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Podcasters doing their part to promote Alberta film industry

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4 minute read

Did you know that the film industry in our province generates north of 0 million each year?  Many wouldn’t know because it’s a quiet industry. It doesn’t pollute, and it generates a significant ROI when productions shot here are shown in other parts of the world. The industry is a key strategic contributor to our economy and our image. 

This podcast is a great example of industry pros working tirelessly to promote their industry.  At Todayville we are big believers in the opportunity strong cultural industries in our province can bring and certainly applaud their efforts. The Alberta Filmmakers podcast has three main goals; the exploration of the Alberta film community and the people within it, promoting the content that is created by that community, and archiving the stories and knowledge of the older generation in hopes of saving some of their wisdom and distributing it to the next generation.  

“The latest episode is called The Feature Film Files where we have a long discussion all about the making of an Alberta film.” said Matt Watterworth, one of the creators. “In this case, it’s “To The Mountain”, a very tiny budget film that is getting distribution which is amazing for a $10,000 budget.” 

This episode’s guest is Producer of “To The Mountain”, Paige K. Boudreau. It’s hosted by Matt Watterworth and Scott Westby, produced by Calgary’s  Full Swing Productions, and now in its second season.

 

L-R Guest Paige K Boudreau, Matt Waterworth, Scott Westby

Here’s what Matt Watterworth says about the Filmakers Podast:  

“The podcast came about because Scott (Westby) and I are very much about legacy. We’re still relatively new or young in our careers, but we recognized that there are a few problems in our industry that the podcast can help combat. The first is that filmmakers in Alberta aren’t very good at promoting or celebrating themselves. Another is that the industry and community is very silo-ed, there’s not enough communication happening between each clique, section of the industry, community group, government body, or collective.”

“Another challenge our community faces is internal competition. Many in our community are protective and competitive when it comes to their accomplishments, and there’s nothing wrong with that if that’s their decision. But Scott and I have decided that it’s more effective for us to share the knowledge, tips, tricks and the really hard data like grant applications, production budgets and financing structures.”

The team believes these are the kind of things that can really make a difference for a new filmmaker.  Sharing ideas that can help unlock money or introduce them to a film festival is very important.

“One example is a group of great filmmakers who heard about a 48 Hour Film Competition put on by The Calgary Underground Film Festival and The Calgary Expo on our podcast, said Watterworth. “So they submitted, created a film and won first place. They said they wouldn’t have even known about the event if it wasn’t for our show so that’s a big deal for us and is hopefully demonstrative of a larger impact we’re having.”

Connect here to the Alberta Podcast Network for more excellent podcasts.

 

 

 

President Todayville Inc., Honorary Colonel 41 Signal Regiment, Board Member Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award Foundation, Director Canadian Forces Liaison Council (Alberta) musician, photographer, former VP/GM CTV Edmonton.

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Community

SPARC Red Deer – Caring Adult Nominations open now!

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Red Deer community let’s give a round of applause to the incredible adults shaping the future of our kids. Whether they’re a coach, neighbour, teacher, mentor, instructor, or someone special, we want to know about them!

Tell us the inspiring story of how your nominee is helping kids grow up great. We will honour the first 100 local nominees for their outstanding contributions to youth development. It’s time to highlight those who consistently go above and beyond!

To nominate, visit Events (sparcreddeer.ca)

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Addictions

‘Harm Reduction’ is killing B.C.’s addicts. There’s got to be a better way

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From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Susan Martinuk 

B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy

Since 2016, more than 40,000 Canadians have died from opioid drug overdoses — almost as many as died during the Second World War.
Governments, health care professionals and addiction experts all acknowledge that widespread use of opioids has created a public health crisis in Canada. Yet they agree on virtually nothing else about this crisis, including its causes, possible remedies and whether addicts should be regarded as passive victims or accountable moral agents.

Fuelled by the deadly manufactured opioid fentanyl, Canada’s national drug overdose rate stood at 19.3 people per 100,000 in 2022, a shockingly high number when compared to the European Union’s rate of just 1.8. But national statistics hide considerable geographic variation. British Columbia and Alberta together account for only a quarter of Canada’s population yet nearly half of all opioid deaths. B.C.’s 2022 death rate of 45.2/100,000 is more than double the national average, with Alberta close behind at 33.3/100,00.

In response to the drug crisis, Canada’s two western-most provinces have taken markedly divergent approaches, and in doing so have created a natural experiment with national implications.

B.C. has emphasized harm reduction, which seeks to eliminate the damaging effects of illicit drugs without actually removing them from the equation. The strategy focuses on creating access to clean drugs and includes such measures as “safe” injection sites, needle exchange programs, crack-pipe giveaways and even drug-dispensing vending machines. The approach goes so far as to distribute drugs like heroin and cocaine free of charge in the hope addicts will no longer be tempted by potentially tainted street drugs and may eventually seek help.

But safe-supply policies create many unexpected consequences. A National Post investigation found, for example, that government-supplied hydromorphone pills handed out to addicts in Vancouver are often re-sold on the street to other addicts. The sellers then use the money to purchase a street drug that provides a better high — namely, fentanyl.

Doubling down on safe supply, B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy — though for now that effort has been stymied by the courts.

According to Vancouver city councillor Brian Montague, “The stats tell us that harm reduction isn’t working.” In an interview, he calls decriminalization “a disaster” and proposes a policy shift that recognizes the connection between mental illness and addiction. The province, he says, needs “massive numbers of beds in treatment facilities that deal with both addictions and long-term mental health problems (plus) access to free counselling and housing.”

In fact, Montague’s wish is coming true — one province east, in Alberta. Since the United Conservative Party was elected in 2019, Alberta has been transforming its drug addiction policy away from harm reduction and towards publicly-funded treatment and recovery efforts.

Instead of offering safe-injection sites and free drugs, Alberta is building a network of 10 therapeutic communities across the province where patients can stay for up to a year, receiving therapy and medical treatment and developing skills that will enable them to build a life outside the drug culture. All for free. The province’s first two new recovery centres opened last year in Lethbridge and Red Deer. There are currently over 29,000 addiction treatment spaces in the province.

This treatment-based strategy is in large part the work of Marshall Smith, current chief of staff to Alberta’s premier and a former addict himself, whose life story is a testament to the importance of treatment and recovery.

The sharply contrasting policies of B.C. and Alberta allow a comparison of what works and what doesn’t. A first, tentative report card on this natural experiment was produced last year in a study from Stanford University’s network on addiction policy (SNAP). Noting “a lack of policy innovation in B.C.,” where harm reduction has become the dominant policy approach, the report argues that in fact “Alberta is currently experiencing a reduction in key addiction-related harms.” But it concludes that “Canada overall, and B.C. in particular, is not yet showing the progress that the public and those impacted by drug addiction deserve.”

The report is admittedly an early analysis of these two contrasting approaches. Most of Alberta’s recovery homes are still under construction, and B.C.’s decriminalization policy is only a year old. And since the report was published, opioid death rates have inched higher in both provinces.

Still, the early returns do seem to favour Alberta’s approach. That should be regarded as good news. Society certainly has an obligation to try to help drug users. But that duty must involve more than offering addicts free drugs. Addicted people need treatment so they can kick their potentially deadly habit and go on to live healthy, meaningful lives. Dignity comes from a life of purpose and self-control, not a government-funded fix.

Susan Martinuk is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of the 2021 book Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health Care Crisis. A longer version of this article recently appeared at C2CJournal.ca.

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