Q with Tom Power

Last year, Curry Barker’s debut feature Obsession made movie history at the Toronto International Film Festival. After its midnight premiere, it was bought by Focus Features for roughly $15 million — one of the largest festival acquisitions ever. Since then, the sleeper hit has grossed more than $500 million worldwide, bringing the 27-year-old director back to TIFF this year for a special fan screening. Curry joins Tom Power in the Q studio to talk about his whirlwind rise, why staying grounded fuels his creativity and how a single year completely transformed his life.

Back in the ’70s, Canadian stuntman Ken Carter attempted to execute the boldest maneuver of his career: launching a rocket-powered car one mile across the St. Lawrence River from Ontario into New York State. It was a stunt rife with challenges and setbacks. Ken’s story is now the inspiration behind the new film The Stunt Driver, which recently made its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. Director Michael Dowse (FUBAR, Goon) joins Tom Power to unpack Ken’s legacy and why he considers this film his “white whale.”

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, A Real Pain) drew on his own roots in community theatre to write and direct his latest movie, The Debut. Starring Julianne Moore as a shy housewife-turned-actor and Paul Giamatti as a director pushing her to her limits, the film is inspired by the many unproduced musicals Jesse has penned over the years. He joins Tom Power in the Q studio to discuss The Debut, the relationship between art and anxiety, why some people hate musicals, and the role truth plays in entertainment.

Choosing to pursue a single passion can feel like a calling — until the reality of the grind hits. Albertan singer-songwriter Mariel Buckley explores the highs and lows of going after your dreams on her Juno-winning album, Strange Trip Ahead. She joins Tom Power in the Q studio to discuss a song off the album, how she went to culinary school before becoming a musician, and how k.d. lang took a chance on her when she was just starting out.

Swedish actor Noomi Rapace has built a career playing deeply complex characters, starting with her breakout role as Lisbeth Salander in 2009’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In her new film, In Alaska, she plays an FBI agent searching for a suicidal Inuk teen who accidentally pierces an oil pipeline with a bullet. Noomi joins Tom Power to talk about the film, her acting career, and how movies became her escape, her oxygen and her link to the world.