Face 2 Face With David Peck

Yasemin Şamdereli and David Peck talk about her new film Night of all Nights, love, sex and relationships, living in fast times, patience, romanticism, cloud 9, others and what really counts in a relationship. Synopsis An inter-caste couple from India that had to break with their families in order to get married, a Japanese couple that was forced to marry and struggles with love, a German postwar couple and two gay men from the United States, who were only allowed to marry after five decades, solving the associated legal problems by adopting each other. Four couples from three continents talk openly and honestly about what it means to be together for 50 years or longer. Whatever brought them together, whether it was love or an arranged marriage, they all have one thing in common: they have devoted their entire life to this relationship. Yasemin and Nesrin Şamdereli have made an amusing and touching, an entertaining and profound film about love. With surprising openness, their protagonists talk about sex and m

Beatrice Behn and René Gebhardt talk about their new film The Artist and the Pervert, love and destructive desires, the complicated relationship between art and life, voyeurism, the clichéd representation of others and espresso machines as inspiration. Watch the Trailer here. Synopsis Georg Friedrich Haas is arguably the most important living composer of symphonic music, but also a descendant of a Nazi family. His wife, whom he met through the dating site “OkCupid,” is an African-American kink educator. Their deep relationship is based on an open, yet controversial role-playing game between a white male master and a black female slave. This groundbreaking film documents their lives between perversion, art, love, and radical self-determination. Biography Beatrice Behn is a freelance film critic with 10+ years of experience and senior film critic and editor-in-chief of Kino-Zeit, the largest German language film magazine for arthouse and independent film. She is also about to graduate from Freie Universität Ber

Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck talk about their fascinating and important new film The Cleaners, censorship, the new digital public, content moderators, and what it means to outsource responsibility. Watch the Trailer here. Synopsis Enter a hidden third world shadow industry of digital cleaning, where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn't like. Here we meet five “digital scavengers” among thousands of people outsourced from Silicon Valley whose job is to delete “inappropriate” content off the net. In a parallel struggle, we meet people around the globe whose lives are dramatically affected by online censorship. A typical “cleaner” must observe and rate thousands of often deeply disturbing images and videos every day, leading to lasting psychological impacts. Yet underneath their work lies profound questions around what makes an image art or propaganda and what defines journalism. Where exactly is the point of balance for social media to be neither an unlegislated space nor a forum rife with censorship

Håvard and I talked about his new film "Golden Dawn Girls", far-right ideology, Greece and how love is interpreted. Watch the Trailer here. Synopsis "Whatever has happened to Greece?" wonders filmmaker Håvard Bustnes out loud at the start of this disturbing documentary. In recent years, its image as a country of sunny beaches and friendly people has been overshadowed by political ideologies that are terrifyingly close to Nazism. With many prominent members of the far-right Golden Dawn party now behind bars, a daughter, a wife and a mother continue to propagate its message—and all three of them are seasoned enough to avoid any slips of the tongue during interviews. The resulting material, supplemented with archive footage that leaves no room for doubt about the depraved side of this political party, reveals an ever-widening gulf between clear facts and political image-making. While it’s frustrating that the women are so unbending in their views, it does illustrate how wearing blinders can derail an entire soci

Joseph and I talk about his new film The Game Changers, plant based diets, nutrition and diet, why it’s important not to be self-righteous. Watch the Trailer here. Synopsis Directed by Oscar-winner Louie Psihoyos, THE GAME CHANGERS tells the story of James Wilks — elite special forces trainer and winner of The Ultimate Fighter — as he travels the world on a quest for the truth behind the world's most dangerous myth: that meat is necessary for protein, strength and optimal health. Executive produced by James Cameron and featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, THE GAME CHANGERS fuses live, groundbreaking science with cinematic stories of struggle and triumph showcasing some of the strongest, fastest and toughest athletes on the planet. Meeting elite athletes, special ops soldiers, visionary scientists, cultural icons, and everyday heroes, what James discovers permanently changes his relationship with food and his definition of true strength. Biography Joseph Pace is a Canadian writer and researcher who has been focuse

Shasha and I talk about her new film Take Light, the power crisis in Nigeria, poverty, corruption, Illegal electricians, suffering and smiling, hope and the legacy of colonialism. Watch the Trailer here. Synopsis Over 50 per cent of Nigeria's nearly 200 million citizens don't have access to electricity. For Africa's largest energy producer and most populous nation, that number is shocking. Those dependent on the unreliable grid are limited to a few hours of power a day at best. Taking matters into their own hands, many households illegally and dangerously wire their homes by tampering with transformers. While a bungling bureaucracy attempts to privatize the electrical system, an electrician risks his life on power poles, trying to provide for his daughter's education. His colleague in customer service has the more difficult task of going door to door collecting fees from disgruntled customers. The problems are complex and systemic, but director Shasha Nakhai delicately balances the big picture of a country tr

The Sentimentalists and I talk about skepticism, assumptions and religious belief, burlesque theatre, mentalism and magic, scientific headspace and what it means to be a collector of rare oddities. Biography World-renowned mentalist Mysterion partners with mentalist Steffi Kay to create a mind reading experience that is truly breathtaking. Steffi brings a grace, flair and elegance to the mentalism she practises and with her vintage look, approach and style you will feel transported back to Vaudeville to the golden age of magic. Mysterion has appeared on stages around the globe, with hundreds of television and media appearances to his credit. Together they showcase their special way of communicating, with a touch of humour and most importantly class. Imagine your thoughts transferred across the room into Steffi's mind with 100 percent accuracy. Someone thinks of the name of their favourite film and Mysterion and Steffi are able to divine that movie. Spoons bend, drawings are duplicated and as a special treat T

Kathy Kortes-Miller and I talk about her new book Talking About Death Won’t Kill You, the death trade, access to true choice, meaning making, death education, anxiety and literacy, and living life to the fullest. Find out more info on Kathy here. Biography Kathy thinks about dying and death a lot. She knows it helps her to embrace life full on. She is an unconventional death educator with a passion for palliative care and improving the end of life care for all. Kathy has been teaching and researching at Lakehead University for over a decade inspiring and challenging the future healthcare providers of tomorrow to be prepared to care for individuals who are dying and their families in all healthcare settings. She leverages her experiences as a cancer survivor and as a palliative care provider to challenge us to have the important conversations about dying, death and life. Kathy strives to make an impact with her teaching, research and speaking to discover, share and communicate the information that we are all "

Stephen Campanelli and I talk about his new film Indian Horse based on the Richard Wagamese novel of the same name. We cover residential schools, honesty, bravery and authenticity, why words can be visual, and how stories were meant to heal. Find out more info about the movie here. Synopsis: In late 1950s Ontario, seven-year-old Saul Indian Horse is torn from his Ojibway family and committed to one of  Canada’s notorious Catholic residential schools. In this oppressive environment, Saul is denied the freedom to speak his language or embrace his indigenous heritage and he witnesses all kinds of abuse at the hands of the very people who were entrusted with his care. Despite this, Saul finds salvation in the unlikeliest of places and favourite Canadian pastimes — hockey. Fascinated by the game, he secretly teaches himself how to not only play but develops a unique and rare skill. It’s as if he has eyes in the back of his head and can see the game in a way no other player can. His talent leads him away from the m

Filmmaker Ann Shin and Face2Face host David Peck do a, Part 2, follow up conversation and talk about inclusion, approaching others, what it means to be a neighbor, healing all wounds and how to be a supportive listener. Ann is a multiple award-winning Director, Producer and principal of Fathom Film Group. Her latest film, My Enemy, My Brother the short version was shortlisted for a 2016 Academy Award and nominated for an Emmy and was an 8-time winner of Best Short Documentary at international film festivals including Traverse City Film Festival, Grand Prize Winner of the Best Shorts Humanitarian Awards, the Sepanta Award for Best Short Film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42YFUwCnWzE Her cross-platform project The Defector film and interactive was selected into 27 international film festivals, and was nominated for 6 awards, winning Best Documentary and Best Documentary Director at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards. The Defector Interactive won the FITC Award, the Canadian Digi Award, and at the SXSW Interacti

Sally and I talked about her new film Midnight Return, irony, racism, the power of story through film and why truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Watch the Trailer here. Synopsis After his ingenious escape from a Turkish prison in 1975, Billy Hayes arrived home to a hero’s welcome, instant celebrity and within a week had a book and movie deal for his story. From the moment it stunned the world at the Cannes Film Festival in 1978, 'Midnight Express' cemented its place in film history as an artistic and financial success, before becoming an indelible part of pop culture. But its lasting impact has been on Turkish people worldwide who still condemn the film as racist and blame Billy Hayes for defaming them and their country.  Despite warnings from family and friends, Billy returns to Turkey and faces a nation still haunted by the film and his own demons. Biography Sally Sussman Morina was born in Toronto, Canada. She attended the University of Southern California and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast

Susan and I talked about her new film Living in The Future’s Past, the environment, desire and making better choices, hope, agency and about why life is really an invitation. Watch the Trailer and find out ore about the film here. Synopsis Living in the Future’s Past is a beautifully creative and unique film that weaves evolution, emergence, energy, dark ecology and what some are calling the end of nature into a story that explains our place among the species of the Earth’s household. Presented and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges and directed by Susan Kucera (Breath of Life, For the Love of Tango, Trading on Thin Air) will have its World Premiere at Santa Barbara International Film on Thursday February 1st 2018. Jeff Bridges presents this beautifully photographed tour de force of original thinking on who we are and the environmental challenges we face. The film upends our way of thinking and provides original insights into our subconscious motivations, the unintended consequences, what to

Michelle and I talked about her new film The Way Out and Islamophobia, the love of a Mother for her daughter, trauma, fear, religious ideology and why sometimes it’s easier to know less. In The Way Out, co-directors Michelle Shephard and David York, take an intimate journey with the mother (given the pseudonym Saeeda for her own protection), from Canada to Europe and Turkey and back again, as they work various channels seeking what a CSIS officer calls the “exfiltration” of Amina from inside the so-called Islamic State and into the custody of Canadian officials. Michelle Shephard stood among the crumbling remains of New York City’s World Trade Center on the night of 9/11 and asked, “Why?” So began her journalistic journey as the Toronto Star’s National Security reporter, looking for answers in the streets of Mogadishu, Sanaa, to the mountains of Waziristan, refugee camps in Dadaab and Peshawar, the corridors of power in Washington and Ottawa, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle and flying to the world’s most fa

Viveka Melki talks about her art exhibition War Flowers, our human tendency toward war, and the importance of telling the story. War Flowers is a multi-platform exhibition that will provide visitors with a unique immersive experience. It draws on letters written during World War I. Each letter home included a flower, poppies from Flanders and daisies from the Somme, picked from a battlefield and pressed between the pages. The letters written by Lt Col. Cant lie to his wife and children in Montréal, link to nine other key figures and provide perspectives on the Canadian contribution to the war effort. It is the story of humanity’s unfailing ability to find beauty in war. War Flowers: A Touring Art Exhibition curator Viveka Melki  is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter. She has lived, worked and traveled in cultures where repressive regimes are dominant. From these experiences are born her projects around conflict - and the capacity of the human spirit for resilience. Reflecting on the subject of war, she say

James Day   James Day and I talk about Charles Manson, crime, criminals and psychopaths, prison as a state of mind, history, alternate facts, his new film and why the truth can sometimes be really ugly.   Trailer   Synopsis   Narrated by musician and director Rob Zombie, the documentary focuses on the Manson family murders told from Manson’s perspective using never-before-seen case files, pictures and exclusive interviews with Manson himself from inside California State Prison. Charles Manson: The Final Words includes Manson’s eerie and disturbing conversations about modern society, justice, his decades behind bars, the Bernard Crowe shooting and the murders along with digitally restored audio recordings from the original investigations to reconstruct a path of events that led to the brutal slayings of movie star Sharon Tate and four of her friends on August 8, 1969 in addition to the murders of Gary Hinman and Donald “Shorty” Shea. The documentary also includes compelling new interviews with members of the M

Peter, Carla and Face2Face host David Peck talk about their new book The Giveback Economy, social enterprise, innovation and entrepreneurship, community bonds, and why fulfillment has to be about more than money. Biography Peter Miller was a banker; started six businesses; taught college entrepreneurship, social enterprise, and marketing; and has facilitated workshops and coaching for unemployed/underemployed and summer company students. He now is a strategic advisor and social enterprise coach, and has helped more than 720 start-ups and 20 social enterprises. Carla Langhorst firmly believes that doing good business includes doing good. After receiving an MBA from the University of British Columbia she launched a social enterprise in 2009, hiring marginalized people, and is the co-founder of an e-learning organization that has helped over 100,000 small-business owners. She currently works as a consultant for both social enterprises and non-profits. For more information about the book head here. ---------- For

Tarique Qayumi and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his new film Black Kite, Afghanistan, the Taliban, anarchism and freedom, hope and how kite flying is a lot like playing a video game. Biography Tarique Qayumi was born in Afghanistan and came to Canada as a refugee in 1983. He attended the Creative Writing Program at the University of British Columbia and graduate school at UCLA, where he completed his Screenwriting MFA and developed a strong interest in directing.  After graduating in 2010, Qayumi was approached by TOLO TV, the largest television station in Afghanistan, to direct a docudrama series. Driven by two objectives-- to get in touch with his roots and to create Afghan-centered stories--Qayumi made the difficult decision to return to Afghanistan.  While in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2015 he wrote, directed and produced Truth Unveiled, a sixteen part half-hour docudrama series; The Defenders, a six-hour drama miniseries; as well as Afghan Sesame Street, fifty half-hour episodes. During this time,

Michèle Hozer and Carlyn Moulton and Face2Face host David Peck talk about their new film Sponsorland, Syria, new Canadians, the power of community, banding together, having a can do attitude and why a family should be able to fit into a mini-van.   Biography With two films on the Oscar shortlist (Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, Promise to The Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman), Emmy-nominated (Promise to The Dead:  The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman) and Gemini-winning (Genius Within) Michèle Hozer has been working as a filmmaker and editor in Canada since 1987.  To date, she has worked on more than 50 documentaries that have received accolades from the world’s most prestigious film festivals, including the Sundance Film festival (Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire) and IDFA (West Wind The Vision of Tom Thompson) in Amsterdam.  In 2015 Michele completed Sugar Coated, her first solo feature length documentary as director, editor, and producer.  The doc was honoured w

Ann Shin and Face2Face host David Peck talk about her new film My Enemy, My Brother, context, crossing all cultures, friendship, serendipitous life changing events and the “…invisible letters of the heart.” IMDB Trailer Find out more about the film here. And learn more about Ann Shin here. Synopsis My Enemy, My Brother' is a feature length documentary about the real-life story of two former enemies from the Iran-Iraq war who become blood brothers for life. Meeting in Vancouver 30 years after Zahed, an Iranian child soldier saves Najah, a wounded Iraqi soldier's life, they are now about to embark on an emotional journey back to Iran and Iraq for the first time in 20 years.   Their journey takes them into the heart of present-day conflicts in a region ravaged by war and ISIS. Their quest is a surprising affirmation of redemption and humanity.  Biography Ann is a multiple award-winning Director, Producer and principal of Fathom Film Group. Her latest film, My Enemy, My Brother the short version was shortlisted f

Miranda Bailey and Face2Face host David Peck talk about her new film The Pathological Optimist, truth versus fiction, culpability and the media, hero worship, the Anti-Vax movement, family life and why she’s sometimes not so hopeful. Biography Miranda's first cinematic directorial debut was GREENLIT, a comedic documentary looking at the inherent hypocrisies surrounding Hollywood when trying to "green" a film set which debuted at SXSW in 2010. IFC International and Virgil Films picked it up for distribution. Since then, she directed the award winning narrative short ANOTHER HAPPY ANNIVERSARY which after a successful festival run premiered on Shorts TV and is hosted at Jill Soloway's website Wifey. TV promoting female film makers. Miranda also shot and directed The Behind the Scenes of James Gunn's SUPER and an episode of the web TV series FIRSTS. Miranda's second documentary feature, THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST, is an intimate portrait of the controversial and discredited Dr. Andrew Wakefield. The documentary pr