Daniel Garber talks with Taviss Edwards and Melissa Peters about Secrets of the Forest
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Kids grow up hearing scary fairytales about the forests — it’s where witches live in gingerbread houses, and the big bad wolf is waiting for them… but are forests really dark, gloomy and dangerous? No! They’re places for exploring, foraging and keeping our planet safe. There are plants that can keep us clean, foods that can keep us healthy, and trees that can talk to us — well, kind of. But who holds these secrets of the forest?
Secrets of the Forest is a new TV series for kids that provides a fascinating, fun and informative look at nature in our forests. Using expert guests, animation and time-lapse photography,
in addition t the live action, it wipes away the myths, and provides a scientific way to learn more. The show is hosted by 10-year-old Taviss Edwards and is directed by Melissa Peters.
Melissa has a decade’s experience in kids’ TV as a host on TVO Kids’ The Space and later as writer and director of shows like Mittens and Pants, Backyard Beats, and The Fabulous Show 
with Fay & Fluffy. Taviss is a gifted young equestrian and actress who has also appeared in A Ghost Ruined My Life.
I spoke with Taviss Edwards and Melissa Peters here in Toronto via Zoom.
Secrets of the Forest is available on TVO Kids, TVOkids.com, YouTube and various digital TV services.
Daniel Garber talks with Jamie Kastner about Charlotte’s Castle
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Photo by Jeff Harris.
Spadina Gardens is a legendary apartment building in the Annex, of downtown Toronto. Stratford actors, opera singers and robber barons have lived there, publishing houses were spawned there, and writers like Salman Rushdie and Patricia Highsmith passed through its doors. But when a dutch real estate conglomerate bought it, and words like renoviction started floating down its hallowed halls, the tenants decided to fight back. But can even an apartment as legendary as this one stop the rampant explosion of Toronto’s housing crisis?
Charlotte’s Castle is a new documentary that looks at one Toronto apartment building — its history, aesthetics, architecture — and the plight of its tenants: the people who live there. It’s the work of award-winning Toronto documentarian Jamie Kastner. I previously talked with Jamie about The Secret Disco Revolution in 2012, A Skyjacker’s Tale in 2016, and There are no Fakes in 2019.
Charlotte’s Castle is having its world premiere tomorrow, September 24th, at Toronto’s Hot Docs Cinema, and on TVO beginning on Tuesday, September 26th.
I spoke with Jamie in Toronto, via ZOOM.
Daniel Garber talks with Lewis Cohen about his new TVO documentary series Truth & Lies
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Our current media are filled with reports of a new threat to democracy — conspiracy theories, misinformation, disinformation and “fake news” — due to the power of social networks, contemporary devices and digital communication. But is it really that new? Or have these lies been challenging the truth for thousands of years?
Truth & Lies is the title of a new six-part documentary series that takes a new look at contemporary issues through a historical perspective. It deals with scandals and rumours, conspiracies and wars, and the power of wealth and religion in influencing our opinions. Illustrated with period news footage, animation, and brand new interviews by journalists and historians from Vietnam to France, Germany to Turkey and 
North America, it delves deeply into our preconceived notions of what we consider true and false. The series is written and produced by Emmy Award-winning documentarian Lewis Cohen, whose previous series include the Vice Guide to Film, Fighting Words, a doc on artists against political polarization, and The Beat, on police in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
I spoke with Lewis in Montreal via Zoom.
Truth & Lies has its broadcast premier on January 17th, 2023 on TVO at 9 PM, and is also available on tvo.org, roku, youtube, and the TVO Today mobile app.
Daniel Garber talks with director Michèle Hozer and Ramez about Sponsorland
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
The Syrian civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, with millions fleeing their homes. Their plight was brought home when the tragic photo of 3-year-old asylum seeker Alan Kurdi hit the news. In Canada, thousands of 
private sponsors raised money to bring Syrians to safety. But what happened to them when they reached these shores and met their sponsors?
Sponsorland is a new documentary that follows a year in the life of a 
family of asylum seekers who end up in scenic – but very white — Prince Edward County, Ontario, far from the big city they expected. It also looks at their sponsors and the role they play in welcoming and supporting refugees.
Sponsorland is the work of award-
winning filmmaker Michèle Hozer, whose documentaries tell a distinctly Canadian story, celebrating names like Romeo Dallaire, Glenn Gould and Tom Thomson.
This documentary features a family of Syrian refugees with 11 children. Ramez, the second oldest son, is currently a high school student in Picton, Prince Edward County.
I spoke to Michèle in studio at CIUT and to Ramez by telephone.
Sponsorland has its world premier on Wednesday, September 8th at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto and on Friday at the Regent Theatre in Picton. It will be broadcast on TVO on November 15th, 18th and 19th.
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