TVO Impact Newsletter | Nov/Dec 2023 | #74

Issue 74 | November/December 2023

The 2024 TVO Calendar Claim your copy today!

Galapagos X A TVOkids Original series

The Great American Thaw Canadian Premiere 3-Part Documentary Series

Begins Thursday, December 7 at 7pm

A Lasting Impact Learn more about leaving a planned gift to TVO

Plus:

Your monthly program highlights

Engaging minds and inspiring possibility When I joined as CEO nearly three years ago, I recognized the value of TVO’s mission and its potential to change the trajectory of the lives of Ontarians for the better through the power of education. Every day, TVO strives to achieve this potential, offering you and your family inclusive and accessible learning opportunities and experiences that keep you engaged, informed, and entertained.

The 2024 TVO Calendar is Here Quantities are limited.

Claim your copy before it’s too late!

The 2024 TVO calendar features stunning imagery from TVO documentaries, including several TVO Originals—from the breathtaking Northern Ontario landscapes in TRIPPING Train 185 to the powerful storm waves of Lake Superior in Great Lakes Untamed, to the autumnal splendor of Striking Balance.

Visit TVO.org/donate or call us at 1 800 463 6886 to learn how you can secure your copy of the 2024 TVO calendar.

No matter your age, background, or geographic location, TVO has something to satisfy your curiosity and broaden your knowledge—from TVO Original documentaries, to podcasts, children’s programming, and educational resources like TVO Learn.

This would not be possible without support from our extraordinary community of donors like you. On behalf of the entire TVO team, thank you.

My warmest wishes to you and yours this holiday season.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey L. Orridge CEO

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TVO Media Education Group

Scan the QR code to claim your calendar today!

Catch these must-see TVOkids Originals!

Galapagos X

TVOkids Original Begins Saturday, November 25 Four kids from the future come back to the present to help prevent climate catastrophes.

Orchid, Zeph, Rae, and Oshie—Team Galapagos X—must learn to work together to take on environmental trouble of all shapes and sizes and save our planet! Every episode, the team also provides a positive take-away for kids at home to help combat climate change in their everyday lives.

Dream It To Be It

TVOkids Original

This exciting new series shines a spotlight on kids of all backgrounds and abilities who know what they want to be when they grow up. Viewers will meet twenty-one extraordinary young people from across the country as they share their stories and their hopes for the future.

Follow along as they are paired with experts who answer their burning career questions and then compete in hands-on challenges related to their dream jobs. This heartwarming show encourages kids to build selfconfidence and believe that they can achieve their dreams.

Riley Rocket

TVOkids Original Riley Rocket is an action-packed, musical comedy about Riley and her band who gain supersonic powers after cranking up the volume and causing an electrifying sonic surge during a band jam. Now they are secret superheroes who use the power of their music to save the day. With the help of Riley’s rocket-powered wheelchair, they work together to save their town from threats—baddies beware!

WATCH AND STREAM NOW Watch TVOkids seven days a week from 6am to 7pm and stream your favourite TVOkids programs 24/7 on TVOkids.com, our TVOkids YouTube channels, and our TVOkids streaming channels: Roku, LG, Samsung, Android, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV.

TVOkids will also have plenty of seasonal shows and playlists to entertain the kids in your life over the holidays. Visit TVOkids.com for more info!

November/December 2023 | No. 74

TVO Media Education Group

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TVO Original Documentaries

Every year, TVO commissions a dozen TVO Original documentaries— many of which explore the unique stories of the people of Ontario.

Crush: Message in a Bottle, Charlotte’s Castle, and Main Street Ontario are a few recent and upcoming releases you don’t want to miss.

Crush: Message in a Bottle

TVO Original World Premiere Tuesday, November 7 at 9pm

A growing movement of winegrowers and winemakers are using eco-conscious practices to reduce their carbon footprint, merging modern and traditional techniques to infuse their craft with authenticity.

TVO Original documentary Crush: Message in a Bottle offers a portrait of a year in the life of artisanal winemakers and winegrowers in Niagara, Ontario’s fine wine region. The film focuses on subjects whose diversity is exceptional in a largely white male-dominated industry including winegrower Ann-Marie Saunders whose Jamaican family are pioneers in the region; Kelly Mason, a first-generation female farmer devoted to the risky, hands-on craft of wild ferment winemaking; and Shiraz Mottiar, a celebrated winemaker who actively promotes diversity and sustainability in the industry.

Crush offers viewers a snapshot of a time, a portrait of a region, and a manifesto for change. Tune in on Tuesday, November 7 at 9pm or stream on TVO Today (TVO.org) or YouTube.

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November/December 2023 | No. 74

Charlotte’s Castle

TVO Original Now Streaming on TVO Today (TVO.org) and YouTube Renters everywhere are struggling with rising costs and limited housing options.

TVO Original Charlotte’s Castle profiles a group of tenants who fear that their homes in a downtown Toronto heritage building will soon disappear if they don’t put up a fight. Built in 1904, Spadina Gardens is the oldest Toronto building to maintain its original floor plans. Vast, luxurious rental units have drawn an eclectic mix of tenants over the years. They embody the creative class who drew developers to Toronto in the first place, driving property values up. But now, they are no longer able to afford the city which they helped to enrich.

Spadina Gardens has sold to Dutch developers who seem bent on edging out current tenants

Main Street Ontario: Season 3

TVO Original 10-Part Documentary Series Now Streaming on TVO Today (TVO.org) and YouTube

with the aim of doubling their profits. Charlotte Mickie—a renowned doyenne of arthouse cinema and long-time resident— rallies an eclectic mix of tenants that includes celebrated artists, playwrights, and fashion models, to fight against their renovictions.

“Housing is the biggest concern anywhere in Ontario right now,” says John Ferri, Vice President of Programming and Content at TVO. “While the headlines are dominated by a lack of affordable housing in this province, we don’t often hear about how city life suffers under such financial pressures. Charlotte’s Castle shows how quality, well-loved housing can be more than an investment opportunity—it can sustain a thriving community.”

Explore the collective community memories of main streets across the province in Main Street Ontario, a series that blends playful animation with real voices and archives to tell local tales. These short films visit big cities and small towns, revealing what makes each place unique. Across ten episodes, step inside iconic community landmarks and meet the people who breathe life into local culture.

Begin the journey in Midland, Ontario, home to Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival, serving 200,000 butter tarts to over 60,000 guests who line the streets to take in the buskers, vendors, and food trucks, while enjoying these sweet and delectable treats.

Head north to Sudbury—once a mining town, the city’s core is filled with fond memories, from the “amble scramble” pedestrian crossing to Canada’s very first parking meters. As you continue along the way, you’ll take in unique stories of communities and landmarks in Willowdale, Stratford, Timmins, Almonte, Port Hope, Collingwood, and

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Blyth, finishing up in Lincoln, Ontario.

“Main Street Ontario brings viewers fascinating portraits of places in Ontario that many of us know and love. This series offers communities a stage to tell their stories,” says John Ferri, Vice President of Programming and Content at TVO.

SUPPORT DOCUMENTARIES Your donations ensure that TVO can amplify uniquely Ontarian stories like those depicted in Crush, Charlotte’s Castle, and Main Street Ontario.

Help us continue to bring these compelling documentaries to the forefront by making a gift at TVO.me/impact today.

TVO Media Education Group

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Program Highlights

TVO Original

Water Brothers Canadian Premiere

6-Part Series Begins Thursday, November 2 at 9pm

Brothers Alex and Tyler Mifflin return for the latest season of Water Brothers as they continue their quest to explore our relationship with the most precious natural resource on earth: water. What are the problems and where are the solutions to help us better conserve water across the province and around the world? Across six episodes filmed entirely in Ontario, environmentalist Alex and director Tyler set out to uncover the most important water stories of our time.

(Documentary Series)

November

Visit TVO.org/schedule for our program schedule.

Please note: schedule is subject to change.

Evacuation

North American Premiere 3-Part Series Begins Wednesday, November 1 at 9pm

My Name is Happy Canadian Premiere

Friday, November 3 at 10pm

Rise of the Nazis: Seasons 1 & 2 Canadian Premiere 6-Part Series

Begins Monday, November 6 at 9pm

The Earth is Blue as an Orange Canadian Premiere

Saturday, November 11 at 9pm

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TVO Media Education Group

A haunting exploration of the perilous British campaign to evacuate Kabul in 2021. Featuring never-before-seen combat footage and on-the-ground interviews, this series reveals the truth beyond the headlines—including unprecedented access to the Ministry of Defense. (Documentary Series)

Aspiring young Turkish popstar Mutlu Kaya narrowly escaped an attempted femicide. Despite life-changing injuries, Mutlu embarks on a quest for justice and works to reclaim her voice as a singer with the unwavering support of her extended musical family. (Documentary)

This series offers an inside perspective on Hitler’s journey to power, told through the eyes of his inner circle—those who paved his way and those who tried to stop him. Rise of the Nazis is an in-depth examination of the political scheming and dismantling of democracy that transformed Hitler into an all-powerful dictator. (Documentary Series) To cope with the daily trauma of living in a war zone, single mother Anna and her four children make a film together about their life in Donbas, Ukraine. For Anna and the children, transforming trauma into a work of art is the ultimate way to retain their sense of humanity in the face of tragedy.

(Documentary)

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To Kill a Tiger

Canadian Premiere Tuesday, December 5 at 9pm

On the night of a family wedding in a village in India, Ranjit’s 13-year-old daughter is dragged into the woods and raped by three men. Ranjit takes on the fight of his life when he demands the accused be brought to justice. Executive produced by Mindy Kaling and Dev Patel, To Kill a Tiger charts the emotional journey of an ordinary man thrown into extraordinary circumstances—a father whose love for his daughter forces a social reckoning that will reverberate for years to come.

(Documentary)

December

Watch on-air or stream on demand.

The Great American Thaw Canadian Premiere 3-Part Series

Begins Thursday, December 7 at 7pm

Cheetah Family and Me Canadian Premiere 2-Part Series

Begins Tuesday, December 12 at 9pm

Hello, Bookstore Canadian Premiere

Saturday, December 16 at 9pm

If the Dancer Dances Canadian Premiere

Saturday, December 23 at 9pm

Yellowstone National Park is home to iconic wildlife from grizzly bears to elk and bison to great grey owls and more.

Follow these extraordinary animals from winter through summer, including the harshest season of all—the springtime thaw. (Documentary Series)

Cheetahs are the fastest land predators in the world. Wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan walks with wild cheetah families to try to understand their future in Africa and capture a more vulnerable side of these formidable felines. (Documentary Series)

A small town in Massachusetts rallies to protect a beloved local bookshop in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Bookstore” is a magical beatnik gem thanks to its owner Matt Tannenbaum, whose passion for stories runs deep.

(Documentary)

Award-winning filmmaker Maia Weschler follows a group of New York City’s top modern dancers as they reconstruct an iconic work by the legendary dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham. Together they reveal what it takes to keep dance alive. (Documentary)

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What Does TVO Mean to You?

We all have our own stories about TVO and what it means to us. For this issue of Impact we spoke to Ahmad, a valued member of our monthly donor community.

Ahmad vividly remembers his decision to leave Iran. As a medical pathologist, Ahmad was a rare example of someone who was able to access high-quality educational opportunities in Iran. But that education came at a price. Ahmad was enlisted to serve two years of mandatory military service as a medical officer in the Iranian army and witnessed first-hand the devastating reality of the war with Iraq.

Along with his wife and two sons, Ahmad came to Ontario in 2011 in search of a new life and new opportunities. The family soon

found that life as newcomers in Ontario had its challenges, especially as they did not speak English. Their rented home had a television with only six channels—TVO was one of them.

Ahmad found himself turning to TVO to watch documentaries that not only broadened his knowledge of English, but also his understanding of life in Ontario.

As Ahmad’s confidence grew, so did his desire to support TVO and he became a monthly donor in 2019. As he says, “I trust TVO to put donations to good use.

I know that TVO can be relied upon to provide balanced current affairs and engaging documentaries. As I have experienced firsthand, TVO offers a huge benefit to Ontarians.

And when inflation is on the rise, the free educational resources that TVO provides are more valuable than ever.”

Want to share your own story?

Contact us at donorcare@tvo.org and you may be featured in a future issue of Impact.

Support TVO with a Legacy Gift Donors across Ontario are choosing to create a lasting impact by making a legacy gift to ensure equitable access to education for all Ontarians.

It’s a gift that makes an impact now and for years to come, setting TVO up for continued success and offering a brighter future for our province.

Visit TVO.org/legacy or contact

Leaving a gift in your will is easy. After you take care of your loved ones, consider creating a legacy of learning by leaving a gift to TVO. Speak with your family, friends, and lawyer to determine if this is the right decision for you. Should you choose to remember TVO in your will, you’ll be recognized as part of The Honourable William G. Davis Legacy of Learning Circle, named in honour of our late founder.

1 800 613 0513 x3639 ssheridan@tvo.org

Contact Us

to and out more about how to make your legacy gift.

Ways to Give

Find Us Online

• TVO.me/impact • 1 855 589 3886 • Return the enclosed pre-paid envelope by mail

• TVO.org • TVO Today iOS and Android app • TVOkids.com • TVO Today and TVOkids streaming • facebook.com/tvo channels: Roku, LG, Samsung, Android, • twitter.com/tvo Amazon Fire TV, (now X) and Apple TV • TVO Docs and TVOkids YouTube

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141488PH

Philanthropy Office PO Box 949, Station K Toronto, Ontario M4P 2V3 donorcare@tvo.org

Sue Sheridan Director of Philanthropy and Sponsorship at: