Sask. film production to star disability advocate and actor, Madison Tevlin
A young actress with Down syndrome is in Regina for a movie role in a Saskatchewan-based romantic comedy.
Madison Tevlin often gets over a million likes when she posts to social media. She first rose to prominence in 2015 with a viral cover of John Legend's 'All of Me.'
Since then, the young advocate, broadcaster and actor has been racking up a collection of film credits – most notably the 2023 film Champions starring Woody Harrelson.
This month, Tevlin is in the Queen City to shoot the film, which is titled One Perfect Date.
It's being shot in several locations around the city and in nearby Fort Qu'Appelle.
'Well, this is about Emma, who is a young adult who has Down syndrome and she is in pursuit of finding the love of her life,' explained Elise Beaudry-Ferland, a producer with Prairie Cat Productions.
Madison Tevlin
(Source: Instagram/madisontevlin)
The film is written and directed by Lucas Frison and is inspired by his earlier short film production called Pen Pals.
The feature length production promotes diversity and inclusivity.
'Just showing people with different disabilities on our screen is – that's what you see out in the world,' Frison said.
'The actors that we have in these roles are extremely talented, super funny. It's a coming-of-age romantic comedy so it's putting them front and centre and they're knocking it out of the park.'
One Perfect Date is one of the larger productions being shot in Saskatchewan this summer.
It's due for release in theatres next year.
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CBC
14 hours ago
- CBC
New collection of poet John Newlove's letters reveals the man behind the words
Guelph author publishes collection of letters from John Newlove 4 days ago Duration 1:48 "I'd like to live a slower life. The weather gets in my words and I want them dry." Those are the opening lines of The Weather, a poem by John Newlove. He was known as the Poet of the Prairies and he was inspired by the province where he was born. Saskatchewan's Newlove died in 2003, but a new collection of his letters, edited by Guelph author Jeff Weingarten, has been released to shine a light on who he was. Weingarten spoke with CBC K-W's Craig Norris, host of The Morning Edition, about this latest collection of Newlove work called The Weather and The Words. The following interview has been edited for clarity. Audio of the interview can be found at the bottom of this article. Craig Norris: Can you share what is it about John Newlove that has inspired you? Jeff Weingarten: In 1968, Maclean's magazine had published eight poems by John, and they prefaced that publication saying we never published poems and we're only publishing these because they're plain language. Anyone can read them, anyone can love them. And that to me sums up what's great about John's work. It's readable for the scholar, it's readable for the layperson. Anyone can pick up the poems and enjoy them. And the more time you spend with them, the more you'll find to love. There's a bit of an iceberg quality there, where you enjoy that first encounter, but the deeper you go, there's so much more. CN: When did you discover John Newlove? JW: The very first time was as assigned reading in my undergraduate [class] at the University of Toronto. But then a few years went by and as part of my masters I was expected to read very broadly and I came across him again at that point as a major voice of the 60s and 70s. It was a coincidence that while I was reading them, I thought, 'wow, this is really great poetry. I wonder what else he's done.' It turned out his selected poems had just been published that year along with a documentary. So I went through all that and took it as a sign to spend a bit more time with him. CN: Where did you find the letters that are in this book? JW: The majority of them came from the University of Manitoba and Winnipeg. I was there in 2011 for about two weeks, scanning, photographing everything I could get with the idea that one day I'd probably write a book of letters. So I gathered a lot of them from there, but I also had some time at the University of Toronto where they had about 25 per cent of all of his letters. The rest were from archives all over the country. I was emailing archives where I thought John might have written another poem and looked into their archives to see if John had letters there or I'd have friends and colleagues and writers say 'Oh, hey, like I have a couple letters from John if you want to take a look.' So they're from all over. CN: Who was he corresponding with in these letters? JW: A lot of different people, politicians and poets. He wrote letters to famous, well-known writers like Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Bowering, Al Purdy, a lot of these writers. They all ran in kind of the same circles and John was actually very good friends with quite a few of them. Atwood and John in particular were quite close for awhile. And so a lot of the letters are between poets and other writers, but publishers as well. He also worked as an editor at McLennan Stewart in Toronto. So he would be writing to poets or novelists as an editor, not as a friend or equal. And then he also has a lot of letters to family, also letters from fan mail students who would write him and ask, 'Where do the poems come from?' CN: How did you go about choosing which letters to include in the book? JW: That was really tough. There were about 3,000 letters I had to work through and I ended up with around 300. My main thing was I wanted the letters to be, I would describe it as kind of like a trinket store. You know, where you walk in and there's a bit of everything and you can pick whatever trinkets off the shelf that appeal to you as a reader. So some of the letters were about was John? What was he doing? How did he write? Some of them were about philosophy, like how did John and his contemporaries think about poems and writing? Others were about literary culture, like what was happening in Canada and Canadian history at that time. But then a lot of them are also about other things like John's struggle with mental illness and his mental health issues. John struggled with addiction and he was severely addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. I really wanted to show lots of different sides of the era and the person. I didn't want this to be just John and who was John as a poet, but who was John as a person? Who was the era? What was the era about? And I feel like the book shows a lot of different sides of people and the time. CN: Do you think that his alcohol addiction impacted his art at all? JW: Not necessarily his writing so much. He was very well known for having a totally tidy workspace and clean desk, clean little perimeter around his desk. No one could cross the perimeter. He lived there to write and no one bothered him. And at the same time throughout his career, as far as I'm aware, he would write sober. But when it came to other things, he worked drunk as an editor, he did talks drunk. He lived as a severe alcoholic and that got him into fights. He would really alienate a lot of people because he could be a pretty aggressive alcoholic when he was drunk, he could be very confrontational. There are letters in the book where he says, you know, I quit on Friday, but I got hired back on Monday after a big falling out with someone. So he had a lot of conflict with people and he alienated himself from a lot of people. CN: What do you think it is about letters that we find so interesting? JW: I say in the introduction to the book that it's like being a bit of a fly on the wall in the past. You get to see things that were never meant for public consumption, right? No one was ever meant to read these. There are poets who one day plan may say, 'Oh, I'm sure someone will read my letters.' They have that ego. But John especially did not have that ego. He writes openly. He doesn't think anyone will ever care about what he said. And so you find out, I think, things that John would never have said publicly about himself, about his family, about his writing. And I think you also get to really see kind of the person stripped bare. But I also think it's important to remember that, culturally, letters serve the function that nothing else could. There were no texts, there were no emails, there were no websites. Long distance calling was completely unaffordable. And many of these writers were so broke they didn't even have phones. A lot of the letters are letters of introduction, like, 'Hey, I read your poem from this issue of that magazine. I'm wondering if you wanna work on something with me.' There's fan mail or begging for money, there are even letters where he's writing to other poets saying, 'Hey, I'm broke, I can't afford groceries, could you send me a check?' So letters fulfilled a function that I think we really, really underestimate how important they were historically to form in community. So it's also like contemporary history.
Winnipeg Free Press
20 hours ago
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Meet the actor with Down syndrome who wants to run for president of Chile
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Sebastián Solorza is already a familiar face to many Chileans, having starred in a popular Netflix series and won national acting awards. Now, the 43-year-old actor with Down syndrome wants to enter the race for president in Chile's national election this year. Solorza is racing against the clock to gather 35,000 signatures by Aug. 18, a requirement for him to run as an independent candidate. He positions himself as a 'point of balance' between the far right and the far left — a fierce ideological battle that dominates Chile's political scene. 'I listen with my heart,' Solorza told The Associated Press, adding that his condition allows him to offer a softer communication style. Should he enter the electoral race, his platform will focus on greater inclusion, improved healthcare and education, and enhanced security — a main concern of citizens who have been grappling with an unprecedented crisis of violence in recent years. Chile will choose its new president on Nov. 16, with the campaign so far defined by the mutual attacks between the two main contestants: The far-right José Antonio Kast, who lost to current leftist president Gabriel Boric in 2021, and Jeannette Jara, the ruling coalition's communist nominee. With three months remaining until the election, polls show Kast and Jara vying for the top two spots. This scenario suggests they would face each other in a second-round runoff on Dec. 14. Solorza argues that his candidacy offers a middle ground between political extremes, while working toward a 'more inclusive country.' 'I've spent my entire life breaking down prejudices, as an actor, as a worker and as a citizen,' he said last month when announcing his plans to run as an independent candidate. 'We all deserve the same opportunities.' The actor hopes his candidacy will give greater visibility to people with Down syndrome and other disabilities. While it's unlikely he will secure the necessary support to run for president — he has collected a little over 600 of the 35,000 signatures required — he sees his political foray as a success. Demystifying myths and prejudices Solorza keeps a tight schedule, balancing an acting career with a day job at a construction company. In his limited free time, he spends time visiting Congress, talking with members of the Parliament and meeting with constituents to promote his campaign. On the streets of Huechuraba, a quiet and green neighborhood in the northern part of Chile's capital, Solorza is often greeted by supporters, fans, and workers from restaurants and cafés where he is a regular. Always smiling, he walks slowly, making time for anyone who wants a photo or a brief chat. In Valparaíso — a coastal town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Santiago — Chileans show up at the Parliament to express their support. 'Good luck with the signatures,' one supporter said last week. 'Let it be the people who ultimately decide our future.' Solorza's political aspirations open the door to 'raise the voices of people with Down syndrome' and help to 'demystify myths and prejudices still present in society,' said Carolina Gallardo, director of the Chilean nonprofit Down Up Foundation, which offers support and community for families raising children with Down syndrome. Fueled by the arts The attempt at a political debut is just the latest in a long line of barriers Solorza has overcome. He was born and raised in the 1980s, a time with far less knowledge about Down syndrome than today. His mother, Jenny Solorza, recalls his early years as 'very dark,' because doctors never provided a clear diagnosis for their son, leading them to search for information on their own. 'We wanted to do our best and always encouraged him with music,' she said. As a result, 'Sebastián has a very broad musical culture, and that's what he grew up with.' Solorza attended special schools where he developed his passion for the arts, fueled by music, rather than focusing on traditional academics. At 18, he received a scholarship to join a theater school and began performing regularly on stage and appearing in popular TV talk shows. He later rose to national fame for his leading role as Tomy in the Chilean thriller 'Chromosome 21.' The series, which follows a detective trying to determine if a young man found at a murder scene is a witness or a suspect, ranked second on Netflix in Chile just two days after its release in 2022. The part earned Solorza the Best New Actor award at the 2023 Caleuche Awards, one of the most important ceremonies in the Chilean film industry. Despite social media criticism that he lacks preparedness and political experience to run for office, he insists he will not be deterred. 'I know my candidacy would be uncomfortable for many,' he said. 'But I am here to support minorities.' ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
First Halal Fest hosted in Regina, organizers look to educate public on Islam
For the first time in Regina history, Halal Fest took place in the city. Hosted at the Darul Falah Islamic Centre on Saturday, a group of about 10 organizers came up with Halal Fest to show the religion of Islam. 'I think what's unique about this community is that in many ways, we are trying to figure out a mode of engaging Islam that can speak to this cultural context, without losing some of the things that we value from the places that we've come from,' said Aasif Bulbulia, who is the youth and community engagement officer at the Darul Falah Islamic Centre. 'It's a very exciting moment to be living through,' he added. Bulbulia moved from Johannesburg, South Africa this February to work at the Islamic Centre, but also at the Regina Youth Institute. The Muslim population in Regina sits at around 20,000 people. Clothing and Quran education were some of the booths set up at the event - but food seemed to be the most attractive event. Taste and Twist, a halal food truck business, used Halal Fest as a way to gain exposure in their first year of being in business. Selling food options such as chicken hotdogs, poutine and even AAA steak – Taste and Twist hopes that this can be a yearly tradition in the Regina area. 'I can say that for the organizers, for it [Halal Fest] being the first time, they are very brave,' said Habib, who is the owner of the food truck. 'It's a big event for them. But they're trying really hard. On top of that, those volunteers have done a really good job.' Habib moved to Canada in 2013 from Bangladesh and wants the festival to educate people on Islam and the difference between halal and non-halal food. 'When people shoot an animal and kill the animal, that's not the halal way,' Habib said. 'So, in the halal process, before we cut the animal, we pray to God and then we slaughter the animal. There's no difference, it's the same animal, same things. Just when they cut the animal instead of shooting, we cut the animal in the name of God,' he explained. For Bulbulia and the other organizers, they're hoping that the festival can be a mainstay for many years to come, along with educating on Islam on a 'deeper level'. 'We recognize and we understand that there may be many misconceptions that people have about Islam and about Muslims,' he said. 'I think we are living in a time where there's a deepening of polarization, there's a deepening of misunderstandings. There's a deepening of a lot of the racism and the bigotry that is tearing communities apart.' 'We believe it is necessary, especially to take proactive measures that will allow us to foster a deeper level of understanding so that we can get together, get to know one another, and hopefully strengthen the bonds of relationship, and kinship within our communities,' he added. If the festival returns next year, it's possible that it will switch locations due to capacity reasons.
