Moving into its third edition, the Vancouver Podcast Festival, finds itself ‘At Home’. Presented by DOXA, Documentary Film Festival, this year’s virtual festival takes place November 18-22, 2020 online. It’s perfect time to learn more about how to create and the creators who will bring you podcast content as we settle in for the winter. Adapting to the constraints of the pandemic, VanPodFest has refined its programming, but still offers a robust mix of live events, workshops, panels, and VanPodFest’s first-ever pitch session.
The five-day festival includes acclaimed creators, hosts, and producers including Michelle Shephard (Brainwashed), Sandy Hudson and Nora Loreto (Sandy & Nora Talk Politics), Elamin Abdelmahmoud (Pop Chat, Party Lines, Party in the USA), Andréa Schmidt (Canadaland), Lauren Bercovitch and Chris Kelly (This Sounds Serious, Kelly&Kelly Studios), Laura Palmer (Island Crime: Where is Lisa?) and more.
Event Highlights Include:
In Conversation: Michelle Shephard (Brainwashed) and Ian Hanomansing: Brainwashed is a multi-part investigation into MKUltra in Montreal — how the CIA and Canadian government funded secret experiments to find out whether people’s brains could be rewired and controlled.
Sandy & Nora Talk Politics live recording: a weekly podcast featuring Sandy Hudson and Nora Loreto talking politics and social issues.
Pop Chat live recording: Host Elamin Abdelmahmoud and the Pop Chat panel invite you in to the group chat to help make sense of the cultural drama blowing up the internet.
How to Monetize Your Podcast workshop: Can podcasts make money?
VanPodFest Pitch session: Local Vancouver podcasters are given the opportunity to get feedback on their best podcast show pitch from executive producers at some of the biggest podcast networks.
Panel: Libraries, Archives, and Podcasts are Never Neutral: discuss why podcasting is the perfect medium to democratize access to information and politicize how we share knowledge
Producer’s Roundtable: VanPodFest gathers a group of high-level producers to talk about the challenges of producing podcasts virtually.
Panel: Narrative News: This panel will feature local people and perspectives, on how podcasts work with narrative structure in mind, and employ strategies used by nonfiction podcasts to tell real life stories
Additional online workshops from Vancouver Public Library’s Inspiration Lab enable podcasters to hone their own production skills. And, for podcast creators or businesses looking to connect further with the community, the Vancouver Podcast Fest’s Virtual Podfair Happy Hour, co-hosted by Hannah McGregor (Witch, Please and Secret Feminist Agenda) and Andrea Warner (Pop This! and Pop Chat) will provide a fun online hangout opportunity for attendees and guests to get to know each other.
Festival passes and individual tickets on sale now at vanpodfest.ca
With event prices ranging from free or pay-what-you-can, to $5 (students/seniors/reduced income) and $10 (adults) per ticketed event, and $25 (full festival pass) Vancouver Podcast Festival has something for everyone.