Today’s guest is documentary filmmaker and founder of Cloudstreet Media, Rheanna Toy. She has worked as a producer, director, and editor on films that have screened at festivals across North America, with her debut short “Serisa 26” winning the Audience Choice Award at Cinema Spectacular. In 2025, Rheanna was chosen for Story Money Impact's pod program where she received mentorship and training on running impact campaigns for film. Her first feature, “A Place Where I Belong”, which follows six 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals with intellectual disabilities fighting for rights, visibility, and inclusion, was the first Canadian feature to win the Narrative Change Award at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival.

In this conversation, we dive inside Rheanna’s early experiences that eventually led to her path as a documentary filmmaker, juggling business with creative pursuits, and why it’s important to stay with the unknown in collaborative projects.

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In this final episode of 2025, we are discussing the Canadian hockey romance TV series Heated Rivalry, with returning guests Tara Edwards, Erika Smith, and Eri Zhang. Leading up to the season one finale, we deep dive inside the TV adaptation and book series, and explore the potential impact of their success for queer stories, and the film and TV media landscape.

Spoiler warning: Most of us have read the books and do make general comments and impressions about the series. Please keep that in mind if you plan to read the books and want to avoid spoilers.

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Today’s guest is kids’ TV writer and creator, Margaret Hoffman.

She has written for Sesame Workshop (Esme and Roy, Sesame Street Digital), Netflix (The Cuphead Show!), Sid & Marty Krofft (Mutt & Stuff), Lilypad Library, and Hellosaurus. She's also developed new shows with 9 Story Media, Sesame Workshop, and Sutoscience. When not writing for TV, Margaret creates videos for her preschool YouTube channel, Giggle Time, or writes for the theater, where her plays have been performed at the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival (New York, NY), Rita Goldberg Theater (New York, NY), and CultureDC’s Source Theater (Washington, D.C.).

In this episode, Margaret and I retrace her journey arriving in New York City to study writing, her foray into TV writing and puppetry work, and unpack insights and advice for writers and creatives navigating industry transitions and professional uncertainty.

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