Panta Mosleh’s queer interfaith comedy Pass the Salt tells the story of Parmiss, a young Muslim-Iranian woman from a traditional family who arrives in Vancouver and ends up falling head over heels for one of her roommates, a Jewish woman named Nava – which is all easier said than done, seeing as Parmiss’s family doesn’t actually know that she’s lesbian and her mom is determined to find her a nice Persian boy to marry.

Pass the Salt – which premieres the week of November 2 as both a film on Hollywood Suite and a six-part series on OUTtv – is clearly a labour of love for its star, writer, and director Panta Mosleh. It’s also really funny, which should come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with Panta’s work. She’s a graduate from the Groundlings School of Comedy in Los Angeles and a recipient of the 2021 SNL scholarship. On the eve of Pass the Salt’s release, Panta speaks with Sabrina about her long journey to bring these characters and this story to the screen, queer comedy, and unapologetic joy.

YVR Screen Scene is a division of Fish Flight Entertainment.

What’s really going on in the Vancouver film and television industry these days? Is it – as the Hollywood Reporter postulated in an article in May 2026 – “seeing [a] film and television production rebound”? Is it accurate to say – as the same publication stated just a month previous – that “U.S. film and television production in Canada rebounded in 2025 as the local industry finally put the devastating impact of the Hollywood’s year of strikes in 2023 in the rearview mirror”? Or is reality closer to the anecdotal stories that populate the comment sections of these and similar article? “2026 is slow in Van,” says one. “Those are the facts.” Says another: “Unfortunately Canadian actors are being left out of this equation in our own town. It’s frustrating. The talent in Vancouver specifically is obscene.”

Beyond the anecdotes and comments, there are these other alarming trends: a collapse in production volume, the disruption caused by AI, and a volatile shift in viewing habits. Is this – as one Redditor in a Vancouver filmmaking sub so stated – the worst time in the industry since the 1950s? Or is this a time of rebound, of transformation, with blue skies and clearer sailing on the horizon?

In this episode, Sabrina Rani-Kiperchuk Furminger explores these questions with longtime “friend of the pod” Omari Newton. Omari is an award-winning actor, writer, director, producer, TedX speaker, and head of department for the faculty of acting for film and television at Vancouver Film School. Omari is both an industry veteran and an educator who helps people who want to work in our industry obtain the tools they need to navigate it. Omari joins Sabrina to make sense of what is actually happening in our industry right now – and what might be waiting for us just over the horizon.

YVR Screen Scene is a division of Fish Flight Entertainment.

Bethany Brown starred in one of the most highly anticipated features at the 2026 Vancouver International Film Festival: Gloria Mercer’s queer erotic crime thriller, A Safe Distance, which also stars “friend of the pod” Cody Kearsley and the phenomenally talented Tandia Mercedes. Bethany was nominated for a 2026 UBCP/ACTRA Award for her work in A Safe Distance playing a cubicle worker turned sexually adventurous, gun-toting badass – and she was also nominated (in the voice category) for her work in a very different kind of project: Colin Matthews’ blistering short film, Never Use Alone, about an overdose intervention hotline operator played by another longtime “friend of the pod” Chelah Horsdal and the cascade of life-or-death calls she handles over one harrowing night. One of those calls is voiced by Bethany. The film has already won a slew of awards – including four Leos earlier this year – and it will soon have its premiere on Telus Optik TV.

Last year, Bethany fans rejoiced when she joined Murder in a Small Town in the incredibly nuanced role of corporal Laila Jackson, a dedicated but deeply flawed officer from Minneapolis. She’s also had some great roles in The Good Doctor, The Astronauts, The 100, and The Flash, as well as festive fare and thrillers. Animation fans know and love Bethany for her work in projects with Lego, as well as The Treebees, Strawberry Shortcake, and Littlest Pet Shop.

In this wide-ranging conversation with Sabrina Rani-Kiperchuk Furminger, Bethany talks A Safe Distance, Never Use Alone, Murder in a Small Town (spoiler: she loves working with “BFF of the pod” Amanda Tapping), the fun of the voice booth, and the remarkable journey through this industry that brought her to this moment.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains frank talk about addiction. Please don’t use drugs alone. In Canada, call the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) 24/7/365: 1 888 688 6677 & https://www.nors.ca/

YVR Screen Scene is a division of Fish Flight Entertainment.