Teaching Tom Cruise about sealskin: Inuit star in new Mission Impossible movie
A couple of years ago, Lucy Tulugarjuk got a call while she was working on a film in her home community of Igloolik. It was a call asking the well-known Nunavut director and actress if she wanted to be part of the new Mission Impossible movie — The Final Reckoning.
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CTV News
42 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘My dream is to be in every waterfront in Canada' Mizo Drinks adds sweet success to the Halifax waterfront
What started as a one-man-show has grown into a refreshing business for a young entrepreneur in Halifax. Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Menza Mohamed has put his business degree from Cape Breton University to good use. 'I graduated with no money at all. So, I saved $600 in six months,' Menza 'Mizo' said. 'I bought a little cart and I put a sink in it with two ice boxes, put in some coconuts and went to Rainbow beach.' And people loved it. The beach goers encouraged him to make his business more professional, which led to his next steps. 'I invested all the money I made on the coconuts and bought a utility trailer,' he explained. While he wanted a food truck, it was too expensive at the time, so he made the trailer work. 'I got the trailer, made the window, built some shelves, put in some plumbing and two blenders and started selling pineapple smoothies, watermelon smoothies and coconuts.' People flocked to the trailer and so he decided to keep growing the business, getting another trailer, upgrading the menu and serving two beaches, Crystal Crescent and Rainbow Haven. 'Our family got bigger, and we had really good staff, and the business grew faster than we thought,' he said. 'And this year we just opened on the Halifax waterfront.' 'This was my dream the last couple years since I opened the company. This is what the waterfront needs.' From coconuts to smoothies, Mizo Drinks now serves smoothie bowls and lemonades at the waterfront location. And they are always looking to expand their menu. 'We try to be creative with the items we have. We looked in the market, made our research, see where the gap is and we try to fill the gap with new items,' the business major said. In addition to the creative drinks, customer service is top priority. 'We are largely based on our connections with our customers and how we listen so deeply to customer feedback,' explained Amelie Moulin, the first employee turned manager at Mizo Drinks. 'For example, the strawberry banana smoothie was not on menu last year, and we only brought it from high customer request. So, I think customers see how we implement their suggestions into our menu.' The product is what makes customers come back, Moulin said. 'I never treat any person as a customer,' said Mohamed. 'That's I think what makes us a little bit unique.' Treating people like family and making sure they feel valued is one of the reasons Moulin is excited to continue this next chapter with Mizo Drinks. 'I think for a small food business this is almost all of our dreams,' she said about being a permanent shop on the waterfront. 'And it just means so much to me. Especially that customers recognize us from the beaches. It's just so exciting to make even bigger connections with the community.' Mohamed is originally from Egypt, with his mother, father and sister still back home. 'I'm very proud of myself. I finally made my family proud. My father is proud of me,' he said with a smile. 'In Egypt, part of the culture is you must grow up to be an engineer, or doctor, or businessman. I'm the only one if the family who decided to open my own business. So that's what I'm proud of.' And the quality of product is something he continues to be proud of. 'Our product we choose the best supplier. We need pineapple, I will get three different pineapples. I will see which one is the best,' he said. 'Maybe one is a bit pricey than the other, but the quality first and then the price. And also, we do lots of research and development.' Spending the off season testing new flavours, Mizo Drinks will be importing mangos from Egypt later this summer. Though business can get draining at times, Mohamed reminds himself why he is here, by looking back three years. 'When I feel a little bit down, I look at the first cart, I look at the pictures where I started,' he explained. 'Where I just wearing a shirt half open and just standing on top of cart, casually talking to people at the beach as if we are family.' That's the business model he continues with. Mizo Drinks got its name from Mohamed, who is nicknamed Mizo. He was told he needed a name for the business when applying for a permit, and needed something longer than Mizo, so drinks was added. The name stuck. The business is growing, and for Mohamed, hopefully not stopping in Halifax. 'I thought it was just in my head. I never thought it's going to be something to happen in the future,' he said. 'So right now I can believe what I'm dreaming. It's not just a dream; I'm living my dream. So, my dream is to be in every waterfront in Canada.' For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
43 minutes ago
- CTV News
Southcentre Mall highlights Indigenous fashion for National Indigenous History month
Southcentre Mall's centre court has a display of work from Indigenous designers for the month of June, which is National Indigenous History Month. Southcentre Mall is putting the spotlight on Indigenous style with a cultural display, fashion show and market. All of the events will happen in the mall's centre court in June in celebration of National Indigenous History month. They're organized by Authentically Indigenous, a local group founded by sisters Autumn and Melrene Saloy-EagleSpeaker that focusses on Indigenous creativity, arts and culture. Melrene says the mall's cultural display will have 10 outfits created by Indigenous designers. 'Our Indigenous designers, our Inuit designers, all have amazing stories of their heritage and their culture and their blood memory that they want to share with the world,' she said. 'What we do is, we take these traditions and colors and patterns, and we incorporate it in today's fashion using modern elements of using sewing machines and other amazing things.' Melrene says all the designers incorporate old and new elements to make something interesting and fresh. 'It's an amazing step in reconciliation,' she said. 'Sometimes culturally based events and things can be a little intimidating, and fashion is an amazing opener. We're able to open up dialog and talk about our stories and where we come from, and to see what we've been doing for so long and the amazing people we are today.' Melrene is also a designer who shows her garments on runways around the world and uses traditional items like sage and sweetgrass in her work. She says for her, designing is her own personal medicine, and she enjoys creating and showing pieces that her uniquely hers. 'It's kind of my way of saying that I'm a Blackfoot artist, of where I come from in the traditional sense, that's inside my pieces.' Risa Fritz just opened the Brass Buffalo Trading Post and Gallery in Longview, Alta., south of Calgary. She says her style is a blend of her Indigenous culture with western cowboy lifestyle, something she's excited to show off. 'I've sat quietly at home doing alterations and hiding my talent and not pursuing my dreams,' she said. 'So, this opportunity is huge for me. I'm so excited to be a part of this and I'm looking forward to showing people my work.' Fritz says she takes from her Metis background and incorporates beadwork into buffalo and elk hide to create wearable art. 'It means so much to me to piece things that are from the land, from the culture, things that I have got from my family,' she said. 'Maybe my family has had a hand in harvesting the animal or creating the antler or the hides… and then blending it with my ideas or my vision of what I see for the piece.' The cultural display will run from June 1 to 23. The Indigenous Artisan Market will take place on Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7. The fashion show, called Rez in the City 2.0, will be held from 8 to 10 p.m. on June 22. Tickets are available for purchase online through Show Pass.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
How will Canadian film and TV change if streamers don't pay into it?
For the past two weeks, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) held hearings to expand their definition of Canadian content. The CRTC also discussed how digital streamers in the country, such as Netflix and Disney+, should contribute a percentage of their Canadian revenue toward a Canadian content fund — something every other national broadcaster does. But the streamers don't want to pay. Today on Commotion, host Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks with storyteller Jesse Wente, policy expert Vass Bednar, and showrunner Anthony Q. Farrell about what this lack of investment means for the future of Canadian content. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Elamin: If we look at the current rules, large English language broadcasters have to contribute 30 per cent of their revenue — it's a pretty significant chunk — back into Canadian broadcasting programming. Last year, the CRTC ordered that streaming services, like Netflix, like Disney, like Amazon, have to pay five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to a fund to make Canadian content right here. So it's definitely not an even playing field by any stretch. To give people an example to wrap your head around it: you go to Disney+, the broadcaster. They carry Shōgun, right? Shōgun wins a historic amount of Emmys. That show is shot in this country, it's shot here in Canada. The streamer position, if I understand it correctly, is saying, "We'll invest in your industry on our own terms." Which is to say, "We'll shoot our shows here, but we won't necessarily make a show that is specifically Canadian," or that that money will necessarily have to stay in Canada. Vass, what's on the line if they don't pay an equal share? Vass: Higher barriers to entry for artists and creators, little to no investment in the next generation of content creators, a loss of voices and diversity and perspectives and richness. It's not just not paying into the system — it's also about control. I think [the hearing] is about being assertive and recognizing that there's a role for the state to make these markets more free and fair and tailor them in a way that works for Canada and is aligned with our values and what we care about for future generations. That's why I also come back to the element of control, and our algorithmic sovereignty in our everyday lives. I can't program my discoverability. I can't say on Netflix or on YouTube, "I'd like to see a certain proportion of Canadian content" or "Show me more films made by women." You're always dependent on their categorizations and what they're surfacing. So it really is about us versus digital forces and a data-driven context, where we're losing power — not just as Canadians, but we're losing power as consumers, too. In terms of our ability to choose what we enjoy, and what we support with our time and attention and our money, that's at risk too. Elamin: Anthony, the streamers already have so much power here. What does their stance in this position tell you right now? Anthony: Pardon the cuss, but that's malarky. The streamers are not here in Canada because they want to make Canada a better place. They're here because we're convenient. They're here because we're good at what we do. They're here because we are right beside America, who is the biggest exporter of content. We understand them. We can make shows similar to them. We can do a lot of those things for less of a price tag, right? They're here because we're good for them. So for them to say, "We're already putting money into the system"— yeah, you're doing that because it's helpful to you. What you should be doing, is you've got to play like everyone else. I have Disney+, I have Netflix, and as a TV writer, I also have cable. So my Rogers subscription, my money goes back into the system. My Netflix subscription, no money goes back into the system. And if people are cutting Canadian cable and just going to American streamers, how are we going to protect Canadian artists, to make future shows? And [the streamers] are saying, "We're giving all the key grips, and we're giving all the service production people money." Cool, but how are we going to be able to make more Canadian content, unless we're actually filling back up those coffers, right? So what [the CRTC] are asking for is not a lot, considering that they were suggesting five per cent, where other Canadian broadcasters are having to give 30. That's not a lot. You're already making money. It's not like we're taking money you don't have. It's based on your revenue. I think I understand the fight, because these big corporations are always going to be trying to figure out ways to keep their profits as high as possible… But I hope the CRTC is seeing all this, and we'll get a ruling in the next year or so, and we'll be able to build our business back up. Because it has been a struggle with the Canadian industry, over the last few years especially. So it'll be good to be able to get people working. Elamin: Right now, a show or a movie qualifies as CanCon based on who makes it and where it's made. That's interesting to me, because we're sitting a couple days after The Apprentice, the Donald Trump movie, won best picture at the Canadian Screen Awards. Famously, Donald Trump is not Canadian, and very few of the cast are…. That movie was made in conjunction with a Canadian production company, so it becomes a Canadian picture. One of the suggestions floated [at the hearing] was that to qualify as CanCon, a show would have to look and feel distinctly Canadian. I don't know what that means. Jesse, what are the pros and cons of expanding the definition to consider the Canadianness of a story here? Jesse: To understand Canadianness, I, like you, would struggle to understand what exactly that is. Beyond Anne of Green Gables as the most persistent Canadian storytelling, I don't know what else that would be, other than, I flash back to Score: A Hockey Musical. My approach to this has always been: I care much less about the what is being made and the storytelling, and I care much more about the who. For years, I've been advocating for Indigenous people to have space. And it wasn't so that they could tell a specific story, that wasn't the point. Because I don't know what stories Indigenous storytellers are going to want to tell, and I want them to have freedom. This is the point: the freedom to tell, whatever that looks like for them. The way the [CanCon] point system has worked — and this is true in music too — they would classify above the line talent. And what that means, is the folks who make the creative decisions: basically the producer, the writer, the songwriter, the artist. It matters less where it's made — although in music, it does very much matter where it was recorded — but it doesn't so much matter for that on film and TV. So we've famously made American movies, like X-Men movies and all of this stuff, in Canada for decades and decades. I think this always gets back to: what do Canadians want? Because the choice point is, ultimately, you could just become a service sector for America, which is what they do with China when it comes to their manufacturing. They outsource all the making of the thing to a different country, but all the money returns to America. And we already have a significant amount of the sector that already does that. We call it "service productions to the U.S." But what you don't necessarily get out of that is our own stories, and that's ultimately what we're asking for.
