Braaains

As the constant scrutiny of our appearance has become increasingly normalized, filmmaker and actress Maddy Foley goes to the extreme to explore the cost of our relentless pursuit of perfection in her TIFF-premiering short, Fivehead. Fivehead follows Eve, whose childhood insecurity resurfaces after an arcade caricature artist draws her with an impossibly oversized forehead. What begins as a playful joke quickly spirals into a dark obsession with transforming her appearance.  In Fivehead, body horror and comedy become the perfect vehicles for exploring the lengths we'll go to achieve our idea of perfect. In a frank conversation about rumination, body dysmorphia, and OCD, we deep dive into the question: how far is too far when it comes to changing ourselves? Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Writer and creative producer, Helene Taylor, joins us to talk about her recent diagnosis with Frontotemporal Dementia, or FTD. Throughout this conversation, we cover what FTD is, how it is diagnosed, and what to do now to reduce cognitive decline.  We also discussed films such as Still Alice, which represents dementia in a very real way, especially when it comes to the experience of carers, and Shrinking, which shows a character figuring out how to maintain autonomy and live life with a degenerative disease. We also talked about the importance of prioritizing important experiences in our lives including going to events like TIFF, where we also saw other dementia related films such as The Road Not Taken and Arrested Memories Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Our guest, Tom Sinclair, is an actor and filmmaker based in Winnipeg who joined us to talk about his journey into acting and filmmaking in Manitoba and his experience working on the feature film, Champions, which was his acting debut. We first met Tom at Banff World Media Festival as he was a DSO (Disability Screen Office) delegate like Heather! DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-EP084-Champions-and-Intellectual-Disabilities-Transcript.pdf  Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Veteran Filipinx-American filmmakers and LGBTQIA+ activists Desireena Almoradie and Barbara Malaran join us to talk about their new film, BECAUSE OF YOU: A HISTORY OF KILAWIN KOLEKTIBO. This doc is the first archival look at a previously uncovered era of 90s queer activism amongst a group of Filipinxs activists and artists that started in New York City and rippled across the U.S. and Canada.  In this conversation, we discussed the history of this film's making, memory, forgiveness, finding joy in community, and the complications that live alongside any group fighting for change.  Transcript: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Episode-83-Transcript_-Because-of-You_-A-History-of-Kilawin-Kolektibo-and-Filipinx-queer-ac-cbx2.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Brian Ceci is a filmmaker and cinematographer who has worked on productions in over 30 countries across six continents. Brian's feature film debut as a director, 'Heard,' chronicles his experience being Hard of Hearing as he talks to other Hard of Hearing (HoH) creatives across BC who use their hearing loss to further their practice as artists and creatives.  Today's conversation delves into Brian's inspiration for Heard and how making this film helped him continue exploring his own place on the Hard of Hearing Spectrum. We also spoke about the Deaf community, deaf gains, deaf joy, and how riding motorcycles gives Brian a sense of normalcy in a world that can feel socially isolating.  Transcript: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-EP082_Heard_-A-Film-about-the-Hard-of-Hearing-Spectrum-transcript.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast