Ep 033: The Swearing Jar and Brain Aneurysms
In 2017, Canadian director Lindsay MacKay had a brain aneurysm that almost killed her. She joins us today to talk about that experience, the warning signs that can happen (but sometimes don’t), and what the aftermath and recovery were like.
We also discuss how Lindsay used the experience of her brain aneurysm to inform her direction of Kate Hewlett’s The Swearing Jar and how Lindsay adjusted her work environment to better serve her brain.
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Music: Deppisch
Design: Perpetualnotion.ca
Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao
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Lindsay MacKay is a Writer/Director whose debut feature film WET BUM, about a self-conscious 14-year-old girl searching for a place to belong, premiered at The Toronto International Film Festival. WET BUM was named a Top 10 Finalist in the prestigious Zoetrope Screenwriting Competition. It went on to be nominated for CSA, CSC, and CCE Awards, was nominated for Best First Feature and Best Lead Actress by the Vancouver Film Critics, and won best debut at Alkino Film Festival in Poland as well as Best Film by the international jury at CinéJeune de Aisne in France.
Her sophomore feature is a musical drama, THE SWEARING JAR, starring Adelaide Clemens, Douglas Smith, Patrick J. Adams, and Kathleen Turner made its premiere at TIFF 2022 and was nominated for 3 Canadian Screen awards in 2023.
Lindsay is a graduate of the Directing program at the AFI Conservatory, where she was granted the distinguished Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow and Richard P. Rogers Spirit of Excellence Awards for her thesis film CLEAR BLUE, which also won the esteemed College Television Award (the Student Emmy). Her work has screened at festivals worldwide including TIFF, SXSW, AFI Fest and Camerimage.
Her TV directing credits include the award-winning digital series RUNNING WITH VIOLET and two seasons of GHOST BFF for KindaTV and Babe Nation. She is currently developing her feature MERSEA with Paula Devonshire, which participated in TIFF writer’s lab, Frontieres Forum, and Berlin Co-Pro market.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Lindsay MacKay’s Instagram / IMDB / Vimeo / DGC portal
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan (book)
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover (book)
Run Toward the Danger by Sarah Polley (book)
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (book)
Muse (meditation app/headband)
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