Episodes
Christian Zyp Interviews Dan Smith (Executive Director) about the Metro Cinema about their 2024 Season Launch. We discuss screenings of THE TRUMAN SHOW, FLASHBACK,WE ARE FUGAZI, FROM WASHINGTON D.C and more.
Published 09/07/24
Christian Zyp interviews Michael Mabbott (dir/prod) about the documentary "ANY OTHER WAY: The Jackie Shane Story". Mabbott co-directed & Co-produced the film with Lucah Rosenberg-Lee. It's screening as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival on Thu, Oct 3rd, 6:30 PM @ Telus World of Science & Fri, Oct 4th, 2:00 PM @ Landmark Cinemas 9 City Centre. ANY OTHER WAY: THE JACKIE SHANE STORY... A lost R&B star who eclipsed Etta James and Little Richard, trans soul singer Jackie...
Published 09/01/24
Christian Zyp interviews Neil Grahn (prod/dir) about the documentary series HORSE WARRIORS. It airs on APTN in Canada starting Sept 2nd. HORSE WARRIORS is a 13 episode docuseries from Neil Grahn and Dominique Keller that follows three dedicated teams as they train, compete and strive for victory in the North American Indian Relay Championships. This thrilling series captures the unique challenges each team faces, from balancing work and family responsibilities to overcoming injuries and...
Published 08/30/24
Christian Zyp interviews Sean "MASSIVE DAMAGE" Dunster about the doc he's featured in, THE DEATH TOUR. See the film at the Metro Cinema Tuesday August 6th @ 6:45 pm. Sean and several other people involved with the film will be in attendance for a post screening Q&A. It will also screen on Wednesday August 7th @ 9:30 pm at Metro without guests. THE DEATH TOUR is a deeply personal documentary that travels through Canada’s frozen North and into the wrestlers’ minds as they battle the...
Published 07/27/24
Christian Zyp interviews Brandon Rhiness (dir/writer) and Elizabeth Chamberlain (actor) about GROTESQUE 2. It will have its Edmonton Premiere at the Metro Cinema on Wednesday July 17th at 7pm. GROTESQUE 2 is the outrageous sequel to the hit slasher comedy of the same name. The story follows lovable psychopath Mildred Moyer (Elizabeth Chamberlain) on her new murderous adventure as she unleashes vengeance upon a corrupt religious organization. GROTESQUE 2 was filmed in Edmonton and surrounding...
Published 07/07/24
Christian Zyp interviews documentary filmmaker Anna Kuelken. She was one of the recipients of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award for her work on films such as FATHER LIKE SON. Anna approaches filmmaking through an ethnographic lens, investing time cultivating relationships with her participants. In 2025 she will be releasing a new project, WOMEN WHO DIG, about farming, feminism and the fight to feed the world.
Published 06/24/24
Christian Zyp interviews Lacey Paige about the films she programmed in the series EXTREMITIES OF EVIL at the Metro Cinema. The series is a look at AWFUL human appendages committing heinous, “hands-on” homicide, through the horror trope of losing a limb and inheriting a replacement one that has been possessed by the spirit of a murderous psychopath. BODY PARTS (DIrected by Eric Red) screens Thurs June 6th at 6:45 pm. All proceeds for the screening will be donated to the Glenrose Hospital...
Published 06/04/24
Christian Zyp interviews Lisa Jackson (dir/prod/writer) about the documentary WILFRED BUCK. It screens at the Metro CInema on June 3rd at 7:00 pm and June 5th 9:30 pm. It's screening as part of Indigenous History Month. WILFRED BUCK is about a man from the “fresh-out-of-the-bush, partly civilized, colonized, displaced people,” and he’s here to take us to the stars. Lisa Jackson’s portrait of Cree Elder Wilfred Buck moves between earth and sky, past and present, bringing to life ancient...
Published 06/02/24
Christian Zyp interviews Nathan Tape (dir/writer) & Tim Cairo (writer/prod) about their film OFF RAMP. It's making its Edmonton Premiere at the Metro Cinema June 2, 2024 @ 6:45 pm. In OFF RAMP, a couple of lovable, degenerate Juggalos, Trey and Silas, journey through America's hellish underbelly to The Gathering of the Juggalos, the one place on earth they feel accepted. On the way, they are detoured by a psychotic powerful Sheriff, a violent blood ritual, a trailer park princess, a...
Published 05/31/24
Lucas Anders interviews Darrin Hagen (director) about the documentary PRIDE V. PREJUDICE: The Delwin Vriend Story. It is a Special Preview Screening as part of Rainbow Visions FIlm Festival on Sun May 19th at 4 pm at the Metro CInema. Darrin Hagen and others will be there for a Q&A. "Pride vs. Prejudice: The Delwin Vriend Story" delves into the riveting narrative of the Vriend v. Alberta case, where Delwin Vriend, an unlikely hero, courageously battles against discrimination from a...
Published 05/17/24
Christian Zyp interviews Pamela Hogan (dir) about the documentary film THE DAY ICELAND STOOD STILL that she made in collaboration with Icelandic producer Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir. It screens as part of Northwest Fest on Sunday, May 12, 2024 at 2:00 PM at the Metro Cinema. THE DAY ICELAND STOOD STILL is the true story of one day that sparked a revolution. With a score by Icelandic rock singer Margrét Rán (GusGus, Vök) and evocative animated sequences by artist Joel Orloff, The Day Iceland...
Published 05/07/24
Christian Zyp interviews Sav Rogers (dir) about the documentary CHASING CHASING AMY. See it as part of RAINBOW VISIONS FILM FESTIVAL on Saturday, May 18, 2034, @ 4:30 PM at the Metro CInema. Sav Rodgers' debut feature film CHASING CHASING AMY explores the unexamined legacy of Kevin Smith's cult classic, "Chasing Amy". On a quest to understand how this divisive LGBTQ+ '90s rom-com saved his life as a queer kid, the film becomes both a tribute to the movie and an exploration of its mixed...
Published 05/07/24
Lucas Anders interviews Ben Judkins about his documentary THE CIGARETTE SURFBOARD. The World Premiere of this film screens as part of Northwest Fest on Sat, May 11, 2024 @ 7:00 PM at the Metro Cinema. Ben Judkins and Taylor Lane in attendance... with surf boards! THE CIGARETTE SURFBOARD follows a young designer who realizes that a surfboard –which he crafted from thousands of littered cigarette butts picked up off California beaches– could captivate the eyes of millions across the globe, he...
Published 05/04/24
Christian Zyp interviews Benjamin Howard (dir/writer/prod) about his film RILEY. It is the RAINBOW VISIONS Centrepiece screening on Saturday, May 18, 2024 7:00 PM, presented by Fruit Loop. This film and all screenings will take place at the Metro Cinema. Filmmaker Benjamin Howard and Lead Actor Jake Holley will be in attendance. In RILEY, Dakota is an athlete that lives within carefully designed boundaries, a calculated blueprint upon which he's formed the basis of his identity. But when the...
Published 05/04/24
Christian Zyp Interviews Eric Vaughn (director), Jon Liton (founder of LET'S BE BETTER HUMANS), Bruce Mau & Bisi Williams (Co-founders of MASSIVE CHANGE NETWORK) about the documentary I HAVE A NAME. You can catch a screening of the film as part of Northwest Fest on Sat May 11th at 4 pm at the Metro Cinema. By compassionately observing the culture's true social conditions, Jon Liton finds a deep pathway to empathy through connection with gestures as simple as asking and using people's...
Published 05/02/24
Christian Zyp interviews Gerry Potter (dir/prod) about his documentary IN SEARCH OF PROFESSOR PRECARIOUS. Catch a free screening May 3, 2024 @ 7 pm at CO*LAB, 9641 102A Ave. (1 block east of the Art Gallery of Alberta). IN SEARCH OF PROFESSOR PRECARIOUS is a documentary in which the director, a long-time precarious contract instructor, travels Canada to lift the curtain on higher education’s dirty little secret. The search takes viewers into the lives of precarious contract faculty and tells...
Published 04/28/24
Christian Zyp interviews Nisreen Barker about her Alberta filmed documentary ARAB WOMEN SAY WHAT?! It was shot in Alberta with unadulterated truth and complexity. You can stream it for free at NFB.ca ARAB WOMEN SAY WHAT?! paints an unparalleled portrait of Arab women living in Canada. The film offers a counter-mainstream narrative that embraces the unique experiences and perspectives of eight Arab women sharing their insights, cuisine and laughter. Amid the rhythm of poetry and music, they...
Published 04/21/24
Christian Zyp interviews Canadian cinematic legend Vincenzo Natali about the two films he has featured at the Calgary Underground FIlm Festival (CUFF), CUBE (1997) and NOTHING (2003). They will be screened over April 20-21 at the Globe Cinema. Vincenzo Natali reminisces about these spiritual sequels, CUBE and NOTHING. In CUBE, without remembering how they got there, several strangers awaken in a prison of cubic cells, some of them booby-trapped. There's one-time cop, master of escapes,...
Published 04/21/24
Christian Zyp interviews Michael Peterson (dir) about the Alberta filmed series DEPARTMENT OF PARANORMAL AFFAIRS. It screens as part of the Calgary Underground FIlm Festival (CUFF) Sat April 27th at 4:30 pm at the Globe Cinema. You know all of the monsters from scary stories? They’re totally real, but they’re just trying to get by like the rest of us. In the DEPARTMENT OF PARANORMAL AFFAIRS, a special branch of the government, and its employees Jenny Hicks (Nancy Ngo) and Scott Power (David...
Published 04/19/24
Lucas Anders interview Maxwell Nalevansky (dir) about his film RATS! screening as part of the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) on Sat April 20th at the Globe CInema. In RATS! the summer just got a lot shorter for Raphael Tinski. It's 2007 and the peak of emo-culture is in full swing. Raphael just got arrested by a psychotic cop. Raphael just fell in love with a girl at community service. Raphael might get blown up by nukes. He’s a good kid, so you can't blame Raphael for the events...
Published 04/19/24
Christian Zyp interviews Tim Rutherford, Cody Kennedy, Josh Lenner and Kevin Martin about their film THE LAST VIDEO STORE. It's making its southern Alberta premiere at the Calgary Underground Film Festival Sat April 20th at 9:45 pm at the Globe Cinema. It also screens Sun April 28 at 3:45 pm. In this love letter to the era of the video store, THE LAST VIDEO STORE follows Nyla who accidentally uncovers a "cursed" VHS tape her father wanted her to return upon his death. This transports her into...
Published 04/19/24
Lindsey Campbell and Mark Davies discuss the film BLACKBERRY as part of their series THANKS TELEFILM. This is where they examine federally funded films. Will they say "Thanks Telefilm!" OR "Thanks Telefilm?" In BLACKBERRY, Matt Johnson (Nirvana the Band the Show) explores the incredible growth and tragic collapse of the world's first smartphone and how it smashed huge enterprises before surrendering to Silicon Valley's fiercely competitive companies. It's not a conventional tale of modern...
Published 04/13/24
Lucas Anders interviews Caden Douglas (dir/writer) about his film MOTHER FATHER SISTER BROTHER FRANK. It makes its Canadian Premiere at the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) on Fri April 26th @ 7pm at the Globe CInema.  In MOTHER FATHER SISTER BROTHER FRANK, the Jennings family couldn’t be more painfully suburban, but when a*****e Uncle Frank crashes their weekly Sunday dinner with a nasty surprise, murder turns up on the menu.  On the surface, they seem like a happy family, but...
Published 04/13/24
Christian Zyp interviews Nathan Tape (dir/writer) & Tim Cairo (writer/prod) about their film OFF RAMP. It's making its Canadian Premiere at the Calgary Underground Film Festival April 22, 2024 @ 9:30 pm at the Globe Cinema. In OFF RAMP, a couple of lovable, degenerate Juggalos, Trey and Silas, journey through America's hellish underbelly to The Gathering of the Juggalos, the one place on earth they feel accepted. On the way, they are detoured by a psychotic powerful Sheriff, a violent...
Published 04/05/24
Christian Zyp spoke with Brenda Lieberman (Festival Director and Co-Programmer) about the 21st Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Catch it April 18-28, 2024 at the Globe Cinema. Brenda discusses the feature/documentary/short films, guests (John Waters & Vincenzo Natali), Albertan filmmakers and events surrounding the festival. Find out more at www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org
Published 03/31/24