Benson Shum brings joy to Disney destroyer
Interview: Benson Shum
He grew up sketching trees in Stanley Park, now the Vancouver animator is breathing life into the pixels behind Ralph Breaks the Internet, the latest adventure for two arcade characters learning to console each other.
Sharkwater Extinction: Resurrecting a son on-screen
Movies: Sharkwater Extinction
Shattered by their son Rob’s death in a diving accident, Sandy and Brian Stewart found inspiration in his message and turned pain into positive action by completing the film he died trying to make.
By Katherine Monk
VANCOUVER — “There was no way this movie was not going to be made.” The very statement is an act of defiant optimism in a world where the majority of endeavours fail to even reach production, let alone completion. For Brian and Sandy Stewart, however, defiant optimism was the very essence of their son’s message, which is why they dedicated the last 20 months of their heartbroken lives bringing Sharkwater Extinction to fruition. The movie isn’t just a tribute to their late son, Rob, 37, who died in a diving accident off the Florida Keys in January 2017. “It’s the continuation of his mission,” says Brian Stewart, sitting with his wife Sandy on the eve of Sharkwater Extinction’s western premiere at the Vancouver ...
How the ghost of Ginger Goodwin painted the town “Red”
Canadian History: The Ginger Goodwin General Strike of 1918
When pacifist union organizer and worker’s rights activist Ginger Goodwin was killed by a single police bullet 100 years ago, it marked the beginning of Canada’s first general strike, and a blood-drenched birth to B.C.’s modern labour movement.
By Rod Mickleburgh
At 12 o’clock sharp on Aug. 2, 1918 – one hundred years ago today – Vancouver transit operators stopped their streetcars in mid-route, drove them to the barns and walked home. The city’s normally bustling waterfront fell silent, as 2,000 burly stevedores and shipyard workers streamed from the docks. Construction workers refused to pound another nail or lift another brick. They joined textile and other union workers across Vancouver who were also leaving their jobs. It was the start of Canada’s first general strike and the beginning of one of the most memorable 24 hours in the city’s history. (Okay, I could have photo-shopped this a bit better...
Willie O’Ree’s Wild Ride into Hockey History
Sports: Hockey Hall of Fame
Willie O’Ree smashed the National Hockey League’s colour barrier when he was recruited by the Boston Bruins, but the newly inducted Hall-of-Famer gave a young hockey fan from the ‘burbs a big city thrill.
By Rod Mickleburgh
Every now and then, the National Hockey League, even under Gary Bettman, does the right thing. So it was with the recent selection of Willie O’Ree to the Hockey Hall of Fame. O’Ree, 82, was chosen under the hallowed institution’s “builder category,” as the first black to lace ‘em up in the NHL and a long-time ambassador for youth and hockey diversity. In recent years, the honours have piled up for the likeable O’Ree. Banners raised, arenas named, ceremonies, inductions to other, more local halls of fame, and in 2008, the Order of Canada. O’Ree has taken it all in stride, evincing little bitterness over the setbacks and racist taunting he experienced at times during his long hockey career, which lasted until he ...
Tim Wardle’s life changed at the hands of Three Identical Strangers
People: Interview with documentary director Tim Wardle
When he first heard the story of triplets separated at birth and placed in different families, British director Tim Wardle knew it should be a movie. He didn’t know others had tried, and hit a wall of orchestrated silence. His new documentary takes us inside a secret ‘Twin Study’ and the shocking experience of three unwitting subjects.
Pixar’s Ted Mathot Talks Technology, Education, Incredibles’ Design
Interview: Ted Mathot
The talented artist says working under the wing of Oscar-winner Brad Bird helped him make the big leap from storyboard artist on The Simpsons to story supervisor on The Incredibles 2. But this could just be the beginning for the Boston native. Now a fledgling graphic novelist, Mathot's own stories seem poised to fly.
Eisha Marjara Finally Feels Like She Belongs
Interview: Eisha Marjara
Venus is a new transgender comedy that finds new curves thanks to the veteran director’s elusive quest for belonging, and an internalized sense of misogyny that helped her understand the negative effects of gender dysphoria.
What Made the Sedins Magic? Sixth Puck Sense
Sports: Daniel and Henrik Sedin Say Goodbye
Once called the “Sedin Sisters” by cynical media types who saw the Swedish twins as soft, Daniel and Henrik Sedin proved their taunters wrong with an iron forged commitment to the game, and pure finesse with the puck.
By Rod Mickleburgh
VANCOUVER - The outpouring of admiration and affection for the incomparable Daniel and Henrik Sedin, as they played their final three games for the lowly Canucks, was like nothing I’ve witnessed in my more than half a century of following sports. Fans, scribes, commentators, competitors, all the way down to the referees and well, just about everyone, joined in the celebration and heartfelt farewells in a way that went beyond the usual tributes to the end of a great player’s career. They seemed to be an acknowledgment that, in the 100-year history of the National Hockey League, the Sedins were something special. They were not the equal of Howe, Gretzky, Lemieux, the Rocket, or some of the other NHL ...
Stephen Campanelli: The Indian Horse Whisperer
Interview: Stephen Campanelli, Forrest Goodluck and AJ Kapashesit on Indian Horse
He spent more than two decades in Los Angeles lensing Clint Eastwood’s Oscar winners. Now Montreal-born Stephen Campanelli is back on home turf, taking on Canada’s ugly legacy of residential schools with his big-picture take on Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse.
Meet Linnea Dick: Daughter of a Maker of Monsters
Interview: Linnea Dick - Meet Beau Dick: Maker of Monsters
A new documentary and a retrospective of Beau Dick's work mark the anniversary of his passing, but for his daughter Linnea, the healing journey her father started is only just beginning. The 26-year-old has already battled addiction and depression, but she’s found a purpose in poetry, helping suicidal youth, and keeping her father’s legacy alive.
