Jennifer Podemski

Jennifer Podemski

Born: January 1, 1974
in Toronto, Canada
Jennifer Podemski is an award winning Film and Television Producer and Actor born and raised in Toronto, Canada.

Of mixed First Nations and Israeli descent, Jennifer began her acting career as a teen. Her career blossomed when she was cast as Pique in CBC's The Diviners followed by a starring role in Bruce McDonald's Dance Me Outside.

As her career in front of the camera exploded, Jennifer began to notice the inequity behind the lens. Although all of the roles she was awarded as actor were First Nations characters, she rarely, if ever, saw any First Nations writers, producers or directors.

By 25, with a solid career under her belt, Jennifer opened her first production company, Big Soul Productions (BSP) with fellow burgeoning producer Laura Milliken. BSP became the first Aboriginal owned and operated, full service production company in Canada, producing hundreds of hours of television including three seasons of the award winning Dramatic Series Moccasin Flats for Showcase and APTN.

In 2005, Jennifer branched out on her own and founded Redcloud Studios, Inc.

Although Jennifer has maintained a successful career as an actor, with roles in Degrassi, Republic of Doyle, Sarah Polley's Take This Waltz and Jimmy P alongside Benicio Del Toro, she is most proud of her starring role in her own film Empire of Dirt for which she was nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role as well as Best Feature Film for her work as producer.

Empire of Dirt premiered at TIFF 2014 and continued to a theatrical release in Canada and traveled the world on the film festival circuit.

Jennifer is also the creator and producer of APTN's famed paranormal series The Other Side, currently shooting it's second season; in her 9th year as Co-Executive Producer and Creative Director of the Indspire Awards (Global, APTN) for which she was nominated for Best Lifestyle Television Show at the 2014 CSA's.

More recently, Jennifer can be seen as Dr. Crowshoe on the award winning drama series Blackstone; HBO's Sensitive Skin with Kim Catrall and in FireSong, written and directed by Adam Garnett Jones.

A storyteller behind and in front of the camera, Jennifer still makes time for training aboriginal youth in film and tv, mentoring and holding self esteem workshops across the US and Canada.

Movies for Jennifer Podemski...

Redlights
Title: Redlights
Character: Tina's Mom
Released: September 20, 2023
Type: Movie
An evening outing takes a dangerous turn for two Indigenous women.
bee
Akilla's Escape
Title: Akilla's Escape
Character: Mrs. Rosenthal
Released: June 11, 2021
Type: Movie
In a crime-noir about the urban child-soldier, Akilla Brown captures a fifteen-year-old Jamaican boy in the aftermath of an armed robbery. Over one gruelling night, Akilla confronts a cycle of generational violence he thought he escaped.
bee
Title: Resident Alien
Character: Rachel
Released: January 27, 2021
Type: TV
Crash-landed alien Harry takes on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor. Arriving with a secret mission, he starts off living a simple life…but things get a bit rocky when he’s roped into solving a local murder and realizes he needs to assimilate into his new world. As he does, he begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his mission and asking the big life questions like: “Are human beings worth saving?” and “Why do they fold their pizza before eating it?”
bee
Title: Departure
Character: Gail
Released: July 10, 2019
Type: TV
Follow the mystery of Flight 716 - a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Following the mysterious crash, recently widowed, brilliant aviation investigator Kendra Malley is called in to investigate by her former boss and mentor Howard Lawson.
bee
Mouthpiece
Title: Mouthpiece
Character: Mrs. Cappo
Released: April 4, 2019
Type: Movie
Based on a stage play of the same name by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava, the story follows Cassandra, who is portrayed by the two women, expressing the opposing voices that exist inside the modern woman's head, during a 48-hour period as she tries to organize the affairs for her mother's funeral.
bee
Title: Private Eyes
Character: Colonel
Released: May 26, 2016
Type: TV
Ex-pro hockey player Matt Shade irrevocably changes his life when he teams up with fierce P.I. Angie Everett to form an unlikely investigative powerhouse.
bee
Fire Song
Title: Fire Song
Character: Jackie
Released: September 13, 2015
Type: Movie
Shane, a gay Anishnabe teenager in Northern Ontario, is struggling to support his family in the aftermath of his sister's suicide. If he fails, he will be forced to choose between his family's home and his own future.
bee
Empire of Dirt
Title: Empire of Dirt
Character: Minnie Mahikan
Released: November 22, 2013
Type: Movie
Like many Native families, Lena Mahikan grew up in the cycle of abuse. Her father, a residential school survivor, was an alcoholic until he killed himself when Lena was 10. Her mother, only 14 years her senior, turned to the slots. By the time Lena was 15, she was pregnant and, before giving birth, was kicked to the curb by her mom. The cycle continues and Lena is now watching helplessly as her own daughter, Peeka, spirals out of control, landing herself in the hospital following a drug overdose. As a final attempt at survival, Lena decides to return home and face her own mother and a past she’s desperate to escape.
bee
Jimmy P.
Title: Jimmy P.
Character: Doll
Released: September 11, 2013
Type: Movie
At the end of WWII, Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot who fought in France, suffers from unexplainable symptoms and is admitted to a military hospital. When doctors suspect schizophrenia, an eccentric psychoanalyst takes up the case and starts a conversation with the veteran.
bee
Take This Waltz
Title: Take This Waltz
Character: Karen
Released: November 25, 2011
Type: Movie
Twenty-eight-year-old Margot is happily married to Lou, a good-natured cookbook author. But when Margot meets Daniel, a handsome artist who lives across the street, their mutual attraction is undeniable.
bee
Title: Republic of Doyle
Character: Maria House
Released: January 6, 2010
Type: TV
Jake Doyle and his ex-cop father, Malachy, run a Newfoundland detective agency. Their rugged seaside town never lacks for intriguing cases, and the Doyles don't always land on the right side of the law.
bee
Pavane
Title: Pavane
Character: Kim
Released: September 28, 2008
Type: Movie
Phil and Jay share more than a family bond - failed careers, failed relationships, bottomless drinks, and a debilitating memory of a shocking encounter in a ravine one childhood day. The pretext of being strangers, the darkly comic ritual that the broken, non-functioning brothers perform in an attempt to get at their pain, can't cover the palpable connection between them, nor their deeply felt desire to find redemption. An accomplished pianist, Jay is working as a piano player in a lounge. Mike, one of the bar's patrons, makes a request for Jay to play Maurice Ravel's "Pavane pour une infant defunte", which Jay refuses. This act masks an underlying secret both men share about their childhood.
bee
Fugitive Pieces
Title: Fugitive Pieces
Character: Grace
Released: September 6, 2007
Type: Movie
A child escapes from Poland during World War II and first heads to Greece before coming of age in Canada.
bee
Title: Moose TV
Released: July 5, 2007
Type: TV
Moose TV is a Canadian television sitcom, airing on Showcase in the 2007-08 television season. The show stars Adam Beach as George Keeshig, a Cree from the fictional community of Moose in northern Quebec, who returns home after a decade living in Toronto to become manager of the local community television station. The cast also includes Gary Farmer, Jennifer Podemski, Nathaniel Arcand, Michelle Latimer, Diane Flacks and Billy Merasty. The show's head writer is Paul Quarrington. The series was directed by Tim Southam. Produced by Rezolution Pictures for the Showcase network in Canada, the series received the Indie Award for Best Comedy Series from the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association in 2008.
bee
The Robber Bride
Title: The Robber Bride
Character: Juanita
Released: March 3, 2007
Type: Movie
Journalist Zenia Arden has disappeared. When her finger turns up on the shores of Lake Ontario next to her blood-soaked car, the police believe they've uncovered a homicide.
bee
Distant Drumming: A North of 60 Mystery
Title: Distant Drumming: A North of 60 Mystery
Character: Marjorie Sebastian
Released: January 1, 2005
Type: Movie
Teevee Tenia has a plan - he intends to persuade Lynx River to dump the RCMP and establish an all Dene Police Force. But Corporal Michelle Kenidi is concerned: will a Dene Police Force in Lynx River be answerable to Canadian law, or to Teevee? When an elderly tourist is found beaten to death, Michelle’s concerns deepen as her suspicions fall upon Teevee’s friend, Matthew Fowler. As Michelle pursues the investigation, painful events from the past come alive. For the community of Lynx River, the investigation holds the town’s very future at stake.
bee
Heritage Minutes: Tommy Prince
Title: Heritage Minutes: Tommy Prince
Character: Beryl Prince
Released: January 1, 2005
Type: Movie
A eulogy is given for Tommy Prince, Canada’s most-decorated Indigenous war veteran.
bee
Title: Moccasin Flats
Character: Deb Johnson
Released: November 3, 2003
Type: TV
This series has been aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Showcase Television since 2004. It takes place in Moccasin Flats, Regina, Saskatchewan, an urban reserve where the inhabitants struggle to maintain their cultural identity while overcoming poverty, gangs, violence, and racism.
bee
Bliss - Erotische Versuchungen
Title: Bliss - Erotische Versuchungen
Character: Kate
Released: October 16, 2002
Type: Movie
bee
Title: Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye
Character: Rosie
Released: October 13, 2002
Type: TV
Based on a true story, this family-friendly series follows the adventures of a young, hearing impaired woman who has a special gift and goes to work for the FBI in Washington, D.C. She's one hard-headed, soft-hearted woman whose talent for reading lips helps crack crimes and bag the bad guys in places listening devices can't penetrate. With her hearing-ear dog, Levi, Sue's a glutton for jeopardy – and there's (almost) nothing she won't do to bring notorious criminals to justice. This remarkable, edge-of-your-seat drama is an inspiring tribute to the ability of the human spirit to overcome adversity and achieve great things.
bee
Title: Degrassi
Character: Ms. Chantel Sauvé
Released: October 14, 2001
Type: TV
The life of a group of adolescents going through the trials and tribulations of teendom at Degrassi Community School.
bee
Don't Think Twice
Title: Don't Think Twice
Released: September 17, 1999
Type: Movie
A black comedy, Don't Think Twice is a disturbing and profound examination of the morals of a man forced to choose between lover and family.
bee
Title: Riverdale
Character: Michelle Martin
Released: September 22, 1997
Type: TV
CBC’s first prime time soap opera follows the intertwined lives of four families in Toronto’s Riverdale community.
bee
Bogus
Title: Bogus
Character: Circus Character
Released: September 6, 1996
Type: Movie
Recently orphaned, a young boy is taken in by his godmother who is shocked to realize that she can see the boy's imaginary friend: a flamboyant, French magician named Bogus.
bee
Title: The Rez
Character: Sadie Maracle
Released: February 2, 1996
Type: TV
The Rez was a first nations, Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1996 to 1998. Most of the characters were based on W.P. Kinsella's short story collection Dance Me Outside, which had been made into a film by director Bruce McDonald. McDonald and Norman Jewison were executive producers of the series, which chronicled life in a First Nations community. The series was filmed in the Parry Sound region at Harrison's Landing in Carling Township. All episodes run around 23 Minutes.
bee
Dance Me Outside
Title: Dance Me Outside
Character: Sadie Maracle
Released: March 10, 1995
Type: Movie
Explores the sensitive, and tense, relationship between life on an First Nations reservation and life in the outside world. When Native Canadian Silas Crow is forced to write a personal essay in order to get a much-desired job, he tells the story of the rape and murder of an Indian girl by a drunken thug. When the killer received a lenient two-year sentence for manslaughter, the First Nations community felt shock and anger—and tried desperately to deal with the after-effects of this lack of justice.
bee
The Diviners
Title: The Diviners
Released: January 3, 1993
Type: Movie
Morag Gunn (Sonja Smits), a writer who is having trouble with her teenage daughter, examines her own relationship history, which includes a period of turbulence with Jules (Tom Jackson). While she and Jules have known each other since childhood, he is no rock of stability. In addition, he is white, while she is part Native American, so the teenage Morag (Mairon Bennett) experienced racism he can only imagine. Even after they have a daughter, she struggles against the emptiness within her.
bee
Rehab
Title: Rehab
Character: Janet
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
A First Nations man takes a famous actor back to the reserve to help him cope with his drug addiction.