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Contra Zoom Pod
by Dakota Arsenault
Contra Zoom is a film based podcast going in depth about varying movie related subjects. Dakota Arsenault and guests go over both academic and the fun aspects of enjoying the film medium. Episodes feature lists, interviews and comparisons. Visit contrazoompod.com for more details!
Episodes
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346: 2026 VIFF Wrap Up
The 45th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival ran from October 1st to the 11th and we talk about some of our favourite films that played. Joining the show is Darren Zakus, lead reviewer from Movie Scene Canada and Todd Pengelly, critic at For Reel. We talk about La Bola Negra,...
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345: 2026 TIFF Wrap Up
The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 10-20th and we look at the award winners and discuss some of our favourite films that played. Joining Dakota and Jeff is Thomas Stoneham-Judge, the owner of ForReel. The trio look at the People's Choice Award winner La...
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344: Interview With Matthew Rankin of Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney
Canadian filmmaker Matthew Rankin (Universal Language, The Twentieth Century) is back with a psychedelic documentary about the 18th Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney, tracking his rise in politics leading up to being elected. Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney had it's world premiere on...
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343: 2026 Toronto International Film Festival Preview
The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10-20th and Dakota and Jeff preview four films each they are excited to see. Dakota's picks: Bunker, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, The Stunt Driver and Alpha Gang Jeff's picks: Misty Green, Once Upon a Time in...
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342: Canadian Film Draft
Recently The Big Picture Podcast visited TIFF headquarters and did a Canadian film draft, unfortunately it missed the mark for us at CZP. So we are here to rectify things. Joining Dakota on the draft is Matthew Simpson, Bil Antoniou host of BGM and Riviera Rats, and Matt Sheardown host of Cinema…
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341: 2026 Fantasia Festival Wrap Up
The 2026 edition of the Fantasia Festival, which was held from July 16th-August 2nd in Montreal and celebrates the best in horror and genre cinema. We look at six films that played and give our thoughts on them. Joining the show is Jeff Bulmer, host of Classic Movies Live and Matthew Simpson,...
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340: Interview with Shiho Kataoka of Aruku
Aruku is a new documentary about the pilgrimage Japanese Buddhists make where they travel to Shikoku Island and visit 88 temples along their journey. The film had its North American premiere at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival and Jeff Bulmer had the opportunity to chat with the films director...
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339: Best Films By City Part 2
It is a yearly tradition for host Dakota to celebrate his birthday by making a fun list. Back on episode 309: Best Films By City he picked 10 North American cities to name the best film from. He continues the theme this year by picking 10 new cities to name his favourite. Joining once again is…
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338: New Oscar Rules
The Academy Awards recently announced a whole slate of new rules and regulations to take effect immediately for the 99th Oscars next year. We discuss how actors can now be nominated twice in the same category, the different route a film can take to be nominated for Best International Film, the...
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337: Paul Thomas Anderson Ranked
Our first director ranked episode since episode 175: Wes Anderson Ranked we look at the films by Paul Thomas Anderson in celebration of his 10th film being released and him winning Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars. Dakota and Jeff rank all 10 films and give out awards. Here are our…
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336: 2026 Canadian Screen Awards
The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards concluded their week long celebration. The big film winners were 40 Acres, Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie and Honey Bunch. Matthew Simpson joins the show as we discuss the big winners, losers and snubs. Read our CSA nominated reviews mentioned on the show:...
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335: Interview with Tommy Avallone of MySpace
MySpace is a new documentary about the rise and fall of the once all encompassing social media site MySpace and the effect it had on the world. Jeff Bulmer had the chance to talk with the director of the film Tommy Avallone about trying to get Tom Anderson involved, picking the right guests and…
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334: 2026 Hot Docs
The 2026 Hot Docs film festival, celebrating the best in documentary cinema from around the world has come to a close. We discuss eight films that played including The Seoul Guardians, My Foreign Land, Replica, Gimme Truth, The Ballad of Judas Priest, Whispers in May, Public Access and Myspace....
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333: Interview With Amalie Atkins of Agatha's Almanac
Jeff Bulmer had the chance to interview Amalie Atkins, the director of the new documentary Agatha's Almanac, which stars her aunt who runs a 64 acre farm in rural Manitoba. They discuss the importance of 16mm film, how to maximize the footage shot and the impact of having a great cinematographer....
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332: Best Films of 2025
Now that Oscar season has come and gone, it is finally time to put a bow on the films from 2025. We rank our top 10 films of the year. Joining the show is Matthew Simpson. We also feature voicemails from friends of the show who name their favourite film of the year. Dakota's List: 10. The Secret...
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331: 2026 Canadian Screen Award Nominations
The nominations for the 14th annual Canadian Screen Awards have been released. 40 Acres, Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie and Blue Heron are some of the heavy hitters this year. We discuss the new rule changes implemented, our favourite nominated films and what movies are now on our radar to...
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330: Interview With Alireza Khatami of The Things You Kill
Jeff Bulmer had the chance to interview Alireza Khatami the director of the new film The Things You Kill, which was submitted by Canada to be their entrant to the Best International Film at this year's Oscars. They talk about changing the dialogue from Farsi to Turkish, the use of mirrors and the...
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329: 2026 Oscar Wrap Up
The 98th Academy Awards are now behind us! One Battle After Another was the big winner with 6 prizes, we had a tie for the first time since 2012 and Conan O'Brien dressed like Aunt Gladys! Alex Southey joins the show to discuss the big moments, winners and losers from Hollywood's biggest night....
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328: 2026 Oscar Predictions
The Oscar's are a week away, so it is time to put our reputation's on the line and predict who will come away with all the awards at this year's ceremony on March 15th 2026. Joining Dakota in getting bold is Thomas Stoneham-Judge, the owner of For Reel. Below are our picks of who we think will...
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327: Interview With Alison McAlpine of Perfectly A Strangeness
Jeff Bulmer interviews Alison McAlpine, the director of the Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Short, Perfectly a Strangeness. They chat about blending narrative and fiction, working with donkeys and being able to think quickly on your feet. Watch Perfectly a Strangeness on Crave in Canada.…
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326: 2026 Oscar Draft
We are back with our fourth annual Oscar Draft. It is very simple, each person selects 5 movies that are nominated at this year’s Oscars and whoever gets the most awards, wins! Joining Dakota is Thomas Stoneham-Judge, Darren Zakus and Todd Pengelly. Stay tuned to the Oscar Wrap Up podcast to…
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325: Marty Frankenstein The Train Agent
We finish our yearly journey looking at all the Best Picture nominated films and the odds they have to win each of their awards. On this second episode of 2026, we look at Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent and Train Dreams. Joining the show is Jeff Bulmer co-host of Classic Movies…
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324: One Sentimental Bugonia After Another
We continue our yearly journey looking at all the Best Picture nominated films and the odds they have to win each of their awards. On this second episode of 2026, we look at One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value and Bugonia. Joining the show is Elysia Brenner, host of The Lorehounds…
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323: Sinner's Hamnet of F1
We begin our yearly journey looking at all the Best Picture nominated films and the odds they have to win each of their awards. On this first episode of 2026, we look at Sinners, Hamnet and F1. Joining the show is expert Paulo Bautista host of the Oscars Death Race Podcast. Check out Paulo's...
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322: Paying For It Interview with Sook-Yin Lee
We have a special video episode where Jeff Bulmer takes the reigns to interview Paying For It writer and director Sook-Yin Lee. They talk about adapting Chester Brown's graphic novel, casting actors to play real people in her life and creating fully formed sex worker characters. Read Jeff's…
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321: 2026 Oscar Nomination Reactions
Dakota and Jeff talk about the just announced 98th Academy Award nominations. We discuss Sinners setting a new record with 16 nods, wonder if One Battle After Another is still the front runner, the strong Best International Film category and much more. We also name our favourite nominations and...
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320: A24 Retrospective - Green Room
We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode Dakota is looking at 2015's Green Room directed by Jeremy Saulnier and starring Anton Yelchin and Alia Shawkat as members of a punk band who get trapped in a neo-nazi club after witnessing a…
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319: KPop Demon Hunters
2025 was the year that HuntR/X and The Saja Boys took over the world. The phenomenon that was the film KPop Demon Hunters premiered on Netflix and was a massive hit. We talk about this movie, along with it's Oscar chances and the state of animation currently. Follow Jeff's podcast Classic Movies...
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318: A24 Retrospective - Room
We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode Dakota and Matthew are looking at 2015's Room directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay as a woman and her son who escape their kidnapping and try to adjust to the real...
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317: 2025 New York Film Festival Diaries
Frequent CZP guest Paulo Bautista, host of the Oscars Death Race Podcast, had the pleasure of attending the 63rd edition of the New York Film Festival. He reports back with audio diaries on films he saw. Paulo reviews Scarlet, Sound of Falling, Resurrection (with guest appearance from Kyle…
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316: Old, Young and New Frankenstein
With the latest version of the classic Mary Shelly story Frankenstein coming out from director Guillermo del Toro, we look back at the history of this monster movie. Pairing the latest version with 1931's Frankenstein directed by James Whale and 1974's Young Frankenstein directed by Mel Brooks....
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315: 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival
The 44th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival just concluded and we are here to talk about some of our favourite films that played! Joining Dakota and Matthew is Darren Zakus from Movie Scene Canada. The guys talk about Deathstalker and A Welcome Distraction (Dakota's picks)…
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314: TIFF Interview with Zacharias Kunuk
Even though the Toronto International Film Festival is over, we have a very special interview for listeners. Zacharias Kunuk, best known for his 2001 film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, sat down with Jeff Bulmer to discuss his latest film Wrong Husband (Uiksaringitara). Check out Jeff's review of...
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313: 2025 Toronto International Film Festival
With the conclusion of the 50th edition of TIFF (TIFFTY), we look back at some of the films we saw, discuss the winners of the People's Choice Awards and name our own top 3 films. Joining Dakota and Jeff is Thomas Stoneham-Judge the owner of For Reel and Darren Zakus the lead critic at Movie…
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312: TIFF50 Preview
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival. Dakota and Jeff each pick 3 under the radar choices of movies you should have on your radar. Dakota's choices are Roofman, Steal Away and Modern Whore. Jeff's choices are Eagles of the Republic, Dust Bunny and…
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311: Rashomon at 75 Years
In August of 1950, Akria Kurosawa released his seminal film, Rashomon where a trial of a crime is unfolded through four different perspectives showing us how flimsy "the truth" can be. On it's 75th anniversary we review the film and discuss its ongoing legacy. Martyn Strange from the…
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310: A24 Retrospective - Oasis: Supersonic
We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode Dakota and Matthew are looking at 2016's Oasis: Supersonic directed Mat Whitecross. The documentary follows the creation and rise of the Britpop band culminating in their Knebworth Festival headlining...
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309: Best Films By City
Every year to celebrate Dakota's birthday, he picks a topic and names his favourite films by that category. This year he picked the 10 most popular filming locations in North America, including NYC, Las Vegas, Chicago and more and named the best film by these cities. Joining Dakota is Bil…
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308: 2025 Canadian Screen Awards
The 2025 Canadian Screen Awards were handed out from May 30-June 1st and the television portion was hosted by Lisa Gilroy. Universal Language and The Apprentice were the big winners. We look at ten categories and discuss the winners and Dakota, Matthew and Jeff pick our own favourites. Check out...
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307: Mission: Impossible - Ranked
Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to listen to Dakota and Matthew rank the Mission: Impossible films to celebrate the release of the 8th entry (and possibly last film in the series?) , The Final Reckoning. Joining the show is former co-host Rachel Ho the film editor at Exclaim! Our...
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306: 2025 Hot Docs
The 2025 edition of Hot Docs ran from April 24-May 4th, and we recap six of the films we watched including Ultras, Coexistence, My Ass!, The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés, The Secret Lives of My Three Men, Always and Writing Hawa. Joining Dakota and Jeff is Pedro Lima, a writer for Contra Zoom...
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305: Best Stunt Oscars
With the announcement of there being a stunt Oscar coming in 2028, we decided to name who we think should have been the nominees and winners for the past five years. We also discuss other new Oscar rules. Joining the show is critic Todd Pengelly. Read about the addition of the Best Stunts…
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304: A24 Retrospective - Val
We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode Dakota and Matthew are looking at 2021's Val directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo. The film is a documentary using actor Val Kilmer's extensive home video collection to cover his life and career up to his...
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303: 2025 Canadian Screen Awards Nomination Reactions
The Canadian Screen Awards announced their nominations for the June 1st gala with Universal Language leading the pack with 13 nominations. Jeff Bulmer, one half of the Classic Movies Live podcast, joins the show as the guys try to predict who will be nominated and then react to actual films that...
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302: Best Films of 2024
Now that Oscar season has come and gone, it is finally time to put a bow on the films from 2024. We rank our top 10 films of the year. Joining the show is CZP's former co-host Rachel Ho. We also feature voicemails from friends of the show who name their favourite film of the year. Dakota's List…
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301: 2025 Oscars Wrap Up
Oscar season is officially over after Anora won Best Picture and four other trophies at the 97th Academy Awards. We recap the ceremony, give our thoughts on the biggest winners and losers and judge the production of the show itself. Joining the show is critic Alex Southey, who was last heard on...
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300: 2025 Oscar Predictions
We are less than a week away from the Oscars, so we put our reputations on the line to predict who will win at the 97th Academy Awards. Joining the show is Elizabeth Mulloy a Washington based critic. Below are our picks of who we think will win: Best Picture - The Brutalist (D), Anora (E) Best...
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299: 2025 Oscar Draft
We are back with our third annual Oscar Draft. It is very simple, each person selects 5 movies that are nominated at this year’s Oscars and whoever gets the most awards, wins! Joining Dakota is Thomas Stoneham-Judge, Brodie Cotnam and Alex Watson. Stay tuned to the Oscar Wrap Up podcast to see…
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298: I'm Still Wicked, Conclave Boys
We continue our yearly tradition of breaking down the Best Picture nominees and the odds they have to win each of their categories. On this final episode of the series we talk aboutWicked,Conclave,I'm Still Here andNickel Boys. We label each nomination as Frontrunner, Dark Horse, Longshot and…
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297: Emilia Substance: Part Two
We continue our yearly tradition of breaking down the Best Picture nominees and the odds they have to win each of their categories. On this episode of the series we talk about Emilia Pérez, Dune: Part Two and The Substance. We label each nomination as Frontrunner, Dark Horse, Longshot and Just...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Contra Zoom is a film based podcast going in depth about varying movie related subjects. Dakota Arsenault and guests go over both academic and the fun aspects of enjoying the film medium. Episodes feature lists, interviews and comparisons. Visit contrazoompod.com for more details!
HOSTED BY
Dakota Arsenault
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Contra Zoom Pod have?
Contra Zoom Pod currently has 362 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Contra Zoom Pod about?
Contra Zoom is a film based podcast going in depth about varying movie related subjects. Dakota Arsenault and guests go over both academic and the fun aspects of enjoying the film medium. Episodes feature lists, interviews and comparisons. Visit contrazoompod.com for more details!
How often does Contra Zoom Pod release new episodes?
Contra Zoom Pod publishes regularly with 362 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Contra Zoom Pod?
You can listen to Contra Zoom Pod on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Contra Zoom Pod?
Contra Zoom Pod is created and hosted by Dakota Arsenault.
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