered in her, and how she sometimes just takes jobs to be able to spend some quality time with her equally gifted sisters, Sarah and Tamara.

Sheila McCarthy's résumé truly reads like an adventure book with twists, turns and surprises that makes her one of the most versatile and unique artists in our community.  From playing a maid in The Littlest Hobo to her profound performance as Greta Loewen in Sarah Polley's Oscar award winning movie Women Talking, her command of the screen is unlike any other - and really makes Naomi and Amanda wonder why she doesn't yet have the Order of Canada. Despite her prolific career, even Sheila has experienced moments of doubt and fear. She shares how jumping around various mediums and always reinventing herself has helped her push through. That, plus a memory of Liza Minelli peeking behind the camera and giving her some magical advice that she's held on to ever since. Catch this inspiring and motivating discussion with one of our industries best of the best.

Whatever Adrienne C. Moore is selling - we're buying! As the unpredictable drug squad detective Kelly Duff on Pretty Hard Cases, with some other pretty big roles under her belt (hello, Orange is the New Black!) we'd assume Adrienne had achieved GOAT status. But she proudly proclaims that she'd rather just keep striving for it than have already reached it. After a successful career in marketing, Adrienne tells Amanda and Naomi how she learned how to think of herself as a product and work within her own acting wheelhouse to make the shift into acting. And although she's a self-branded genius, she does make mistakes - and admits she is just as honest about them as the successes she's had. And let's not forget how she not only got “camera ready” for this interview in 3 min flat AND she continues to forge a path for BIPOC creatives to be accommodated on set. Yes - the word “unstoppable” comes to mind!

Grace Lynn Kung has reached a milestone in her life and career - being number one on the call sheet for the very first time as Marissa Wong in the new crime dramedy Wong and Winchester - and she's celebrating every moment!. The road to get there hasn't been easy, but Grace tells Naomi and Amanda how she finds that tuning in to her vulnerability and authenticity helps feed into the various roles she's played - both onscreen and off. She also divulges how we often use age as an excuse to stop listening to people, reminds us how important it is to reclaim your body and mind for yourself first and foremost, and how important it is to live life freely without labels. But maybe best of all, this intense, intellectually inspiring conversation ends with Naomi and Amanda getting an impromptu cartoon voice acting session from Grace. What does your pet's voice sound like?

We know Meredith MacNeill as by-the-book, yet frazzled detective Sam Wazowski on Pretty Hard Cases and for her absurd and hilarious comedic sketches on Baroness Von Sketch Show which she wrote and starred in….but the truth is - she's more than just the wild roles she plays on screen. The depth that she carries through her work comes from recognizing the truth of her life and how she sees the world. She shares with Naomi and Amanda that part of her comedic  process involves cozying up to her best friend: failure. From her upbringing in Halifax to performing on stages in the UK, Meredith held hands with her inner voice and her fearlessness to help her achieve her dream to fly. Oh, and if you think perimenopause and chin hairs suck - she'll definitely convince you otherwise.

Get ready for The Blaze Sessions! Award-winning actors and friends Amanda Brugel and Naomi Snieckus kick off their shoes and dive into honest conversation with eight women at the top of their game in the entertainment industry. It's a showbiz cheat sheet, a dose of creative inspiration and a great ride, all rolled into one.  Coming at you April 26.

The incomparable Amanda Brugel should truly be recognized as an artistic chameleon. With her seamless ability to transition from comedy to drama - in roles like Karina Duff on Pretty Hard Cases and Rita Blue and then effortlessly to her work on The Handmaid's Tale - Amanda is constantly reinventing herself and breaking away from the proverbial “box” that many actors seem to fall into. But her successes haven't come without setbacks, and she tells Naomi how she's learned to be open about her struggles throughout her life, and also to take time to appreciate the little “delights'' that appear. She shares that one of the most valuable muscles for her is the one that helps her recognize the victories in her life, big or small. And, even though she knows life is a never ending journey, Amanda is learning to always show up as herself, and learning that no matter what role or struggle she may face, she can always find a way to Brugel-ize it.

Our guest this week is Chinese-Canadian actor, writer - RONG FU! Rong was born in Qin-an, China and was raised in Toronto, Canada.  She knew at a young age that she wanted to be an actor and started her classical training in theatre at Earl Haig, an arts high school in Toronto and then went on to graduate from York University's Acting Conservatory in 2012.   Rong's theatrical debut was in the critically acclaimed production of THE CRUCIBLE at Soulpepper in Toronto.  She has since performed on stages across Canada in amazing productions including the Shaw Festival's STAGE KISS and THE ORCHARD AFTER CHEKHOV in Niagara-on-the Lake, Vertigo Theatre's SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE RAVEN'S CURSE in Calgary, Toronto Tarragon Theatre's THE MILLENNIAL MALCONTENT, and Roseneath Theatre's Dora Nominated THE MONEY TREE in Toronto. You may recognize Rong on the small screen in shows such as: CBC and NBC's PRETTY HARD CASES, CBC and Netflix's WORKIN' MOMS, CBS's AMERICAN GOTHIC, ABC's ROOKIE BLUE, CTV's CARTER, and The CW's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Most recently, on Paramount+'s STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, and Lionsgate and BuzzFeed Studios' MY FAKE BOYFRIEND. Rong plays the romantic lead Avery in CBC Gem's original HELLO (AGAIN), a k-drama inspired rom-com created by Simu Liu and Nathalie Younglai, that recently won BEST DRAMA PILOT in the DIGITAL SHORTS SERIES in SeriesFest in Denver, Colorado. MAY FLOWERS, ASIANS IN THE SIXTH is a short film that Rong wrote and it premiered on CBC: CANADA REFLECTIONS in 2020.  She is a founding member of a community collective of Asian artists in film and television called ASIANS IN THE SIXTH as a Facebook group.  In 2021, she curated a program of various free industry workshops to uplift and support fellow Asian artists, including workshops about The Business Side of Acting and another workshop on Authenticity and Wellbeing. Twitter: @rongideas Instagram: @rongideas Website:  https://www.officialrongfu.com/ HELLO (AGAIN) @watchhelloagain #watchhelloagain @cbcgem Watch: https://gem.cbc.ca/media/hello-again/s01 Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept  Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto-based Juno-winning vocalist, songwriter, director, music marketing specialist and Syrian-Canadian - SALLY SHAAR! Sally studied with Canadian vocal legends Christine Duncan, Lorraine Lawson, Falconer Abraham, and Micah Barnes.  She has such an amazing voice and she's constantly pushing the boundaries of her voice both on stage and in the studio. Through her studies at Humber College's music program and an unfortunate bout of tonsillitis, Sally has become a veritable expert on vocal health and recovery.  Sally is a founding member of the alternative rock band MONOWHALES.  They recently won a 2022 Juno for Breakthrough Group of the Year!  Sally has been the creative force behind numerous music videos, photos, and online marketing campaigns for the band.  That's right, Sally's ingenuity and forward-thinking approach to music marketing has helped MONOWHALES establish themselves as one of the most exciting new bands in Canada and the WORLD!  MONOWHALES' 2019 single RWLYD (Really Wanna Let You Down) broke the record for the highest-charting single by an unsigned Canadian band when it hit number two on the Mediabase Canada Alternative Rock Chart. They released their latest album DAYTONA BLEACH in early 2021 which included RWLYD along with Top 10 singles ALL OR NOTHING and OUT WITH THE OLD.  By the way, OUT WITH THE OLD has over 1 million streams on Spotify! Sally is no stranger to the stage, she has toured extensively with MONOWHALES.  Performances include Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany, Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada, Festival d'ete in Quebec City, Canada and Yellowknife PRIDE.  MONOWHALES has played in support of artists including K Flay, Our Lady Peace, Death From Above 1979, Marianas Trench, Sloan, I Mother Earth and many more. MONOWHALES were just on a cross-Canada tour with indie-rock band Mother Mother and they have a new album slated for release Fall of 2022. Fun Fact: Three MONOWHALES songs off 2018's CONTROL FREAK were featured in Season 1, Episode 5 of 2020 Netflix series SPINNING OUT, which also included a cameo appearance by the band. Twitter: @SallyShaar Instagram: @sally_shaar MONOWHALES @monowhales - Instagram and Twitter Facebook Monowhales' Website Monowhales on Spotify Monowhales on Apple Music Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Greater Toronto-based Coach and Consultant, Crafter, Cook, Sewist, Bread Baker, Head of our Mentorship Department, Facilitator of Firecracker Artists Way Programme and Actioneer VERONICA MARTIN! Veronica has lead and developed both the Mentorship Department and Firecracker Artists Way Program with such heart. Both support women and non-binary folks in the arts who come together to listen and learn. The Mentorship Team includes Kathleen Harquail, Sarah Potter, Emilia Copeland and Rebecca Marquardt. Together they create things like helpful content, virtual events with experienced Mentors, meet and greets, panel events, one-on-one mentoring opportunities AND more! We've had mentorship workshops that have focused on writers, directors, indie producers, and they have some more cooking in the near future. Veronica describes herself as a recovering HR Director, who has a personal goals creativity coaching and small business human resources consulting company with clients in Canada, and the US. Veronica's love of languages led her to volunteer as a literacy tutor through the Oakville Literacy Council for over ten years. She also mentors HR practitioners through the Human Resources Professionals Association and students through the McMaster Alumni Association. No wonder the Mentorship Department was such a great fit for Veronica - she has that mentoring passion. Speaking of taking her passion to another level, Veronica is currently developing an online programme for women and non-binary folks who want to amp up their happiness as they move through all their ages. Twitter: @veronicaamartin Instagram: @veronicaannemartin Facebook page: http://ow.ly/2OFu50Ii7NQ Website: http://ow.ly/xEB650Ii7NS Mentorship team Kathleen Harquail @atkharquail Sarah Potter Emilia Copeland @insaninox Rebecca Marquardt @rebeccaloops Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto-based policy advisor, workplace consultant, change maker, film producer AND Firecracker Actioneer and part of our mentorship department - KATHLEEN HARQUAIL! Kathleen has a degree in Hispanic Studies from Trent University, in Peterborough, Canada, and Universidad del Valle de Mexico.   As well as, a diploma in screenwriting from George Brown, in Toronto, and is a graduate of Women In Film and Television Toronto's Media Business Essentials program.  Kathleen can do it all!  She could write a film in Spanish about media business essentials. Kathleen, as an independent film producer, focuses on queer stories and projects led by women and non-binary folks.  Kathleen associate produced the award-winning film TRU LOVE, a film written and directed by Kate Johnston and Shauna MacDonald, about a lesbian with commitment issues who befriends a widowed mother visiting her workaholic daughter.  Some of the awards TRU LOVE won in 2014, include Best International Feature at the FilmOut San Diego Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the Inside Out Toronto LGBTQ plus Film Festival and Best Women's Feature at the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.    Kathleen founded, with Sandra McCallum - Reel Culture, a consulting firm focused on building sate and inclusive work cultures in the film and television industry.  Their tag is “Reel Culture. Real Change.” REEL CULTURE Twitter - @reelcultureca  Instagram -  @reelculturerealchange reelculture.ca Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept  Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is screenwriter, director and producer LAURA TERRUSO!  Laura is a graduate from NYU's graduate film program at the Tisch School of the Arts. Her feature film debut as writer, director, producer is FITS AND STARTS which premiered at SXSW 2017.  This comedy is about a struggling writer who can't seem to escape his wife's literary success. When a road trip to a publisher's salon takes an unexpected turn, he has to face his own creative shortcomings and find a way to regain control of his life and work.   Laura also co-wrote and directed the comedy GOOD GIRLS GET HIGH which won the Audience Award at the 2018 Santa Fe Film Festival and currently holds a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS, is a feature that Laura co-wrote and co-produced.  It stars Sally Field.  The film is about how a self-help seminar inspires a 60-something woman to romantically pursue her younger co-worker.  HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS is based on Laura's short film DORIS AND THE INTERN. NOW, the feature HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS is released by Roadside Attractions and went on to become one of the top grossing indies of 2016.  Laura directed the Netflix film, WORK IT.  It premiered worldwide as the number one movie on Netflix US in its first weekend and it remained in the top ten for two weeks!  Laura is currently in post-production on the Lionsgate film ABOUT MY FATHER starring Robert DeNiro and Sebastian Maniscalco. Instagram: @lauraterruso WORK IT: https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81132038 HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS: https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80050896 Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto-based executive producer, producer TERESA M. HO! Teresa has over 25 years of experience underneath her belt in production finance and management, along with over ten years as a Producer in Canadian Television.  She has produced four seasons of CBC's FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES and two seasons of Corus's DEPARTURE. Teresa also managed the hit Netflix Series ANNE WITH AN E, and multiple units on NBC Universal's reboot TV Series HEROES REBORN.  Teresa recently launched on a CBC Gem original HELLO (AGAIN). A rom-com short-form nine episode series created by Simu Liu and Nathalie Younglai, with the support of CBC Gem, the Bell Fund, the CMF and Ontario Creates.    Teresa founded 100 Dragons Productions with the newest branch 100 Dragons Media launched in 2015.  100 Dragons focuses on cultivating and gathering diverse people and inclusive ideas to create innovative programming for the world.  Teresa is currently developing a feature film 15 KINDS OF CAUSAL SEX which was selected for the WIFT Toronto NBC-Universal Development Incubator, it was also selected for the National Screen Institute – EAVE on Demand Access Program and it was awarded development funds from the Harold Greenburg Fund and Telefilm.  She is also developing WILD WILLIE with Nathalie Younglai who will be writing the feature.  WILD WILLIE received financing through the new Telefilm development stream for Racialized Persons.  When Teresa isn't racing around sets, you can find her racing around the tennis courts working on her service game.   Twitter: @thetho Instagram: @teresa.m.ho https://100dragons.com/ HELLO (AGAIN) @watchhelloagain #watchhelloagain @cbcgem Watch: https://gem.cbc.ca/media/hello-again/s01 Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our 150th guest this week is London-based award-winning Canadian comedian, actor, writer and producer MAE MARTIN!   Mae began doing comedy at the age of 13 and dropped out of school at 15 to pursue comedy full time. They trained at The Second City, and was the youngest person to be nominated for the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award. At 16 they were nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award and recently they won a Canadian Comedy Award for their work as a writer on BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW.   Netflix's FEEL GOOD is a semi-autobiographical comedy drama series created and co-written by Mae and they play Mae. Lisa Kudrow stars as their mom and Charlotte Ritchie stars as their love interest named George . FEEL GOOD has a perfect 100% “Certified Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. Mae's performance earned them a Royal Television Society "Breakthrough Award", the Edinburgh TV award for “Best Comedy”, the “Best Comedy Drama series” at the C21 award and "Best Scripted Representation of LGBTQ+" at the MIPCOM Diversify TV Awards. Recently, FEEL GOOD won a Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Situation Comedy. Mae's last stand-up show, DOPE, focused on addiction,  has since been turned in to a stand-up special for Netflix as part of their first global stand-up series, COMEDIANS OF THE WORLD.   Mae wrote CAN EVERYONE PLEASE CALM DOWN?: A GUIDE TO TWENTY FIRST CENTURY SEXUALITY about the pros and cons of labels to coming out and the joys of sexual fluidity. You can grab a copy on Amazon or listen to it on Audible or Apple Books.   You will soon be able to see Mae in their recurring guest star in a role in HBO's THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT.   Twitter: @TheMaeMartin   Instagram: @hooraymae   For info on CAN EVERYONE PLEASE CALM DOWN?: A GUIDE TO TWENTY FIRST CENTURY SEXUALITY and  Tour Dates: https://www.maemartin.net/   Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto-based actor, writer, producer, mindfulness and meditation coach and teacher LISA BERRY!   Let's celebrate LISA's Canadian Screen Award Nomination for Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series for playing Notice in Obsidian Theatre's 21 BLACK FUTURES!     You may recognize Lisa from her recurring roles as "Billie," aka Death, in The CW's sci-fi-fantasy hit show SUPERNATURAL, as "Cleophas Garroway" in Freeform and Netflix's SHADOWHUNTERS: THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, AND as “Natashia” on CBC and Netflix's WORKIN MOMS.   When Lisa was 17, she was cast in a community theatre production of FAME: THE MUSICAL as Mable Washington, this is where she fell in love with the stage and never looked back. She studied singing, acting and dance at the Randolph Academy College, in Toronto. Back in the day, Lisa made her screen debut in a small role playing the 'theatre manager' in DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION.   Lisa was cast as "Tituba" in The Shaw Festival's productions of THE CRUCIBLE.  Then she spent the next decade playing leading roles on Canada's top stages. In twenty seventeen, Lisa won the role of "Penny" in the Canadian Premier of Suzan-Lori Parks' FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS and got a Dora Nomination for Best Actress in a Play.   Lisa has 2 movies coming out on Lifetime next month, FALLEN ANGELS MURDER CLUB: FRIENDS TO DIE FOR on April 2 and FALLEN ANGELS MURDER CLUB: HEROES AND FELONS on April 8 both in 2022. Lisa is a strong advocate for self-care, dedicating her social platforms to promoting mental health Lisa has an Ebook with accompanying audiobook coming out in this month called, LOVE YOU: FALL IN LOVE WITH TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF. And a full-length book coming out at the end of the year called MIRACLES FROM THE MESS. A late bloomer's guide to loving yourself on the inside out.    Lisa leads a mindfulness membership group called THE LOTUS LIFE.  It helps artists who are new to meditation grow through, what they go through. When you join The Lotus Life community, you'll have access to two of Lisa's courses at no additional cost.   Lisa is producing her first short film called BABY DADDY and Naomi is part of the cast.   Twitter: @_LisaBerry Instagram: @lisaberrylive https://www.lisaberrylive.com/ LISA BERRY - CSA Nomination Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series for 21 BLACK FUTURES More about Lisa's Book LOVE YOU: FALL IN LOVE WITH TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF and THE LOTUS LIFE go to: https://www.takeabreath.ca/   Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Los Angeles-based, born in England, raised all over Canada, award-winning actor and filmmaker AGAM DARSHI!  You may recognize Agam from her role as Radha in Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta's film FUNNY BOY.  For Radha, she was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and a LEO Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture!  Due out this Spring 2022, Agam will be in Emmy-winning Ava Duvernay's HBO Max pilot episode of DMZ, she is playing the role of Mia Frankin.  DONKEYHEAD is Agam's directorial debut and she also wrote the film. It's about Mona, a failed writer who carves out a life of isolation while caring for her ailing traditional Sikh father. But when he has a debilitating stroke, her 3 successful siblings show up on her doorstep to take control of the situation. DONKEYHEAD is Executive Produced by Deepa Mehta and Kim Coates.  Its World Premiere was the opening gala of the 2021 MOSAIC INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL at the TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX, in Toronto, where it won best Feature Film! You can see DOCKYHEAD in the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand on Netflix.  It opens theatrically, in Canada, on Friday, March 11, 2022,  in Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto and additional cities coming soon. Agam is one of co-founders of the VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL. Currently in its tenth year, this film festival focuses on bridging the gap between South Asian talent and mainstream audiences, by breaking stereotypes and expanding North American views on South Asian culture.  Twitter: @DarshiAgam Instagram: @agamdarshi Facebook/website: https://www.facebook.com/officalagamdarshi https://www.agamdarshi.com/ DONKEYHEAD @donkeyheadthefilm #donkeyheadthefilm VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL https://visaff.ca/ Firecracker Department Scriptwriting Workshops Beginning April 10, 2022 https://tinyurl.com/2s7zavd3   Level Film @levelFILM Route 504 PR @route504pr Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto-based award-winning producer, director and storyteller SHASHA NAKHAI!    Shasha's storytelling work has taken her all over the world, like the Hawaiian coastline in THIRTY EIGHT MINUTES, a Cold War bunker in THE HOLE IN RESERVOIR HILL, the engine room of a decaying ship in THE UNSINKABLE CAPTAIN JOHN, the Philippine sugar mills in THE SUGAR BOWL and the front lines of Nigeria's energy crisis with TAKE LIGHT.    Shasha's received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Web Program or Series, Non-Fiction for LOVE LETTERS FROM EVEREST.  She and her partner Rich Williamson, received another Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Short Documentary for FRAME 394. It was named TIFF's Top 10 and shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Short Documentary.    With over a decade of documentary experience, Shasha directed her first drama feature with partner, Rich Williamson, called SCARBOROUGH.  It was adapted from the award-winning novel by Catherine Hernandez. Shot documentary-style over the course of a school year, the film follows 3 children from a low-income community that find compassion, community, and resilience in an unlikely place.  At TIFF 2021, SCARBOROUGH was first runner up for the People's Choice award, received an Honourable Mention for Best Canadian Feature and won the Shawn Mendes Foundation Changemaker Award! Now, SCARBOROUGH has 11 Canadian Screen Award nominations! For Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, Adapted Screenplay, John Dunning First Feature Award, and so much more!   Twitter: @ShashaNakhai SCARBOROUGH: @ScarbFilm Instagram:  SCARBOROUGH: @scarbfilm Facebook Fan page/website:  SCARBOROUGH: @ScarbFilm  Scarbfilm.com Kenya-Jade Pinto https://www.kenyajade.com/ SCARBOROUGH's Canadian Screen Award Nominations Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Directing, Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actress in Supporting Role, John Dunning First Feature Award, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Casting, Achievement in Sound Mixing, Achievement in Sound Editing, Adapted Screenplay @thecdnacademy  https://www.academy.ca/nominees/?utm_source=nominees_announced&utm_medium=linktree_link&utm_campaign=nominee_announcement Level Film @levelFILM Route 504 PR @route504pr Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto based award-winning comedian, actor, activist, emerging playwright and podcaster - MARTHA CHAVES!  Martha describes herself as, “the most famous LGBTQ-Nicaraguan-Canadian stand-up comic in the world.”   Martha first came to Montreal to study at Concordia University and when her student VISA expired she couldn't return to Nicaragua to reunite with her family because they had to flee during the Contra War.  She had to claim refugee status in Montreal and has been in Canada since. Martha has two national comedy specials: CBC's COMICS! and SOMETHING ABOUT MARTHA on the Comedy Network. She makes regular appearances on: CBC's LAUGH OUT LOUD, the Just For Laughs Festival, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and CBC's THE DEBATERS. She's also a regular on the hit CBC show, BECAUSE NEWS. You may also recognize Martha on the big screen with Denzel Washington in JOHN Q, with Chris Rock in DOWN TO EARTH and with Fifty Cent in GET RICH OR DIE TRYING. As an emerging playwright, Martha has written and performed several successful One Woman Shows like STAYING ALIVE and IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, featured in the Soulo Festival and the Aluna Theatre Festival in Toronto.  AND she took THE DIARIES OF A YOUNG LEZBO to New York City's SOLOCOM. Martha won Stand-up Comic of the Year at the 2018 Canadian Comedy Awards. Her album, CHUNKY SALSA, was featured among the 11 Best Comedy Albums of 2019 in Interrobang Magazine.  WHEN FEMINIST RULE THE WORLD is Martha's podcast series where she talks to international feminist guests about the future that they are creating.   Twitter: @TheMarthaChaves Instagram: @comedianmarthachaves Facebook Fan page: @ComedianMarthaChaves  WHEN FEMINIST RULE THE WORLD https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/when-feminists-rule-the-world/id1485407600 https://www.feministsruletheworld.com/ Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Chicago-based award-winning actor, improviser, comedian and teacher SUSAN MESSING!  Susan is a New Jersey native and a graduate of Northwestern University's Theatre School. She has been an improviser and comedian for over 35 years! Susan is an alumna of Chicago's beloved iO Theatre and The Second City's Mainstage.  Susan is a founding member of Chicago's Annoyance Theatre. It's an infamous theatre and associated ensemble that deals with absurd and outrageous humour.  Some of her notable performances are with Blaine Swen in BLESSING at the iO, with Norm Holly in MOLLY, the critically acclaimed MESSING WITH A FRIEND at The Annoyance and with The Boys at The Second City.  She was in the lineup for the TBS Just For Laughs festival all 5 years of its residence in Chicago.  She presented BRAVING THE UNKNOWN at an independently organized Ted X event at the University of Chicago.  Susan's standup act with her puppet, JOLLY, has been featured at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, on Comedy Central's PREMIUM BLEND and NBC's LATE FRIDAYS. Her most impressive bit movie role was as a bad stripper in a halo brace in LET'S GO TO PRISON!   Susan created and taught her curriculum at Chicago's iO and LA's iO West, along with The Annoyance Theatre, The Second City and around the world.  She was an adjunct instructor for Chicago's Loyola University at DePaul University, The School at Steppenwolf, and now she teaches at The University of Chicago.   Twitter: @MessingSusan Instagram: @susanalicemessing World Comedy Expo, March 25-27, 2022 in Chicago, Susan will be performing with “Messing with Mason” and also the lady supergroup “1Zs”. https://worldcomedyexpo.com/show/landry-and-summers-messing-with-mason/ https://worldcomedyexpo.com/festival-lineup/ Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Vancouver-based scriptwriter, story editor, award-winning director AND our co-head of our Writing Department LIESL LAFFERTY! Liesl focuses mainly on creating and developing new works.  In 2020, she facilitated scriptwriting workshops in Vancouver with WET INK COLLECTIVE, a writer-driven initiative for women,  WESTERN GOLD THEATRE, a premier company that fcouses on sharing and celebrating the talents of senior professional theatre artists and REALWHEELS THEATRE, a threatre that creates and produces performances that deepens understanding of the disability experience.  At REALWHEELS in 2020, Liesl was the dramaturg for their inaugural Playwright in Residence. Liesl performed THE REPUBLIC OF INCLUSION, a short autobiographical one-person comedy about the isolation of disability, at Judith Fair 2020. She won the Jessie Richardson – Larry Lillo Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play for directing HOUSE, by Daniel MacIvor, and directing A TOWN CALLED HOCKEY at the Arts Club Theatre, which she also co-wrote. Liesl was dramaturg for Fugue Theatre's VIA BEATRICE, by Jenn Griffin, which was nominated for a 2019 Jessie Richardson Outstanding Original Script Award.  Liesl received Jessie nominations for directing and producing DRINKING WITH PERSEPHONE by Jenn Griffin, and for co-writing and directing BLOODLINE.  While Liesl was studying for her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, she created and produced the first six episodes of the LIESL LAFFERTY PODCAST where she interviewed theatre artists from around the world, including Canadian theatre greats Brad Fraser, Alison Kelly, and Yvette Nolan.   https://liesllafferty.com/ Write on the Clock @writeontheclock http://writeontheclock.com Firecracker Departmnet Save the Cat Book Club Thursdays - Thu Mar 10 to Thu May 12 (except Apr 07 and May 05)  Time: 7:15pm to 8:30pm ET.  Application deadline: Thu Mar 03  To register: https://forms.gle/YeHuVzefjqyJ9KP56 Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto-based screenwriter, producer and actor NELU HANDA!  Nelu wrote for and performed on multiple seasons of award-winning comedy series including:  CTV and HULU's JANN, PBS's ODD SQUAD, CBC's TALL BOYZ, and CBC and IFC's BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW. Nelu won a 2021 Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing, Variety or Sketch Comedy for BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW.  She is a Writer and Consulting Producer for CBC's RUN THE BURBS, CBC and HBO MAX's SORT OF.  Nelu was a Staff Writer for Season 2 of NBC's A LITTLE LATE WITH LILLY SINGH, with sketches that had 100+ views. She has been featured in episodes of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY on CBS,  Amazon's THE EXPANSE, ABC's THE BOLD TYPE, and plays recurring character Jade on CBC and Netflix's Emmy Award winning show WORKIN' MOMS.  You can also see her on some web series including Out TV's AVOCADO TOAST and CBC Gem's DECOYS. Nelu is a dedicated advocate for increasing diverse representation in the industry. In 2015, Nelu created MIRCHI COMEDY that is a live variety comedy night to amplify the funny voices of Women of Colour. This monthly groundbreaking show has featured hundreds of diverse voices, from first-time stand ups, to seasoned pros. Month after month it has brought in sold out audiences and thousands of laughs, even now on Zoom. Twitter: @NeluHanda Instagram: @neluhanda Facebook: @neluhanda   https://www.neluhanda.com/ MIRCHI COMEDY @mirchicomedyto https://www.facebook.com/MirchiComedyTO Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is Toronto-based actor and professional dancer JASMINE RENÉE THOMAS!  You may recognize Jasmine from her starring role as Stacey in Disney's Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 1, 2 and 3. By the age of 4 she was taking Acro, Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Tap. After graduating high school, Jasmine knew she wanted to pursuit a professional career in dance and she developed her career with full-time training in Canada, Los Angeles and all across the U.S. Jasmine's career as a professional dancer expanded to performing for major music artist, films, movies and television episodes, like FX's WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, Netflix's GRAND ARMY and CBC's FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES.  Her live stage performances include projects with amazing music artists such as Nick Jonas, Meghan Trainor and Fifth Harmony.  Most recently, Jasmine starred, as Kelly, in Lifetime's SECRETLY SANTA. Twitter: @JasmineRT Instagram: @jasminert Facebook: @JasmineRTOfficial DISNEY Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 1, 2, 3 @disneyzombies Let's Heal This Shit - @letshealthisshit Lunar New Year Celebration: Astro Map of 2022 - February 1, 2022 $10 discount code for Firecrackers: Fireup https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lunar-new-year-celebration-astro-map-of-2022-tickets-229009803487 https://www.letshealthisshit.com/ Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our first guest of 2022 is singer, songwriter, artist, director, producer, one of Canada's most distinguished filmmakers and member of the Abenaki Nation ALANIS OBOMSAWIN! Her 53rd film in her 54 year career is HONOUR TO SENATOR MURRAY SINCLAIR ! It made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and shares the powerful speech Senator Sinclair gave when he accepted the WFM Canada World Peace Award and interspersed with the heartbreaking testimonies from former students imprisoned at residential schools. Alanis's other films include: JORDAN RIVER ANDERSON, THE MESSENGER (2019) is a 7-film cycle devoted to the rights of Indigenous children and Peoples, which began in 2011 when she conducted her first interviews for THE PEOPLE OF THE KATTAWAPISKAK, KANEHSATAKE: TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY YEARS OF RESISTANCE that documents the 1990 Mohawk uprising in Kanehsatake and Oka, as well as her groundbreaking INCIDENT AT RESTIGOUCHE, a behind-the-scenes look at Québec police raids on a Mi'kmaq reserve. Alanis awards include: TIFF's 2021 Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media, DOC institute Honour's 2020 Rogers-DOC Luminary Award at the DOC Institute Honours, Glenn Gould Prize, and she was honoured at The Gala Québec Cinéma with the IRIS HOMAGE 2020. Twitter: @thenfb Instagram: @onf_nfb https://www.facebook.com/nfb.ca https://www.nfb.ca/directors/alanis-obomsawin/ The Children Have to Hear Another Story – Alanis Obomsawin Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin January 23 to April 18, 2022 https://www.hkw.de/en/programm/projekte/2022/alanis_obomsawin/start.php Let's Heal This Shit - @letshealthisshit Lunar New Year Celebration: Astro Map of 2022 - February 1, 2022 $10 discount code for Firecrackers: Fireup https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lunar-new-year-celebration-astro-map-of-2022-tickets-229009803487 Let's Heal This Shit's website: https://www.letshealthisshit.com/ Virtual Red Carpet Team: Producer/Host - Naomi Snieckus @snieckus Head Producer/Director - Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Technical Producer - Anna Gustafson @goosegustafson Co-Producer - Juli Strader @rawsugarpr Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is California-based actor, singer, songwriter and dancer KYLEE RUSSELL! She starred as Karin Daniels in Disney Channel's “JUMP IN!”, along side HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL's Corbin Bleu and SCREAM QUEEN's Keke Palmer. Kylee landed the lead role of Young Kari Peterson, with WESTWORLD's Tessa Thompson playing the Adult Kari Peterson, in Tina Mabry's award-winning film MISSISSIPPI DAMNED. Kylee's love for singing shone through when she starred as Hayden Chase, a pop star sensation in the BAFTA children's award, and International Emmy Kids award nominated film HANK ZIPZER's CHRISTMAS CATASTROPHE. Kylee also sang on the film's soundtrack. In 2018, Kylee debuted her role as ELIZA ZAMBIE, the empowering activist rebel zombie, in Disney's “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S”. In 2020, she reprised her role in “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2”. Kylee is featured on both Movie Soundtracks and Official Music videos. Kylee also voiced SCORN, a purple and gray symbiote, in Marvel's animated series SPIDER-MAN. Kylee is a singer-songwriter who has a single that was just released at the beginning of 2021 called STITCHES. Kylee also collaborated with her younger sister, HALLE RUSSELL and they wrote and performed “My Christmas Love” for TV-One's ROYAL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY. And look out for her in Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3! Twitter: @kylee_mrussell Instagram: @kyleerussell Facebook: @kyleemrussell https://kyleemrussell.com/ Kylee and Gavvin YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrEamulT7SQWZzLalIML0A Kylee's song STITCHES https://open.spotify.com/track/7CKGlXCAdzX71bRLYzYquY?si=2365235b4af842fa Halle Russell Instagram: @halle_russell DISNEY ZOMBIES @disneyzombies Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our 13th Reel Women's Network spotlight guest is North Carolina-based, award-winning writer, director, producer and cinematographer - JOANNE HOCK!  She directed features including: THE ULTIMATE LEGACY, DISCARDED THINGS, ANGELS UNWARE, TRINITY GOODHEART and REDNECK ROOTS. One of her latest features WHEN WE LAST SPOKE premiered in theatres October 2020. Set in 1966, it stars Academy Award winner Cloris Leachman, Melissa Gilbert, Darby Camp and Corbin Bernsen. She also directed over 30 episodes of true crime television, including Discovery's SOUTHERN GOTHIC, FBI CRIMINAL PURSUIT, ICE COLD KILLERS and HAPPILY NEVER AFTER. Her documentary projects for Amazon and PBS include: CHARLES A. CANNON: A MIND OF BUSINESS A HEART FOR PEOPLE and FROM POVERTY TO POWER: THE JAMES B. DUKE STORY. She directed pop-culture documentaries, one is the award-winning audience favorite, PURPLE DREAMS, which premiered to a sold-out crowd at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and MARTIN HILL: CAMERA MAN, a film introduced by Leonard Maltin at its world premiere at the Modern Film Fest in 2012. CHILD OF THE FOREST is her latest project in development. It's a seven-part limited series based on the book of the same name about a child that evaded the Nazis and survived alone in the woods for two years evading capture and became on the greatest living witnesses to the Holocaust. Twitter: @JHockfilmmaker Instagram: @joanne.hock Facebook: @JoanneHockFilms https://www.joannehock.com/ REDNECK ROOTS on Reel Women's Network https://watch.reelwomensnetwork.com/redneck-roots Reel Women's Network Twitter: @ReelWomensNetw1 Instagram and Facebook: @reelwomensnetwork https://reelwomensnetwork.com/ Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is award-winning actor, writer, producer, director ENUKA OKUMA! Currently, she is a writer on Netflix and CBC's smash hit WORKIN' MOMS and stars as Sloane Mitchell. You probably recognize her as the series regular, Traci Nash, on ABC and GLOBAL's long-running police drama, ROOKIE BLUE. Enuka co-wrote, with Adriana Maggs, a sixth season episode of the show ROOKIE BLUE. She has also guest starred in Showtime's MASTERS OF SEX, ABC's HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and ABC's GREY'S ANATOMY. Enuka recently starred in the Netflix's THE SLEEPOVER and was a series regular on IMPULSE, one of the first scripted dramas for YouTube, produced and directed by Doug Liman (THE BOURNE IDENTITY). COOKIE, is a short film, written, directed and produced by Enuka and starring Jennifer Finnigan from MOONSHINE and Jonathan Silverman from WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S. COOKIE premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival and then went on to conquering the world by screening in over 20 film festivals! Set for 2022, she is producing and starring as Annabelle in the short film WOMAN MEETS GIRL, and OUT COMES THE WOLVES, a feature written by Enuka that reunites her with ROOKIE BLUE alum, director Adam MacDonald. Twitter: @enukaokuma Instagram: @enukaokumaofficial http://www.enukaokuma.com/ WOMAN MEETS GIRL Over a vodka-fueled game of Never Have I Ever, Annabelle, a 40-something year old virgin and Tessie, an 18-year old homeless sex worker, challenge each other to expose their vulnerabilities revealing their differences and similarities. Through the night, an undeniable chemistry emerges between them. @wmgfilm WORKIN' MOMS @workinmoms @workinmomsnetflix ARE YOU MY MOMMY https://watch.reelwomensnetwork.com/are-you-my-mommy PAULA JEAN HIXSON @paulajeanhixson Reel Women's Network Twitter: @ReelWomensNetw1 Instagram and Facebook: @reelwomensnetwork https://reelwomensnetwork.com/ Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest this week is award-winning screenwriter, executive producer and founder of Ink Canada- KAREN WALTON! She is best known for penning the original cult classic horror film, GINGER SNAPS, along with writing and co-executive producing Bell Media and BBC America's hit sci-fi series, ORPHAN BLACK. Other credits include: Showtime's QUEER AS FOLK, CTV's FLASHPOINT, THE LISTENER, THE ELEVENTH HOUR and CBC's WHAT'S IT LIKE BEING ALONE, STRAIGHT UP, DROP THE BEAT. She also wrote 2 true-life MOWs, CBC's HEART-THE MARILYN BELL STORY and THE MANY TRIALS OF ONE JANE DOE, which won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing in a Movie or Miniseries. Other accolades include: the prestigious Margaret Collier Award, ACTRA Toronto's Nell Shipman Award, Women In Film and Television Toronto's Crystal Award for Mentorship, the Writers Guild of Canada's Writers Block Award, and the Banff Media Festival's Fellowship Alumnus Award, Toronto International Film Festival Special Jury Citation for Screenplay, a Canadian Comedy Award, and Canadian Screen Awards for Best Dramatic Series.  Karen founded INK CANADA - CANADIAN SCREENWRITERS AND THEIR SKETCHY FRIENDS on Facebook in 2007, and it has grown to over 9K screenwriting pros, students, fans of the art and industry colleagues from Canada and around the world. Karen Walton Instagram: @helloiwrite INK CANADA - CANADIAN SCREENWRITERS AND THEIR SKETCHY FRIENDS Twitter: @inkcanada Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/inkcanada/ Podcast Team Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our 12th Reel Women's Network spotlight guest is writer, producer and crown attorney ARMIN SETHI! Armin has a superpower for making a vision come to life through Fly Away Films with her collaborator and sister Asis Sethi. She is a full-time Crown Attorney in Ontario and in the evenings or early mornings, Armin is the Editor-in-chief of Bollywood Film Fame magazine where she interviews many Bollywood icons. Since 2019, Armin as been a writer and producer for docu-series short films, including co-writing the historical DARSHAN DEKH JEEVA highlighting the story of the ten Sikh Gurus with conversations between young Sikh youth. Armin then went onto co-write with Asis, A BLOODY MESS, an award-winning film about a young South Asian woman, attempting to normalize conversations surrounding menstruation. Armin also wrote FUTURE SUPERHEROES, a film about children empowering each other to care for each other and the environment, specifically during the time of COVID-19.Armin co-wrote ROCK THE CRADLE, with Asis! ROCK THE CRADLE is a short film on postpartum depression and in November 2020, it was selected in the Top Ten Scripts at the Landed Entertainment's Script Writing Contest. Fly Away Films @flyawayfilmsinc https://flyawayfilms.ca/ Bollywood Film Fame Instagram: @bollywoodfilmfamecanada Twitter: @BFFCmag Facebook: @Bollywood.Film.Fame.Canada.Magazine https://bollywoodfilmfame.com/ On Reel Women's Network https://reelwomensnetwork.com/armin-sethi/ A Bloody Mess https://watch.reelwomensnetwork.com/a-bloody-mess Future Superheroes https://watch.reelwomensnetwork.com/future-superheroes Asis Sethi's Reel Women's Spotlight https://open.spotify.com/episode/744g0lJOuUpgA80SjYkzH1?si=aeOwpdsfSHuy_aT5lgxjdQ Reel Women's Network Twitter: @ReelWomensNetw1 Instagram and Facebook: @reelwomensnetwork https://reelwomensnetwork.com/ Podcast Team Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is JAIME MOYER! Jaime voiced April and Colleen on FOX TV's BOB's BURGER, guest starred as the Female Snowflake, in FOX's new animation series THE GREAT NORTH. She has had recurring roles on: PEACOCK's AP BIO, Netflix's THE BIG SHOW SHOW, ABC's MODERN FAMILY, and Disney's hit show KC UNDERCOVER. She also appeared on NBC's PARKS AND RECREATION, CBS's 2 BROKE GIRLS and Hulu's FUTURE MAN. Jaime wrote for three seasons of Nickelodeon's LEGO CITY ADVENTURES where she helped create many memorable original characters. Jaime has a lifetime love affair with live theater, and she wrote and starred in original revues as an alum of THE SECOND CITY - DETROIT. Jaime occasionally appears as Guillermo's wife on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, and she was awarded the sole prize of Maestro at the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas in 2011. Twitter: @Jaime_Moyer https://jaimemoyer.com/ Comfort Cases https://www.comfortcases.org/ @comfortcases Wellness Department - Igniting Your Self Love: Mind, Body and Soul. November 21, 2021 - on Zoom https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/igniting-your-self-love-mind-body-and-soul-tickets-204073448177 Podcast Team Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is Toronto-based actor, producer and advocate LEESA LEVINSON! She is a graduate of Wexford Collegiate's prestigious Performing Arts Musical Theatre Program where Leesa began displaying strange neurological symptoms at 16. At 19, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Leesa continued to pursue her passion at Fanshawe College and attended Ryerson University's Radio and Television Arts program. Some of Leesa's credits include CBC and The CW's CORONER and CTV's JEFF LIMITED. She has been on the board of the OMDC, now ONTARIO CREATES, she was public adjudicator with the CANADIAN BROADCASTS STANDARDS COUNCIL. She has consulted for the CRTC, and the BBC, along with the Media Access Office of Hollywood and the Screen Actors' Guild Disabilities Committee. Leesa is on the DIVERSITY & INCLUSION COMMITTEE at ACTRA Toronto, as an advocate for performers with disabilities and focuses on promoting the inclusion of talent with disabilities in mainstream arts and media. Leesa Levinson Twitter @llevisnson1 Leesa would like to extend a huge thanks and gratitude for all the funders and collaborators who made Lights Camera Access a huge success. The DIVERSITY & INCLUSION COMMITTEE at ACTRA TORONTO. https://www.actratoronto.com/committees/diversity-inclusion/ Firecracker Script Department Event November 14, 2021 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/firecracker-script-dept-reading-november-tickets-164661475907 Podcast Team Head Poducer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, and the co-host of the podcast, THE SCROLL DOWN- NICCOLE THURMAN! Niccole and THE SCROLL DOWN's co-host Marcella Arguello, talk about all things social media, unpacking the vibes and juicy topics from the week and they dissect the main characters—while cracking a few jokes in between. Niccole is the voice of Jabberjaw, Squiddly Diddly and Dee Dee Sykes in the HBO Max animated series JELLYSTONE. You can see Niccole in Netflix's GRACE AND FRANKIE, NBC's KENAN, NBC's INDEBTED, NETFLIX's DESPERADOS, HBO's A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW, SHRILL on Hulu and SUPERSTORE on NBC. She was also a correspondent on Comedy Central's THE OPPOSITION WITH JORDAN KLEPPER. Niccole has written for THE SEVENTY SECOND PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS, hosted By Jimmy Kimmel, AMC's SHERMAN SHOWCASE and HAUTE DOG on HBO Max, Fox's LET'S BE REAL and the upcoming Peacock Show, BAKING IT. Niccole Thurman @niccolethurman THE SCROLL DOWN https://headgum.com/the-scroll-down #TheScrollDown Marcella Arguello @marcellacomedy Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our 11th Reel Women's Network (RWN) spotlight is award-winning writer-director-producer PEARL GLUCK. She creates both documentary and narrative films that explore themes of class, gender, and faith. Her first documentary feature film, DIVAN, is a Hasidic tale five years in the making that was developed in part at the Sundance Institute. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and opened theatrically at the Film Forum in New York City and it broadcasted on the Sundance Channel. Her first narrative short, WHERE IS JOEL BAUM, won Best Actor at the Starz Denver Film Festival and Best Short Film at the Toronto Female Eye Film Festival. THE TURN OUT is Pearl's first fiction feature film about a trucker, alienated from his family, who encounters an underage prostitute at a local truck stop and discovers that he is an unwitting participant in a sex trafficking ring. THE TURN OUT won Best Debut Feature at the Toronto Female Eye Film Festival, and the Critic's Choice Award at the Iowa International Film Festival. Pearl founded Palinka Pictures, a multimedia production company with a twist that aims to collaborate with artists, media makers and educators to make a difference through the arts. In Pearl's spare time she is an assistant professor at Penn State University teaching Screenwriting and Directing. Follow Pearl Gluck and Palinka Pictures @palinkapictures THE TURN OUT https://watch.reelwomensnetwork.com/packages/the-turn-out/videos/the-turn-out-1 Reel Women's Network Twitter: @ReelWomensNetw1 Instagram and Facebook: @reelwomensnetwork https://reelwomensnetwork.com/ Photo credit: from Pearl Gluck's personal collection Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is New York-based comedy writer, actor, improviser KATE JAMES. Not only does Kate write for WORK IN PROGRESS, she has also written for Comedy Central, NPR, Slate, The Second City, the band Phish and a ton of awards shows. Kate is the co-creator and writer of Schadenfreude, a nationally syndicated comedy show on Chicago Public Radio for two seasons. Kate also writes material for Sir Patrick Stewart's personal and award show appearances like The Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards, and many more. When Kate isn't writing, she has appeared on TV shows including Netflix's EASY, USA Network's PLAYING HOUSE, Showtime's SHAMELESS and stars as Miram in Showtime's WORK IN PROGRESS. Kate plays Tricia on the cult-hit podcast HELLO FROM THE MAGIC TAVERN and is a regular contributor to the podcast TRUMPCAST. Kate James on Twitter @katecjames WORK IN PROGRESS stream Seasons 1 and 2 on SHOWTIME. @showtime https://www.sho.com/work-in-progress Stream WORK IN PROGRESS on CraveTV in Canada. @cravecanada https://www.crave.ca/en/tv-shows/work-in-progress HELLO FROM THE MAGIC TAVERN https://hellofromthemagictavern.com/ Twitter @magictavern Firecracker Department Work in Progress Facebook Live Panel (July 2020) https://www.facebook.com/firecrackerdept/videos/734380397129102 Work in Progress Facebook Live Panel (July 2020) Bonus Podcast Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7jsWmLYi4XXSfbrJtSMCOD?si=VRw8JppuSlyCkIPjOa7Drg&dl_branch=1 Celeste Pechous's episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4rOEOOA8fzODHSgAZY2qdS?si=n8ZISuAAS4GVdfPTQHRtWw&dl_branch=1 Mary Sohn's podcast episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/51BQjQAGUUGjQslOSW8YSq?si=NhuJDVbRRn6o08ZOq973Uw&dl_branch=1 Women's Voices Now - Girls' Voices Now Under the Scarf. https://www.womensvoicesnow.org/films/under-the-scarf/ https://www.here.tv/video/girls-voices-now-under-the-scarf Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019 Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is writer-director-actor-producer British-Canadian MADELEINE SIMS-FEWER. She has BFA. with honours in film production at York University and a MFA in acting at the Drama Centre London. She is an alum of the Berlinale Talent Campus 2016 and the Rotterdam Lab this year in 2021. Madeleine met Dusty Mancinelli at the 2015 TIFF Filmmakers' Lab, and they  founded DM FILMS. Their jam is a naturalistic performance style with their films exploring gender politics, human nature, and abuse of power. Their debut feature, VIOLATION, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Madeleine was a TIFF Rising Star. VIOLATION won the Emerging Canadian Artist award at the Calgary International Film Festival, the Emerging Canadian Director award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and Madeleine won the Vancouver Critics Circle award for Best Actress. VIOLATION had its international premiere at Sundance Film Festival, Texas premiere at South by Southwest, and has been nominated for Five Canadian Screen Awards, including the John Dunning Best First Feature Film Award and Best Female Actor in a Leading Role for Madeline playing Miriam. Instagram: @madeleine_simsfewer DM Films https://www.dmfilms.com/ VIOLATION https://www.dmfilms.com/violation VIOLATION is available on digital and on demand https://itunes.apple.com/ca/movie/violation/id1551684339 Firecracker Shoutout Limor Markovzki @limormarkovzki For Alissa Abeler @winter_thistle Francesca Coviello @fran_creates Nadine Brito @nadine_brito Naomi Snieckus @snieckus Head Poducer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is a queer, trans-feminine, Muslim playwright, performer and workshop facilitator BILAL BAIG. Their first play ACHA BACHA, had its world premiere in 2018 and it has been published by Playwrights Canada Press. Bilal develops and facilitates workshops for youth in under-resourced neighbourhoods in Toronto, at non-profits, such as RIVERS OF HOPE where they combat Islamophobia through the arts and STORY PLANET which focuses on creative writing and literacy. Bilal makes queerstory by becoming the first queer, trans-feminine, South Asian and Muslim performer in Canada to be cast in the lead role of a primetime TV series - on the new groundbreaking CBC and HBO Max original series SORT OF. They are starring as one of the first non-binary lead characters on North American mainstream network TV! Bilal leads the creative charge as the Executive Producer-Writer-Lead Performer-Co-Creator on this amazing new show! SORT OF follows a gender-fluid millennial character named "Sabi" who straddles various identities from sexy bartender at a queer bookstore-bar, to the youngest child in a large Pakistani family, to the de facto parent of a downtown Toronto hipster family. This must-see coming-of-age story exposes the labels we once poured ourselves into as no longer applicable to anyone. SORT OF is available to stream in Canada on CBC Gem; will broadcast on CBC TV beginning Tuesday, November 9 with back-to-back episodes starting at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) @sortofbilal @cbc and @cbcgem ​​https://gem.cbc.ca/media/sort-of/s01 #SortOfCBC River of Hope https://www.riversofhope.ca/ Story Planet https://storyplanet.ca/ @storyplanetto Acha Bacha https://www.playwrightscanada.com/Books/A/Acha-Bacha https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/acha-bacha/9780369100900-item.html https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08F2YCWCZ?ref=KC_GS_GB_CA https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/acha-bacha Podcast Team: Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our tenth Reel Women's Network (RWN) spotlight is award-winning actor-director-writer MEOSHA BEAN. Meosha, founder of M.V.B Films, started filming and acting at the tender age of 7, inspired by watching horror films with her older brother and it grew from there. Meosha was voted the best upcoming director at the New Jersey Film Festival in 2012. Meosha directing projects include: the doc THE UNTOLD STORY OF MARIANO MENDOZA, MISS PEPPER an award- winning short that got over 30K views during its first week, horror film DELUSION and ANATOMY OF AN ANTIHERO: REDEMPTION (available on RWN), won Best Film at the Los Angeles Film Awards, the April Award at the New York Film Awards and the Best Action film at the Istanbul Film Awards. Meosha Bean on RWN: https://reelwomensnetwork.com/meosha-bean/ Instagram: @meoshabeanofficial https://mvbfilmproductioninc.blogspot.com/ Photo credits Meosha Bean: from her personal collection Naomi Snieckus: David Leyes Reel Women's Network Twitter: @ReelWomensNetw1 Instagram: @reelwomensnetwork https://reelwomensnetwork.com/ Social Justice Department presents Igniting Social Justice Part 1 Tuesday, October 5, 2021 Led by Sedina Fiati @bwheelsheels and Farah Merani @fa_me https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/igniting-social-justice-part-1-tickets-169552739809 Shoutout Catherine Gourdier @cathgourdier https://catherinegourdier.com/ Lara Margaret Marjerrison @insidestoriesto https://www.insidestories.ca/ Podcast Team Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Bonus Episode: the 2021 live red carpet Blaze Award presentation to  screenwriter-author-advocate-and-Emmy Award-winning actor Jo Vannicola. The Blaze Award is presented to a spectacular woman or non-binary artist who has outstanding achievements in their artistic field and givebacks to their community.  It was a unanimous decision to present this year's Blaze Award to Jo. Whether they are in front or, behind the camera or at outACTRAto, they approach everything with integrity and a joyful heart that inspires others to want to create and lead with the same level of passion, vulnerability and drive.  LINKS: @joannevannicola @trashedshortfilm https://joannevannicola.com/ Photo Credit: Denise Grant   BLAZE AWARD SPONSOR - Made You Look Jewellery @madeyoulookjewellery https://www.madeyoulook.ca/   RED CARPET SPONSORS - Zaza Espresso Bar and Resilientista @zazaespresso https://zazaespresso.com/ @resilientista http://www.resilientista.com/   NAOMI TIFF ONE DRESS - Matin Mathris @matinmithras https://matinmithras.com/   RED CARPET GUESTS Vinessa Antoine @therealvinessaantoine - KICKING BLOOD Director Haya Waseem @haya_wsm - QUICKENING Executive Producer-Writer-Lead Performer-Co-Creator Bilal Baig @sortofbilal - SORT OF (CBC/HBO Series - part of TIFF Primetime)  @cbc and @cbcgem Savonna Spracklin @savonna_spracklin - WILDWOOD Director Alanis Obomsawin @onf_nfb -HONOUR TO SENATOR MURRAY SINCLAIR AND TIFF Cinematheque presents CELEBRATING ALANIS Director Fawzia Mirza @thefawz and Writer/Actor Kaursar Mohammed @kausartheperson from THE SYED FAMILY XMAS EVE GAME NIGHT To watch the red carpet got to: https://fb.watch/7-iOYo5kyC/ TIFF BRUNCH ROOMS Photobooth - Host and Sponsor Rachel McCaig @rachealmc Writing and Script Room - Hosts Fran Coviello @fran_creates and Liesl Lafferty Wellness Room - Host Emily Churchill -  sponsor Let's Heal This Shit @letshealthisshit Mentorship Room - Host Veronica Martin @veronicaannemartin -  sponsor Fab in the City @uberfab Trivia Room Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson - sponsor Creemore @creemoresprings Daily Fare @thedailyfare PODCAST TEAM Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

This week's episode is a throwback to our exciting Facebook Live WORK IN PROGRESS Panel from last July 2020.   WORK IN PROGRESS is about Abby, a forty five-year-old self-identified fat, queer dyke whose misfortune and despair unexpectedly lead her to a vibrantly transformative relationship.     Panel Guests: Abby McEnany stars as Abby and is the co-creator of WORK IN PROGRESS Celeste Pechous @celesteinclogs stars as Campbell, Abby's bestfriend (Twitter: @cpechous) Mary Sohn @maroldswan stars as Susan, Abby's annoying officemate Kate James stars as Miriam and is a writer for the show (Twitter: @katecjames) Host: Naomi Snieckus @snieckus   Both Celeste and Mary were past podcast guests so check out their episodes.    WORK IN PROGRESS Season 2 is currently airing Sunday nights at 11pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME. @showtime Stream WORK IN PROGRESS on CraveTV in Canada. @cravecanada https://www.sho.com/work-in-progress https://www.crave.ca/en/tv-shows/work-in-progress   Firecracker Department Virtual TIFF Brunch - Sunday, September 12, 2021 1:00pm ET/10:00am - TIFF Virtual Red Carpet - Live Facebook (@firecrackerdept) 2:00pm ET/11:00pm - TIFF Brunch (invite only)    The amazing production team for our Facebook Live WORK IN PROGRESS Panel are: Winnie Wong as the main producer  Rebecca Marquardt as technical director @rebeccaloops Anna Gustafson as the co-producer follow her @goosegustafson Sydney Neilson as the social media manager Podcast production team: Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production & Head Writer: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor:  Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is award-winning producer and the founder and executive director of Girls in Film and Television (GIFT) CAMILLE BEAUDOIN.  Camille is mixed blood Cree, Haudenosaunee, Métis, and French Canadian. She is an alum of the National Screen Institute and Banff Centre for the Arts, Facilitator for the Whistler Film Festival Indigenous Filmmaker Fellowship, as well as Edmonton YWCA's 2014 Woman of Distinction in Arts & Culture and one of Avenue Magazine's Edmonton's Top 40 under 40! Camille founded Mosaic Entertainment with Eric Rebalkin.  They produce and distribute hours of digital entertainment, nearly 100 episodes of television, 3 mobile games, and 3 feature length films featuring Danny Trejo, Colin Mochrie, and  the late great Alan Thicke. Credits include: CAUTION: May Contain Nuts (APTN), Tiny Plastic Men (Super Channel), Roxy (#Roxy) starring Booboo Stewart from Disney's Descendants and The Twilight films, which recently won Best Teen/Tween Movie at the Kidscreen Awards, and Best Feature Film at the Alberta Film and Television Awards.  Their new teen brand SPESCH, which specializes in smart, empowering content for tween and teen girls. Girls in Film and Television (GIFT) is a not-for-profit dedicated to addressing the need for gender parity and diverse representation on screen through hands-on learning and support. Quick content warning: this episode does contain sensitive talk regarding the Indigenous lives taken by Canada's residential schools. If that's too much for you right now, skip this episode and take care of you. Twitter: @mosaiccamille Instagram: @mosaicent Facebook: @mosaicentertainment  Twitter and Instagram: @girlsinfilmtv Facebook: @mosaicentertainment  www.mosaicentertainment.ca www.girlsinfilmtv.com Indian Residential School Survivors - @IRSSurvivor www.irsss.ca Shoutout from Kathleen Harquail (Actioneer, Mentorship Department) @atkharquail for Liesl Lafferty award-winning director, scriptwriter, story developer, and facilitator. Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production & Head Writer: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Subscribe to our newsletter at www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is superstar producer Marina Cordoni, the founder of Marina Cordoni Entertainment, aka MCE!  This is going to be such a treat because Marina will also be one of the mentors for our Indie Producers mentorship workshop on September 25th!  Marina's handled pre-sales and completed picture sales on hits including '4 Weddings and a Funeral', 'Dead Man Walking', 'Fargo' and 'Sleepers'!   With all her amazing distribution smarts, Marina pivoted into the production world.  Marina met her business partner Kelley Feldsott Reynolds when they both executive produced one of Hallmark Network's highest-rated TV movies, 'Love on the Air'! Now, they've built a bridge between Canada and the U.S., with Marina producing from Toronto and Kelley from L.A. Some of Marina and Kelley's upcoming projects include Fear the Worst, a Linwood Barclay novel starring Jason Priestley, and Wanda Woman, with writer Bridget Canning, director Gia Milani, and producer, Mary Sexton in Newfoundland.  Marina shared exclusively about her journey to sobriety and how this opened up a whole new world of creativity.   Follow Marina Cordoni @mcordoni Website: www.marinacordoni.com Photo Credit : Liliana Reyes Fotography @lilianareyesfoto Never Saw It Coming @neversawfilm - catch it on Amazon Prime  American Hangman is on iTunes globally and Amazon in the US  Love On the Air can be streamed on Hallmark Movies Now  Firecracker Department Indie Producers Mentorship Workshop on September 25, 2021! Link is posted on the Firecracker Department Members Page.  Members have early bird registration.  Join us! The Firecracker community/general public can register on August 24th. Stay tuned. Shoutouts - Core member and Actioneer Anna Jane Edmonds (@atotheje) - support AJ's upcoming project Dark Highway by giving to the Seed&Spark page or spread the word. - a documentary film exposing the pervasiveness of sex trafficking in Ontario. Be a part of bringing this story to life: share, donate, and ask questions! Go to @darkhighwayfilm for links in their bio. -Community member Anne-Marie Krytiuk (@itsannemariek) shouts out actor-comedian Robyn Deverett (@robyndeverett) who has a podcast Window Chats with Robyn. Podcast Production Credits: Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production and Head Writer: Sydney Neilson (@sydney_neilson) Editors: Jordyn Giddens @jordyngiddens and Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Intro/Outro Writer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is director, writer, producer, TV personality, ASIS SETHI! Asis is not only an incredible creator whose work is featured on the Reel Women's Network streaming platform, but is also part of our Firecracker Department Core Team!  Asis Sethi started her career as a Reporter on OMNI Television, quickly became a host! Asis has directed, written, and produced a ton of independent projects and founded Fly Away Films, a film company focusing on issues women and communities face that promote a cross-cultural understanding.  Her most recent short film titled 'A Bloody Mess' focuses on the taboo surrounding menstruation in the South Asian community living outside of India, with the specific goal of encouraging conversation to normalize menstruation. It has been screened at over 26 film festivals worldwide, won awards internationally, and is available now on Reel Women's Network!  Asis believes that cinema has the ability to transcend borders, cultures and identities to bring everyone together and bring change into society and she hopes to use cinema as a tool to highlight issues facing women and bring about a change in society.   Instagram: @asis.sethi @flyawayfilmsinc @bollywoodfilmfamecanada Twitter: @AsisSethi @FlyAwayFilmsInc @bffcmag   https://www.asissethi.com/ https://flyawayfilms.ca/ https://bollywoodfilmfame.com/   Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production & Head Writer: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor: Jennifer Rowley Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is Olympic silver medalist, advocate, speaker, and the executive director of Switch4Good, Dotsie Bausch! She won her silver medal in cycling at the 2012 London Olympic Games, as well as two Pan American gold medals, eight US national championships, AND a world record!  Since concluding her professional cycling career, Dotsie's become a major influencer for plant-based eating! She founded the non-profit Switch 4 Good and has been featured in two different Netflix documentaries: Personal Gold and The Game Changers.  We talk about Dotsie's athletic and emotional journey, her struggle with eating disorders, her road to sobriety, and so much more. She speaks all over the world now, and she's even got me ready to try going plant based with my eating!      Follow Dotsie! Instagram: @veganolympian Instagram: @Switch4Good Facebook: @Switch4Good  Twitter: @Switch4GoodOrg Instagram and Facebook: @gamechangersmovie Twitter: @gcmovie   https://dotsiebauschusa.com/ https://switch4good.org/ https://gamechangersmovie.com/   Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Jordyn Giddens @jordyngiddens Head of Post Production: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is actor, producer, writer, certified Reiki healer, and Firecracker Core Member, EMILY CHURCHILL! AND, Emily also just so happens to be a creator also featured on Reel Womens Network! Emily has trained and performed at Second City Chicago and Hollywood, UCB LA, AND The Comedy Central Stage. She's been a writer and performer for groups and troupes, and her series Friends on A Bench was featured in LA at Hollyshorts, plus The Chicago Comedy Festival AND The Austin Comedy Film Festival. Emily's been on your screens in Criminal Minds on CBS, in Sydney To The Max on Disney Channel (which you can both find now on Disney plus, of course). Em's also in a ton of animation and voice over work, PLUS national commercial campaigns, including a beautiful moment in a purple bodysuit as The Flea for Simparica! Listen now!   Follow Emily: https://www.instagram.com/emchurchill/  https://www.instagram.com/letshealthisshit/  https://www.friendsonabench.com/  https://www.emilychurchill.com/reel https://reelwomensnetwork.com/emily-churchill/   Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production & Head Writer: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor: Jennifer Rowley Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is filmmaker, actor, and firecracker CORE MEMBER, Anna Jane Edmonds, aka AJ! @atotheje is an emerging leader in the film industry, splitting her time between Toronto and Los Angeles working  as a producer, director, performer and idea creator. AJ's garnered over 10 years of experience in the entertainment and film industry as an actor, director, assistant director, production manager AND producer credited on over 40 commercials, short films and features. AJ was awarded the Best Canadian Feature for producing the film POOR AGNES at the 2017 Fantasia Film Festival, and is one of the co-founders of the amazing POCKET FILM SCHOOL! She's lived around the world, from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, to Toronto, Los Angeles, and more. AJ's story is incredible and working with her is an absolute joy. Listen now!   Follow AJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atotheje/ via Pocket Film School: https://www.instagram.com/pocket.film.school/    Donate to AJ's upcoming documentary “Dark Highway” https://seedandspark.com/fund/dark-highway#story    Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor: Jennifer Rowley Associate Producer: Saba Dolati Miab  Writer: Francesca Coviello   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is transgender writer and stand up comedian, Jeena Bloom!  Jeena has performed all over the country, including a headlining tour of the southern United States, shortly before the pandemic. She has previously been a winner of the Harlem Comedy Festival Competition and a finalist for the She Devil Comedy Competition in NYC. She has performed at the Hollywood Improv, Comedy Store and most NYC comedy venues. Her writing has been featured in the LA Times, New York Magazine and The AV Club.  She has also appeared on Viceland and Sit N Spin for Comedy Central. In her previous life, Jeena had worked for eight years as an independent filmmaker. Jeena took over a decade off from filmmaking as a survivor of domestic violence and finally as an out trans woman!    LINKS Follow Summertime: https://www.instagram.com/summertimemovie2021  See Summertime in theatres now! https://gooddeedentertainment.com/summertime/#get-tickets  More on Summertime: https://linktr.ee/SummertimeTheMovie  Follow Marquesha: https://www.instagram.com/ladi3lyrix  Marquesha performs “That Girl”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhokgQh0_DY    Twitter: @jeenabloom Instagram:  @jeenabloom @antidepressantcomedyhour @morebananapods Website: https://www.jeenabloomdoescomedy.com/   Jeena's Photo Credit: Noah Eberhard Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production & Head Writer: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor: Jordyn Giddens @jordyn_giddens   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Our guest on the show this week is award-winning actor, producer COLLEEN WHEELER, and her daughter Lily Reynolds! This episode is super special, first because it's our first mother/daughter episode, and second because it was recorded in PERSON, in Colleen's backyard studio in Vancouver! Now, Colleen is originally from Toronto, and now lives in beautiful Vancouver, BC. She graduated from the University of Alberta with a BFA in Acting, and has since performed in over 75 stage productions across Canada, as well as over 50 onscreen roles in film and TV.  She voiced Mystique on the animated X:Men Evolution series, was featured in 2018's Tully with Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis, as well as the 2012 feature The Tall Man with Jessica Biel. And so many more!   LINKS:    The Transamorous Trilogy https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/discretion-short-film#/ https://www.instagram.com/artstarkiley/ https://www.instagram.com/transamoroustrilogy/    Instagram: @colleenwheeler123Instagram: @heelfactoryfilm   Twitter: @Colleen_WheelerTwitter: @heelfactoryfilm   Website: heelfactoryfilm.com   The Best Damn Podcast Game Show Ever https://art19.com/shows/the-best-damn-podcast-game-show-ever    Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head of Post Production: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Editor: Jennifer Rowley Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

We have a brand new Reel Women's Network creator spotlight for you AND it's also a firecracker department CORE TEAM MEMBER! Our guest on the show this week is Muslim actor, filmmaker, educator and advocate, FARAH MERANI! Based in LA and Toronto, she is a graduate of the Drama Centre London and has performed in Canada and the US, throughout Europe and in Russia. She has been called by her peers a “revolutionary change maker” in the film industry.  Farah heads up the Script Department which hosts a regular script reading series supporting women and non-binary writers.    Some of her TV and film credits include: Shadowhunters, Nikita, Lost Girl, Covert Affairs, Private Eyes and  the upcoming feature film, Eat Wheaties!, featuring Tony Hale from Veep and Arrested Development!    In addition to being an actor, she has produced dozens of films with her company, Lifeguard Productions, co-founded a non-profit called Women on Screen, and serves as a diversity and inclusion consultant for film and tv with her former co-chair of the ACTRA Toronto Diversity Committee.   Follow Farah: https://www.leaninusc.org/farah-merani https://www.womenonscreen.ca/ www.lifeguardproductions.ca @screenwmn - Instagram @ScreenWMN – Twitter @ScreenWomen – Facebook @lifeguardproductions – Facebook @lifeguardproductions – Instagram   Gillian Müller Twitter: @MullerGillian IG: @gillianmuller Karen Walton Twitter: @inkcanada IG: @helloiwrite Mika Collins Twitter: @mikacollinz IG: @mikacollinz Sarah Dollard Twitter @snazdoll   Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Head Editor: Sydney Neilson @sydney_neilson Writer: Lauren Schell  Editor: Jennifer Rowley   Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!