Episode 312: Sara Canning Returns

Award-winning actress Sara Canning (Remedy, The Vampire Diaries) returns to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about Sweetland. Based on the book by Michael Crummey and adapted for the screen by Christian Sparkes, who also directed, Sweetland draws its inspiration from Newfoundland’s controversial resettlement program, which has removed hundreds of communities from the map. As the film opens, the government is ready to resettle the far-flung fishing community of Sweetland with a healthy pay-out, but only if the entire community signs up for the move. Retired fisherman Moses Sweetland is one of the last hold-outs, which doesn’t make him popular in town. Sara is Clara, the mother of a very special young boy who has a kinship with Moses but who would benefit from treatment and therapies that aren’t available in Sweetland but are available in St John’s. Sweetland is devastating, stirring, and haunting – and for Sara, a born Newfoundlander and long-time fan of the book, the film is something of a homecoming. On May 17, Sweetland will begin an extended at VIFF Centre in Vancouver. In this special episode featuring one of British Columbia’s – and Newfoundland’s – finest actresses, Sara talks about her journey to and with Sweetland, how place influences story, and the Newfoundland of it all. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA