Made for smartphones, verticals are bringing much needed work to Hollywood North
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Actor Nic Westaway's resumé has a notable thread running through it.
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'I think I've played 10 billionaires, maybe 12,' he said.
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Since last year, the Vancouver-based actor has been a sought-after star in the world of verticals, also known as micro-dramas. The Australian transplant, who did four seasons on the hit Australian soap opera Home and Away, has starred in 19 verticals in the last 1½ years.
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Meant to be watched on your phone, verticals are feature film-length stories typically broken down into 70 to 150 episodes of 60 to 90 seconds each.
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'It's this weird mash up. It's like, if Hallmark and telenovela had a throuple with a B movie is how I like to describe it,' said Vancouver actor Alicia Read, who has made 10 verticals to date. Read, along with a few others, has formed the Vertical Film & Short Series Alliance (www.thevfssa.org) to help TV Land film people navigate the exploding world of verticals.
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The stories are watched using vertically oriented apps such as ReelShort, FlickReels, DramaBox and GoodShort. Each platform usually offers between 10-20 free, cliffhanger-packed, episodes to hook the viewer. After that, it will cost you US$20 to US$40 to continue to view.
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'They know when people are clicking. They know how far they go in before they start to lose interest,' said Vancouver casting agent Monika Dalman, who notes she has lost count of the number of verticals projects she has worked on since 2023. Dalman's stopped counting after number 40. 'They know what specific cliffhangers are making people pay for the rest of it.'
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They also decide via data what the next scripts will be.
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'I'm all in on this sector,' said Jimmy Wu, a producer/cinematographer and founder of Vancouver production company Vertical film Vancouver/Section Cinema Inc., which has 20 vertical projects to its credit.
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An early adopter, Wu produced his first vertical in December 2023. For each project, Wu employs anywhere between 20 and 40 cast members, 95 per cent of whom are local.
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The way things typically work is a company reaches out to a producer and gives them a script from a previously produced project, most likely from an Asian market. It is then westernized.
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The plots lean toward revenge or rags-to-riches stories, with a soap opera/telenovela flavour. There are hidden identities, lost loves, unknown fortunes — and sometimes werewolves, vampires, and more billionaires than Mar-a-Lago's membership list. The narratives are big on dramatic gasps and slapping.
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Coast Salish art is in demand and transforming Vancouver's public art sphere
For decades, Indigenous artists from Vancouver's local nations who wanted to make a living found the main path to success was to create something that looked like what non-Indigenous people recognized as 'their' art. Totem poles. Face masks or murals with stylized Haida- or Kwakiutl-like designs from British Columbia's north. Baskets. More totem poles. But now the city and its local nations are seeing an explosion of interest in and commissions for Coast Salish art, a style that is distinct from the totem poles and face masks typical of more northern nations. Coast Salish territory reaches from the Columbia River in Oregon and covers the Lower Mainland and parts of the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island. Public installations of these styles are slowly transforming the look of Vancouver and offering residents a new awareness of the very different regional art traditions among B.C. Indigenous bands and nations. Those new art pieces are reviving traditional local styles and forging new approaches. 'I think I've created a new visual identity in my practice, through contemporary Coast Salish design,' says James Harry, a 35-year-old Squamish artist whose work was recently installed at the entrance to the prominent new PCI Developments rental and office tower going up at Broadway and Granville. In collaboration with his creative partner Lauren Brevner, he is mounting the artwork on a two-storey high column, a blend of metal and charred cedar. The work is a representation of SínulhKa, the double-headed serpent that is prominent in Squamish legends. It's meant to be just one of many elements of Coast Salish representation in Vancouver's Broadway Plan, which has a 'Cultural Ribbon' planned for the northern edge of the area crucial to the revitalization of one of the city's main east-west arteries. Mr. Harry also just had a major piece mounted on the waterfront in Squamish, and a work at the new public pool in New Westminster was installed this year. He's doing commissions that will see his work displayed at the new SHAPE Properties development in Burnaby, B.C., and a retirement home in South Granville. He sees all of his art as more than decorative objects. The works are meant to help people understand the underlying history and culture of the city. 'I want to get it out there,' says Mr. Harry. 'The work will do social and political work over decades.' That's the hope of many who are involved in the new tide of local Indigenous art in the region. 'What I'm seeing is there's a recognition that Coast Salish identity has been absent from city planning and public-realm development,' says Ginger Gosnell-Myers, who was Vancouver's first Indigenous-relations manager and now works on a variety of consulting and community-building projects. 'It's a form of reconciliation and it's ensuring people in the Lower Mainland know whose distinct territories they are on.' Unusual Lawren Harris painting showing in Nova Scotia to mark William Davis centenary One of the earliest Coast Salish artists to get commissions to work locally was Susan Point, a Musqueam printmaker and sculptor who started doing small pieces in Vancouver – metal medallions embedded in sidewalks, storm sewer covers – in the mid-'90s to mid-2000s. The Vancouver airport was also an early adopter of her work. Now she's ubiquitous: A wooden gateway, titled People Amongst the People, in Stanley Park (2008); The Story of Life, a mural in pre-cast concrete funded by the Port of Vancouver near the North Vancouver terminals (2014); Salish Gifts made out of concrete, bronze and stone at the Marine Gateway development in south Vancouver (2015); the Water Guardians at Hazelgrove Park in Surrey, a stylized red metal lily pad with frogs (2016). Ms. Point has said in the past that Coast Salish art went unrecognized and uncelebrated for many years because it came from areas where the new colonists to British Columbia settled heavily. Preserving the stories and treasures of the Nuxalk nation Since those early years, demand has boomed for Coast Salish artists from a range of sources. A small group of private developers has worked to integrate art into their projects, the Grant family's PCI Developments in particular. The developer is planning to incorporate more Coast Salish elements around the future Emily Carr SkyTrain station and not necessarily just physical art pieces. Recordings of storytelling or music may be included. More works are expected in the same area: Onni Group, Low Tide Properties (the real-estate operation of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson) and Vancouver Community College also all have building projects in the works. BC Housing has commissioned work from Squamish artist Debra Sparrow, who will weave two blankets that will be translated to the façade of the new First United social housing building on East Hastings street. The B.C. government office planning the Broadway subway says it will incorporate Indigenous art at stations – but there is no word on whose work yet. The many Indigenous-led development projects around the region, from Lelem near UBC lands, Kwesem in Burnaby, Jericho and Heather lands in Vancouver, and the Senakw development next to the Burrard Bridge are all incorporating the work of local artists. City governments are also piling in, taking care to include bands and nations whose territory they are on. In Surrey, four different pieces by Kwantlen artist Phyllis Atkins adorn various parks and public places. In May, Katzie artist Rain Pierre celebrated the unveiling of his art piece featuring painted bears on glass at Maple Ridge's Albion Community Centre. But Vancouver is the most active. The city's public-art program has seen six civic art projects by the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh launched in the last four years, along with 16 private-development projects. Among them, sculptures of ravens by Coast Salish artist Thomas Cannell will sit atop a new rental apartment building on the city's west side. The city's art program also has four artworks from other Indigenous nations under way and another two completed at private developments in various places. 'Everybody has a sense there's a lot going on but no one knows the total scope,' says Eric Fredericksen, the head of Vancouver's public art program. And the sudden crush is actually leading to some unintended consequences. Cory Douglas, an Indigenous art consultant who has been hired by the city to develop concepts for the Broadway Plan, said there are about 300 Squamish artists in the Lower Mainland but only a dozen or so working in the Coast Salish art tradition, so those few artists are being swamped with potential commissions. The new direction is also changing the demand for Indigenous artists who aren't Coast Salish members. 'It's pushing out urban Indigenous – there's not as much work for them,' said Ms. Gosnell-Myers about the many artists from bands and nations outside the Lower Mainland who now live in Vancouver. 'They don't have a town or an economy to support them and now there's less opportunity for them. Still, there is excitement that Vancouver is becoming a living gallery for the new work that goes far beyond the conventional forms of public art. 'We have canoe carving, song, performance, painting, weaving,' says Mr. Douglas. 'All of these are being used as an inspiration. That is the power of our public art initiative.'
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
All aboard… for chills
Linwood Barclay, the U.S.-born, Ontario-based author of many bestselling thrillers and mystery novels, tries his hand at a supernatural thriller oozing with homages to Stephen King in Whistle. Annie Blunt, a bestselling children's book author, is suffering from a traumatic pair of events. Inspired by her popular picture book character Pierce the Penguin, a young boy tries to fly using cardboard wings and plummets to his death. While Annie struggles with feeling responsible for this tragedy, her husband is killed in a hit-and-run car accident. At the behest of her editor, Annie and her young son Charlie retreat to a rented mansion in upstate New York to try and recover some sense of normalcy. The quiet, slow pace of country life seems to be working until Charlie comes across an old model train set. Daniel Crump / Free Press files After setting it up and obsessively running the toy along its track, a number of strange events begin to unfold. And veering away from the cuddly Pierce, Annie's new idea for a character is much darker and more sinister than anything she's attempted before. There's a second storyline woven into the pages of Whistle, one that follows Harry Cook, the chief of police in the small town of Lucknow, Vt. and taking place not long after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Beginning with the mysterious disappearances of two men, a number of odd accidents befall the town, all seeming to somehow connect with the new specialty shop Choo-Choo's Trains and its eccentric owner Edwin Nabler. Fans of Stephen King will likely see a parallel to the 1991 novel Needful Things. Barclay is not shy about how much King has influenced this particular novel, and he includes a number of nods to other King titles including Christine, It and Maximum Overdrive. As well as drawing heavily on Needful Things and its villain Leland Gaunt, Whistle's villain also bears some resemblance to Andre Linoge, the creepy and mysterious bad guy of the 1999 made-for-TV miniseries Storm of the Century, also penned by King. Barclay is clearly a fan and makes no secret of the various influences which have inspired his foray away from thrillers and into supernatural chiller territory. Given that Barclay is playing (at least partially) with a less-modern setting, he might have been better suited to push the timeline back even further, to when model trains were actually popular. There are a couple of half-hearted snipes at video games and other modern toys compared to the precision and uniqueness of the trains, but it seems a stretch that these characters would have taken the slightest interest in this hobby without the supernatural persuasion of Edwin Nabler. Ellis Parinder photo Linwood Barclay And while the titular spooky shop called Needful Things catered to the many tastes of the town residents, Choo-Choo's Trains feels a little too niche for its influence to spread through the whole town. Billed as a spooky chiller, Whistle certainly has elements of horror, but doesn't really evoke many scares. For fans of Barclay's previous oeuvre and other mysteries, this is probably just enough spookiness to remain enjoyable, whereas devoted horror fans may find this one a touch too cozy. And while Barclay uses the split narrative akin to It, breaking the narrative into two branches does cut the tension. In Whistle readers' connection to Annie and Charlie builds, when the narrative suddenly breaks and introduces a whole slew of new characters in Harry's storyline. And because the reader knows Harry's plot takes place 20-some-odd years before Annie's, it can be difficult to invest in that plot. The two plot threads eventually do come together, though it does seem a little forced and relies heavily on coincidence. But like many King novels, Whistle works best when not taken too seriously and simply enjoyed as a thrill ride. A breezy and fun read, Whistle will appeal to fans of vintage Stephen King, particularly the stories set in the Castle Rock region. It doesn't reinvent the formula or introduce anything new, but it might just scratch that particular itch for the type of story King doesn't seem to be as interested in producing anymore. Whistle Keith Cadieux is a Winnipeg writer and editor. His latest story collection, Donner Parties and Other Anti-Social Gatherings, is out now from At Bay Press. He also co-edited the horror anthology What Draws Us Near, published by Little Ghosts Books.
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Curling legend Jones' memoir coming this fall
One of Canada's most decorated and beloved curlers will tell her life's story in a memoir slated to be released this fall. Winnipeg-born, Ontario-based Jennifer Jones, who has won two world championships, an Olympic gold medal and many more accolades (and whose face adorns the wall of the St. Vital Curling Club), will release Rock Star: My Life On and Off the Ice, on Aug. 26 via HarperCollins. The book, co-written with curling writer Bob Weeks, chronicles juggling a law career with throwing rocks, the strains that emerged between teammates and the challenges of balancing her curling schedule and motherhood. Behind You Buy on ● ● ● B.C.-born, Winnipeg-based Art Miki has won the $10,000 Canada-Japan Literary Award for his book Gaman — Perseverance: Japanese Canadians' Journey to Justice, published by Talonbooks. Buy on Released in December 2023, in Gaman the former president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians details the path to reconciliation and resolution taken by Japanese-Canadians around and after the Second World War, when many were interned. The prize was awarded to Miki by the Canada Council for the Arts. ● ● ● Award-winning Ontario author Catherine Hernandez has been named the fall 2025 Jake MacDonald writer-in-residence by the University of Winnipeg. Hernandez is of Filipino, Spanish, Chinese and Indian descent and the author of four novels for adults, including 2017's Scarboorugh, a Canada Reads finalist, as well as Crosshairs and The Story of Us. Her latest, Behind You, was published in 2024 by HarperCollins. Buy on Hernandez will be available for manuscript consultations and to answer questions from Sept. 8-Dec. 8. She'll also be participating in a number of other activities while serving in the position, including readings, lectures, Q&As, masterclasses and more. For more information, see ● ● ● I Hope This Finds You Well Last week it was noted in this space that Winnipeg Cree author Rosanna Deerchild had received two honorary doctorates in a month. This week it was announced she has won the Indigenous Voices Award for poetry published in English — and the accompanying $5,000 prize. Deerchild won the prize for her collection She Falls Again, published by Coach House Press. Buy on In the published prose category, Kanien'kehá:ka author Wayne K. Spear and Dene politician and advocate Georges Erasmus won for Hòt'a! Enough!: Georges Erasmus's Fifty-Year Battle for Indigenous Rights, published by Dundurn Press. Buy on Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. ● ● ● Natalie Sue has won the 2025 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for her novel I Hope This Finds You Well, published by HarperCollins. Buy on The Calgary-based author edged out former Winnipegger Greg Kearney's An Evening With Birdy O'Day (published by Arsenal Pulp Press) and Patricia Parsons' We Came From Away (published by Moonlight Press) for the top award, which comes with a $25,000 prize. Each of the runners up receive $5,000. books@ Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
