Tell us about yourself.
I mainly am a podcaster, creating and hosting Contra Zoom Pod, a weekly show where every week we switch things up since 2015. Whether it is an episode in our A24 Retrospective or Make/Remake series, covering a film festival, celebrating cinemas diversity, interviewing filmmakers or going far too deep into Oscar season, we have it all. A few years ago I created a website where I could publish my reviews and blog posts. This past year I decided I wanted to expand my coverage and roster and have been publishing reviews from some great writers including Jeff Bulmer (Classic Movies Live), Paulo Bautista (Oscars Death Race Podcast) and Brodie Cotnam among others. I’m originally from Toronto but moved to Vancouver back in 2021 and I helped co-found the CFTCA with Matthew Simpson and Thomas Stoneham-Judge, people I met and connected with after moving out west.
What are your top four films of all time?
Even before Letterboxd was a thing, when people would ask me what my favourite film was I always struggled to give an answer. It was never one movie, but instead usually four or five. They cover different eras and genres and you can’t say the movie that makes you laugh the most is better or worse than the movie that makes you cry the most and so on.
That said, 12 Angry Men (1957, Sidney Lumet) was an early film that was eye opening for me and it’s been a favourite for so long I actually have the iconic switchblade tattooed on my forearm.
Rififi (1955, Jules Dassin) comes from a genre that I have always adored. Heist/crime capers are some of the most fun and exciting movies and when you add in a noir element, which is probably my all time favourite genre, you have an instant classic in my eyes. The thirty minute wordless diamond heist at the center of the film had me holding my breath and my heart beating so loud I thought I personally would set off the alarm in the jewelry store!
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004, Wes Anderson) is probably my favourite comedy. It’s got just enough heart to it and more than enough laughs (“Anne-Marie do the interns get Glocks?” “No, they all share one”). It was my gateway drug to Wes Anderson and remains his best work in my opinion.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019, Céline Sciama) is my romantic side. Fusing art and passion is a beautiful thing to witness. Watching Marianne go along with her job to make a painting to help marry off Héloïse until she can no longer be an accomplice of holding her subject back is a rush of emotions. Every time I get to the scene of Héloïse wearing the stark white dress and the lights flash brightly on her, it makes me audibly gasp.
Who are your top four directors?
I’ve never been someone who has a favourite actor, it’s always been directors who I’ve been more drawn to. Alfred Hitchcock was a seminal revelation to me with my mom showing my North By Northwest and The Birds at an early age. Now having seen over 30 of his films and owning about that many as well speaks for itself.
As mentioned in the first question, Wes Anderson is someone who speaks closely to what I adore in film. His quirky sense of humour, beautiful compositions, large and deep casts who keep returning to work with him and more.
Stanley Kubrick was a director I always liked but in recent years I’ve grown to truly love him. His films don’t always work perfectly for me, but his sense of craft and scale are something special to behold.
Akira Kurosawa is the director who I’ve seen the least amount of films compared to the other three names on this list. So despite having not seen Ran, High and Low, Stray Dog and others why is he on this list? Simply put, he is magical. The sense of grandiosity and capturing action is just as spectacular as showing us the most complicated human emotions and relationships. So while only having seen six of his films so far, I know I have many more great films ahead of me.
Recently both Michael Mann and Dario Argento have shot up to top of my favourites, and given more time and rounding out their filmographies, they will likely be in the same breath as the above names.
What is your favourite decade for film?
Probably the 1950’s. Despite the Hayes Production Code being in effect, I think the best works in Hollywood were being created. Cinema spent the previous four decades making up this new art on the fly and by the time the 50’s rolled around filmmakers and studios knew the rules and perfected what came before them and knew how to improve on them. Not to mention world cinema came into its own with many countries recovering post-WWII and thriving with their own stories to tell.
What movie have you seen the most in your life?
I don’t actually rewatch a lot of movies. If you know me, knowing if I watch a movie for a second time is massive. So excluding stuff I probably watched on repeat as a kid, films like Scott Pilgrim vs The World or The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou are probably the only films as an adult I’ve watched more than three times.
How did you get started covering film?
I used to work covering the music scene in Toronto. I had gotten a diploma in acting but no longer considered it a viable career path. But I still adored movies. A fellow music critic at Live in Limbo, the site that we published our coverage at, talked non stop about film with me. The publication already had a music based podcast and we decided to start a film one back in 2016. It wasn’t until my fellow co-creator left the show a few years later that I started to get more into the film scene. I started applying for festivals, conducting interviews with filmmakers, being sent screeners without requesting them and more. The last couple of years have seen me take my craft much more seriously and the results have shown that.
What is the biggest moment in your career so far?
Ironically enough when I was living in Toronto, I wasn’t getting approved to cover TIFF. Once I got a handful of press tickets, but that was from the owner of a publication I was briefly aligned with. Two years I got approved for a full press pass finally, but sadly could not swing going back home for it. This past year I got approved again and made the pilgrimage back home.
In terms of actual work I’ve done, getting to interview Mark O’Brien, the director of The Righteous or Kelvin Harrison Jr., the star of The High Note was really special.
What is your favourite piece of content you have produced?
I’m incredibly fond of my review of The Great Beauty, it was the first time I watched a movie and absolutely had to write about it as soon as I got home.
I think the best podcast episode I ever created was A History of A24. It took me several months to research and write the script needed for my most audacious podcast ever. Following lead upon lead just to get the right information to accurately tell the story of how the company was formed and grew into the behemoth it is today was all consuming but also exhilarating. I still get compliments to this day that it was the finest thing I have produced yet. I’ve followed the series with deep dives on The Criterion Collection, NEON Films and Laika Studios.
What is the farthest you have traveled to see a film or cover a festival?
I’ve never really traveled anywhere to see a film, but last spring I covered the Seattle International Film Festival and that would mark a several hour drive from my home in Vancouver! Other than that returned back to Toronto for TIFF.
Where is your favourite place to sit in a theater?
Personally my preference is about ¾’s of the way back in the middle of the row. I am not one that must see a film in IMAX or AVX, but if I can catch a movie on 35 or 75mm, then I’ll gladly see it that way.
Tell us about your local film scene (what you like about it, things you wished it had)?
As mentioned earlier, I am from Toronto originally so I’m actually new to the Vancouver/Cascadia region. I’ve found movie theaters I love, like the Park Royal Cineplex where every room has reclining seats or The Rio, which has the best programming in my opinion. The Vancouver International Film Festival has been incredibly gracious to me in granting me full access media passes despite them not knowing me when I moved out here. The community is excellent (hence why I helped co-found this critics group) and despite it lacking in size more than makes up for dedicated and passionate people. Due to my main work in the film industry, I rarely have the time to attend press screenings, so I can’t comment on the lovely people that run that side of things.
Look forward to more in depth member profiles coming soon!