Wander the city with Shawn Micallef
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This week's guest curator is Shawn Micallef, columnist with the Toronto Star, co-founder of Spacing magazine and author of several books on city-building including Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto and Full Frontal TO, which was nominated for the 2013 Toronto Book Award. Shawn's writing often takes a close look at where and how people live in urban spaces. Now that he's confined to his home, Shawn ventures out into the city through his new favourite Canadian TV show.
People have been chattering about Kim’s Convenience for four seasons now, but somehow in all that time I didn’t manage to watch a single episode. It wasn’t until we were stuck at home that I started watching it, and instantly got pulled into the fun. So, while I know this show isn’t a great secret, catching up on all four seasons is easy right now, and the lighthearted tone is like an elixir at the end of these long days. Also, I live in Toronto, where the show is shot and set, and I love seeing the glimpses of my city in the cuts between scenes. Kim’s Convenience doesn’t hide the fact that it’s Canadian, with flashes of our colourful cash money and other inside jokes for the home-country crowd. — Shawn Micallef
You can watch Kim's Convenience on CBC Gem.
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If you enjoyed traversing Toronto with Shawn's pick, here's another TV series that'll take you places — this time, up North. CBC's Arctic Air stars Adam Beach as a headstrong bush pilot for a maverick airline on the verge of collapse. As a long-time fan of Beach, I love seeing him play a role other than a stereotypical Indigenous man in skins and feathers. There's no shortage of nail-biting suspense as Beach's character Bobby and his crew battle bush fires and fly through bad weather. Plus, the show is set in Yellowknife so we get to enjoy expansive vistas of the North without leaving our homes. — Shazlin Rahman
You can watch Arctic Air on APTN.
Atom Egoyan's film adaptation of a Russel Banks novel is set in a small town in B.C. The Sweet Hereafter centres on a school bus accident that killed 14 kids — a tragedy that anchors the film in grief and how different people connected to the accident come to terms with it. From British Columbia to Ontario, the remote locations where the film was shot draws you in to the shock, sadness and profound sense of loss that follow the death of a loved one. — SR
You can watch or rent this film on Amazon Prime.