Canada Unscripted: Conversations with Canadian Media Icons showcases 21 of the most influential voices in Canadian film and broadcasting. In these intimate and often surprising interviews, celebrated actors, journalists, directors, and producers share stories that are raw, funny, and deeply revealing. At the heart of the book are the CBC and the National Film Board: two institutions that helped shape Canada's cultural identity. These conversations offer behind-the-scenes insight into landmark productions, pivotal news moments, and the personal journeys that shaped a generation of storytellers. With reflections that range from the political to the poetic, this is a book for readers who care about media, memory, and the power of creativity. The interviews were conducted by Vic Sarin, one of Canada's most acclaimed filmmakers, whose career has spanned continents, genres, and generations. With warmth and insight, Vic draws out the essence of each storyteller.
About the Author :
Vic Sarin, born in Kashmir, India, is a renowned Canadian filmmaker celebrated as a director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Moving to Canada in 1963, he began a long career with CBC Television before establishing his own company, Sepia Films. His cinematography credits include Margaret's Museum, Whale Music, Nowhere to Hide, Norman's Awesome Experience, and Riel. As a director, his fiction films include Cold Comfort, Partition, Left Behind, Shine of Rainbows, and Cry From the Sea. His award-winning documentaries include Hue, The Boy from Geita, and Keepers of the Magic. Among his accolades are the Directors Guild of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award and appointment to the Order of Canada in 2022. He is the author of Eyepiece: Adventures in Canadian Film and Television and the audiobook Gung Ho Filmmaking.
Review :
Where do Canada's media icons come from? Why, from the CBC and the NFB, of course! Here we meet the movers and shakers who made those institutions so crucially important - and helped shape Canada along the way. Yes, from William Shatner to Peter Mansbridge and Tantoo Cardinal, and from Denys Arcand to David Suzuki and Alanis Obomsawin, they're all here. This is a who's who spanning decades - one that reminds us of where we are and how we got here.
--Ken McGoogan, author of Shadows of Tyranny: Defending Democracy in an Age of Dictatorship
