From Melissa Couto Zuber of The Canadian Press:
Link: Indigenous comedian and host of ‘The Candy Show,’ Candy Palmater dead at 53
Candy Palmater, an Indigenous comedian, actor, broadcast personality and host of “The Candy Show,” has died. Palmater was 53 when she died peacefully at her Toronto home on Christmas morning, her partner and manager Denise Tompkins said Monday. Continue reading.
From a media release:
Ayasew Ooskana Pictures announced today production is underway on the new original five-part psychological drama (5X60) and feature film BONES OF CROWS, commissioned by CBC/Radio-Canada in association with APTN. Created by Marie Clements, the character-driven series features an ensemble cast of talent including Grace Dove (Monkey Beach), Philip Lewitski (Wildhood), Glen Gould (Cold Pursuit), Michelle Thrush (Pathfinder), Gail Maurice (Night Raiders), Cara Gee (The Expanse), Karine Vanasse (Cardinal), Angus Macfadyen (Robert The Bruce), Rémy Girard (District 31), Graham Greene (Molly’s Game) and Lorne Cardinal (Corner Gas).
BONES OF CROWS is told through the eyes of Cree Matriarch Aline Spears as she survives a childhood in Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse. She uses her uncanny ability to understand and translate codes into working for a special division of the Canadian Air Force as a Cree code talker in World War II. The story unfolds over 100 years with a cumulative force that propels us into the future.
The project will be shot originally in English, with Cree and Ayajuthem spoken in key scenes and there will be both Cree and French-language versions for broadcast. Filming locations include the Thompson-Nicola Region (Kamloops, Vernon, Quilchena), Greater Victoria Area, and Greater Vancouver Area in British Columbia, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Winnipeg portion of production will be produced by Eagle Vision.
BONES OF CROWS is a CBC/Radio-Canada original production, produced with the financial participation of Telefilm Canada, Canada Media Fund, APTN , Independent Production Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund, Bell Fund, ISO (Indigenous Screen Office), FIBC, CAVCO, and First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Cultural Council and Indigenous Arts Program.
BONES OF CROWS is produced, written and directed by Marie Clements (Red Snow, The Road Forward), executive produced by Trish Dolman & Christine Haebler (French Exit, Indian Horse) and Sam Grana (The Boys of St. Vincent) with Executive Producers Lisa Meeches and Kyle Irving from Eagle Vision and the DOP is Vince Arvidson (The Magnitude of All Things).
From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:
Link: Calgary-shot Indigenous crime drama, Tribal, goes dark and deep in Season 2
When the cast and crew of Tribal were shooting the fifth episode of Season 2 in late 2020, news began to spread about life imitating art. Continue reading.
From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:
Link: ‘It is the time’: Edmonton-born Tribal star Jessica Matten says it could be a golden era for Indigenous film and television
“My biggest thing, within this industry, is making sure that I’m continuously supporting and facilitating a work environment for Indigenous youth and helping them with their dreams.” Continue reading.
When we last left Chief Sam Woodburn (Jessica Matten) and Detective Chuck “Buke” Bukansky (Brian Markinson), they had made a horrible discovery: a tomb of Indigenous bodies buried under a water treatment plant.
Returning Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern on APTN, Season 2 of Tribal will conclude that storyline in dramatic fashion, while unearthing others, in particular the circumstances surrounding the shooting that injured Buke.
Created by Ron E. Scott, Tribal is a no-nonsense cop drama that pairs Tribal Police Chief Sam with veteran, white, city cop Bukansky, as they investigate not only crimes but corruption within the city police force itself.
“[This season] is a culmination of taking the tomb and turning it into a longer commentary,” Scott says. “We’ve crafted it in such a way that we have a lot going on. There is usually a crime of the week, and we’re going to that next level with the crime drama.”
Returning cast members include Garry Chalk, Julian Black Antelope, Ryan Northcott, John Cassini and Stafford Perry; newbies this season include Marci T. House, Stephen Huszar, Anita Brown, Bernard Starlight and Ashley Callingbull. The characters they embody circle Matten and Markinson, whose performances as Sam and Buke are even better in Season 2.
“We definitely wanted to explore how policing can affect the personal lives, and also the progression within the story world into some other realms,” Scott says. “We also learned that it was interesting to add some serialized aspects to the procedural, which gives it that ‘Can’t wait to watch next time.'”
Tribal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on APTN.
Images courtesy of APTN.
There have been many, many television series using the fish out of water scenario as a key part of its storytelling. And APTN’s Unsettled does it in a very effective way.
Airing Fridays at 8 p.m. Eastern on APTN, Unsettled follows the journey of Rayna Keetch (Cheri Maracle). A victim of the Sixties Scoop—the mass removal of Indigenous children from their families into the child welfare system—Rayna returns to her First Nation for a traditional homecoming ceremony when life throws her a curveball. Her husband, Darryl (Brandon Oakes), loses his business, car and their Toronto home. The result? A short visit turns into something more long-term for Rayna, Darryl and kids Stacia (Michaella Shannon) and Myles (Joshua Odjick).
Created, written and directed by Jennifer Podemski and Derek Diorio (Hard Rock Medical), Unsettled has been in the back of Podemski’s mind for years.
“I built this narrative around this family,” Podemski says. “Really using a lot of my own experiences and my desire to interweave and focus it with an authentic Indigenous lens.” Themes include child welfare, the aforementioned Sixties Scoop, residential schools, loss of identity and substance abuse and Podemski had a circle of advisors on-hand to make sure she got the facts correct.
A truly unique way of framing the story is through Henry (Albert Owl), Rayna’s father and the local radio DJ. Viewers listen to Henry speaking to his audience in Ojibwe, recalling the past while fuzzy, home movie-like visuals roll. It’s very well done.
“These stories are effective because they’re so rarely told,” Podemski says. “My goal was to weave these storylines, but not be an issue-driven show, be a character-driven show that weaves characters that are directly connected to these issues.”
Unsettled airs Fridays at 8 p.m. Eastern on APTN.
Images courtesy of APTN.
