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The director and writer Brian Daniel Johnson discusses his debut feature A Welcome Distraction, a Vancouver-set film, having its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and more, with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Having its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival is A Welcome Distraction, the debut feature of director and writer Brian Daniel Johnson. We spoke two weeks ago about the film that’s set in Vancouver. The film stars Simon Farrell, Madison Isolina, Adriana Marchand, and Liam McCulley, among others. In the film, Ernest played by Farrell, is a wayward twenty-something living in Vancouver, having come here from elsewhere. Despite a family tragedy, he tries to avoid family. He goes hiking and is captivated by Mallory, played by Isolina, and soon falls into her friend group, which might be a cult. We see Ernest navigate the seasons in Vancouver, in beautifully shot scenes of Metro Vancouver covered in snow amidst the backdrop of the mountains, as well as in the warmth of those days when it doesn’t rain as much. I’ll ask Mr. Johnson about shooting in Vancouver, setting the story here, and the feelings the film evokes in visitors or transients or lifelong Vancouverites. Brian Johnson is an American writer and director, known for his music video work with Vancouver artist Haley Blais, as well as his short films After Dinner (2020) and Side Walks (2022), the latter of which received a nomination for the Best of BC award at the Chilliwack Independent Film Festival. He is also a film editor and short story writer. Visit www.briandanieljohnson.com for more information. And visit www.viff.org for tickets to the film which debuts Thursday night (06 October 2025) at The Cinematheque, with additional screenings Saturday and Sunday (11, 12 October 2025). Mr. Johnson joined me from California. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Brian Johnson; Mr. Johnson, good morning.   The post Brian Daniel Johnson first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The consultant and facilitator, and former professional athlete Peter Leech discusses the new biography he’s co-written (with Patrick Johnston) Gino: The Fighting Spirit of Gino Odjick (Greystone, 2025) and the close personal friendship he had with Odjick, with Joseph Planta. Gino: The Fighting Spirit of Gino Odjick by Patrick Johnston and Peter Leech (Greystone, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Gino Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   One of the highlights of the fall season is the new biography of beloved NHL player Gino Odjick. Written by Patrick Johnston and Peter Leech, it’s a frank, revelatory, and entertaining book about the late Vancouver Canucks player, who when he emerged in the early 1990s was one of the few Indigenous players at the time. As you read in Gino: The Fighting Spirit of Gino Odjick, he was a larger-than-life figure on and off the ice, who was one of the league’s most feared enforcers, who was also revered by teammates. The book chronicles the on-ice career of Odjick, these remarkable friendships he develops on the team, chiefly Pavel Bure, as well as the reverence he has for the game, and some of the coaching and team leadership like Pat Quinn. You get a sense of how Odjick makes it to the NHL, and the persona he cultivated. What the Messer’s. Johnston and Leech have also done is reveal the loving household he came from, as well as the struggles with alcohol abuse, and personal health challenges in later years. Joining me now is one of the authors of the book, Peter Leech. (Patrick will be on the program tomorrow.) Peter is himself a former professional athlete, and a former amateur boxing champion. He was close friends with Gino Odjick for more than twenty-five years, and for the last ten years of Odjick’s life, he and his wife Charlene were host to Odjick in their home. It’s a unique and close relationship, and I’ll ask Peter to give us some insight into what it was like navigating through the health issues that Odjick contended with, which led to his death at the age of 52 in 2013. A member of the T’it’q’et Community Village of the St’at’imc Tribal Nation, he has worked for many years with Indigenous Nation communities and organisations, including mentoring Indigenous youth, which he and Gino Odjick worked on for many years. This new book is published by Greystone Books. We taped this interview one week ago, with Peter joining me from his home in Burnaby. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Peter Leech; Mr. Leech, good morning. The post Peter Leech first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The dancer, choreographer, and artistic director of Co.Erasga Alvin Erasga Tolentino discusses the twenty-fifth season of the company he founded, and their latest production Eternal Gestures (09-10 October 2025, Scotiabank Dance Centre), with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Alvin Erasga Tolentino joins me again. Co.Erasga is presenting the world premiere of Eternal Gestures, a trilogy of evocative solo works commissioned from Indigenous Coast Salish based choreographers: Starr Muranko, Michelle Olson, and Margaret Grenier. I’ll ask Alvin about performing these pieces, and how he’s put himself in the hands of these choreographers. We’ll also reflect on the timely, urgent themes that this production speak to like connecting to land, decolonialisation, truth, healing and knowledge sharing. As this is Co.Erasga’s twenty-fifth season, I’ll ask Alvin about his creativity, and how Eternal Gestures might say something about maturity and the company’s place in this place. Visit www.companyerasgadance.ca for tickets and information. Eternal Gestures is at the Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie Street, Thursday, 09 and Friday, 10 October 2025. We spoke one week ago. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Alvin Erasga Tolentino; Mr. Tolentino, good morning.   The post Alvin Erasga Tolentino first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The filmmaker Brishkay Ahmed discusses his new documentary In the Room, debuting at the Vancouver International Film Festival (07, 10 October 2025), with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Brishkay Ahmed joins me again. Her new documentary In the Room has its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival next week (Tuesday, 07 October and Friday, 10 October 2025). It’s a timely, and necessary film about the heroism of Afghan women that Brishkay had encountered in the past, either professionally or as a young fan or observer. She follows the tumultuous history of Afghanistan through the stories of these women Nelofer Pazira-Fisk, Vida Samadzai, Sahar Parniyan, Mozhdah Jamalzadeh, and Shogofa Sediqi, through their heritage, as well as the often harrowing circumstances that they have encountered over the years. What Brishkay and her team have done in the film is create a thoughtful space in which she and each of these women are able to have heartfelt, important conversations. The spaces themselves, as I’ll remark are thoughtfully and lovingly curated and designed, and allow for conversations that bring to the viewer sometimes a harrowing plight or tragedy, but in the end hope, especially for Afghanistan, and more importantly, the young women who are the country’s future. Brishkay Ahmed was first on the program in 2012 when her documentary Story of Burqa: Case of a Confused Afghan debuted. She’s since produced the award-winning documentary In the Rumbling Belly of Motherland, and created and co-directed the Afghan prime-time drama Between You and Me. Visit her website at https://www.brishkayahmed.com/ for more. And visit www.viff.org for tickets and information for In the Room, which is a production of the National Film Board of Canada. We spoke earlier this week, with Brishkay joining me from here in Vancouver. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Brishkay Ahmed; Ms. Ahmed, good morning. The post Brishkay Ahmed first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The filmmaker Kent Donguines discusses his new documentary Treasure of the Rice Terraces, having its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival (05 October 2025), with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Kent Donguines joins me again. The filmmaker has a documentary that will debut at the 44th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival, this Sunday, 05 October 2025 with another screening on Monday, 06 October 2025. Treasure of the Rice Terraces has several journeys for Kent. First, he travels from Canada to Buscalan, a secluded mountain community in The Philippines. He’s also travelling home to the country of his birth, and at the same time tries to reconcile his roots with his identity. The film is also a journey through several hundreds of years of Philippine history with tattooing. Indigenous Filipinos hundreds of years ago got tattooed to signify rank or status in society. With the arrival of colonisers, especially the Spanish who also brought their Roman Catholic mores, tattooing was frowned upon even banned. This continues into the twentieth century with more recent ideas that a tattoo suggests immorality or criminality. Kent unpacks all of this with historians and contemporary cultural figures in The Philippines and elsewhere, including the tattoo anthropologist Lars Krutak. We also meet Apo-Whang od, who at 108 still practices the art of Kalinga tattooing, which involves tapping. I’ll ask Kent about what that involves, as we see him get tattooed in the film. What’s also fascinating is how Kent finds his own identity through the tattoos he has and adds to. We see him find connection with the Butbut people, especially the apprentices of Apo-Whang od, like Grace Palicas, who is her grandniece, and one of the now many in their village taking up the ancient art. The film is presented by Telefilm Canada, and supported by BC’s Knowledge Network. Visit www.viff.org for tickets and information on the screenings. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Kent Donguines; Mr. Donguines, good morning. The post Kent Donguines first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The filmmaker Alison Reid discusses her documentary The Art of Adventure, featuring Bristol Foster and Robert Bateman, having its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival, with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Between 1957 and 1958, two young men, Bristol Foster and Robert Bateman, decided to go on an adventure of a lifetime. They purchased a Land Rover that they called The Grizzly Torque, and set about travelling some 14,000 kilometers through Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Foster, felt his family’s upbringing a little constraining in Toronto, while Bateman was a little restless as he started his career as a high school teacher. Both men were interested in nature and the outdoors, and as we see with the distinguished lives they led after this adventure, they’re certainly shaped by the landscape, creatures, and people they encountered. This is all the subject of a new documentary having its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival, The Art of Adventure. There’s a screening Sunday afternoon, 05 October 2025 at the Vancouver Playhouse. There are other screenings Tuesday, 07 October, and Sunday, 12 October, and probably more. Visit www.viff.org for tickets and information. The film’s director and producer Alison Reid joins me now to talk about this film, and highlighting the adventure, showcasing the vivid film and photography that both Foster and Bateman shot on the trip, as well as illustrating how this adventure influenced their later work; Foster as an academic, filmmaker, and naturalist and conservationist, and Bateman as an activist and artist of world renown. They’re the stars of the film, but so’s the Grizzly Torque itself. It goes with them on this journey, houses them throughout, and makes its way back to Canada. Alison Reid’s career in film began as a stunt performer and coordinator. She’s gone on to produce and direct the comedy The Baby Formula, and the documentary The Woman Who Loves Giraffes. She’s also directed episodes of Beyond Black Beauty, Hudson & Rex, and Murdoch Mysteries. We spoke earlier this week. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Alison Reid; Alison, good morning. The post Alison Reid first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The activist, consultant, and former civil servant Max Brault discusses his new book The Race to the Starting Line: What You Need to Know About the Accessible Canada Act for Making a Barrier-Free Society (Initiate, 2025), with Joseph Planta. The Race to the Starting Line: What You Need to Know About the Accessible Canada Act for Making a Barrier-Free Society by Max L. Brault (Initiate, 2025). Click to buy the book: Race to the Starting Line Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Earlier this year, Max Brault published a new book, The Race to the Starting Line: What You Need to Know About the Accessible Canada Act for Making a Barrier-Free Society. It’s a fascinating book about how starting in 2015, soon after the Justin Trudeau Liberals came to office, a new act of Parliament would be created from the ground up to look at the obstacles that over eight million Canadians with disabilities face, be they physical, architectural, technological, or attitudinal. With the goal of creating a barrier-free Canada by 2040, I’ll ask Mr. Brault who joined me a couple of weeks ago, about the progress, as well as look back at the effort to craft an act that though imperfect, worked to address concerns since the passage of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms over forty years ago now. But as the book’s title suggests, it’s just the starting line, and there’s more to accomplish. Max L. Brault is a recognised leader in accessibility and disability advocacy, with many years in the public service and consulting. Visit https://maxbraultsmafoundation.ca/ for more information. This book is published by Initiate. We spoke two weeks ago, with Max joining me from Ottawa. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Max Brault; Mr. Brault, good morning. The post Max L. Brault first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The critically acclaimed and bestselling author and poet katherena vermette discusses her new poetry collection Procession (House of Anansi Press, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Procession by katherena vermette (House of Anansi Press, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Procession Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   katherena vermette joins me now. The award-winning writer and poet is out today with her third collection of poetry, Procession. The poems are heartfelt, cognisant of the past and the present, with an eye to the future. She explores the connections we have with one another, whether they’re friends, families or Nations. She lovingly remembers those she loved and those that loved her. The collection also focuses the reader on how finite our time is, and ours aren’t the only lives; for example, we’re part of something bigger, something that’s gone on long before, and hopefully will go on long after we’ve left. I found the collection thoughtful as well as fun. When she looks back at thoughts or writing from when she was a child, there’s often a laugh, a lot of wisdom and something thought provoking. She’s taken that insightful disposition into her more contemporary works as we think about what we see when we see photographs, especially how they shape memory more often than we’d like to concede. I enjoyed being amongst her poetry in Procession, because I was seeing the parade of memories as I read, of all the people I’ve encountered, good and bad, but mainly good. Though as you’ll hear us discuss, there are some people who might even warrant a good, “fuck you.” katherena vermette received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry for her first book, North End Love Songs. Her novel The Break won many awards and was a bestseller. She holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia. She is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory. Her father’s roots run deep in this land, dating back over two centuries, and her mother’s side is Mennonite. This new collection is from House of Anansi Press. She joined me from Winnipeg two and a half weeks ago. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, katherena vermette; Dr. vermette, good morning. The post katherena vermette first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The publisher Scott McIntyre discusses his new memoir A Precarious Enterprise: Making a Life in Canadian Publishing (ECW Press, 2025), with Joseph Planta. A Precarious Enterprise: Making a Life in Canadian Publishing byScott McIntyre (ECW Press, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: A Precarious Enterprise Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   I’ve had a unique perch these last twenty-one years doing the program, seeing the various books that have published in this country, and the publishers themselves. A new memoir sheds more light on the process and the experience of being a publisher. In A Precarious Enterprise: Making a Life in Canadian Publishing, Scott McIntyre recounts the heady days of publishing books when he started working in books in the late 1960s. As he chronicles the rise of independent Canadian publishers like Jack McClelland’s McClelland & Stewart, where he worked early in his career, to the founding of his own house Douglas & McIntyre, he chronicles the fall of the independents, as well as booksellers. In his nearly forty years at Douglas & McIntyre, they published some two thousand books, becoming one of Canada’s largest and most respected houses. And as one reads, the author was always at the heart of the enterprise. You read about how a publisher obtains a book, and the sort of money involved, and the interpersonal relationships that invariably need to be cultivated; and in some cases, personal friendships that develop. You get insights as to the process of publishing something of high quality, and how one goes about promoting and selling the thing. Mr. McIntyre, who joins me now, highlights the memorable bestsellers, some that were even at the centre of the national conversation soon after they were released. This book is full of great stories, and is published by ECW Press. Scott McIntyre is a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia. For over forty years, he has worked in publishing, and fought for more supportive publishing policy, even shaping a groundbreaking UNESCO treaty that enshrines the principle of cultural diversity within international law. He joined me from here in Vancouver earlier this month. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Scott McIntyre; Mr. McIntyre, good morning.  The post Scott McIntyre first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The award-winning journalist and writer Linden MacIntyre discusses his bestseller An Accidental Villain: A Soldier’s Tale of War, Deceit and Exile (Random House Canada, 2025), with Joseph Planta. An Accidental Villain: A Soldier’s Tale of War, Deceit and Exile by Linden MacIntyre (Random House Canada, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: An Accidental Villain Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Linden MacIntyre joins me again. He’s just released a new biography, An Accidental Villain: A Soldier’s Tale of War, Deceit and Exile. It’s a compelling and fascinating biography of the little-known Sir Hugh Tudor. He was a junior officer in the Boer War, and went on to  distinguish himself in the First World War as a senior officer, rising to the rank of Major-General. In 1920, old friend Winston Churchill calls on Tudor to serve in Ireland. As Minister of War in Lloyd George’s cabinet, Churchill thinks Tudor could resist the threat to British colonial authority posed by the Irish rebels. Soon, Tudor’s police force, the Black and Tans employ death squads and inflict brutal reprisals against the IRA, as well as Sinn Fein politicians. This all culminates on 21 November 1920, Bloody Sunday, when the Black and Tans slaughter Irish football spectators. Tudor didn’t have a diary or letters that might explain his actions or suggest his motives. That’s what makes Mr. MacIntyre’s new book so compelling. He goes through the archives and the diaries and letters of Tudor’s contemporaries to try and piece through this consequential life. Later in Tudor’s life, he makes his way to Newfoundland. This third act, if you will, provides more intrigue, not to mention family drama. I’ll get Linden to tell us more, about getting to know Tudor, finding out about his life and times, and answering some of the questions as to why Tudor ended up in Newfoundland. Was it to leave his wife and children behind? Was it for other love? Was it simply for business? Was it to dodge assassination attempts? And what happened when it was rumoured assassins might have sought Tudor in his later years in St. John’s. Linden MacIntyre is the award-winning and bestselling author of multiple novels including the Giller Prize winning The Bishop’s Man. He’s won many awards for his distinguished career as a broadcast journalist. He spent twenty-four years as a co-host of the fifth estate. The book is already a Number One bestseller, published by Random House Canada. We taped this interview in late August. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Linden MacIntyre; Mr. MacIntyre, good morning. The post Linden MacIntyre first appeared on thecommentary.ca.