What it’s all about…

Press+1 has one mandate - Entertainment Canadians want to know about! Want to know what is going on in your neighbourhood? Want to know about the great concerts heading to your city? How about the last Cirque du Soleil tour? How about interviews with big Canadian talent like The Midway State or Simple Plan? Or on site coverage of the Junos, Genies, Toronto International Film Festival, Folk Fests, Film Fests, Music Fests? You name it, we are covering it for you! We kinda love Canadian Music, Films, TV, Theatre, Fan Expos, etc and want to talk about them. A LOT!

Of course we think things from other countries are kinda cool too, so, that is why you’ll find interviews with the likes of Franz Ferdinand when they played the Calgary Stampede, or a concert review of the last Prince concert that came to Canada, or TIFF interviews with Hollywood’s hottest talent. We've talked to Bradley Cooper when he stopped in Toronto to talk about The Hangover Part II, and we were at one of Kevin Smith's few press conferences for Red State. We also have a rocking Canadian Film section that let’s Canadians discover how great Canadian films got in the last few years and what you’ll want to head to the theatres to see next.

We started up in 2007 and have quickly become Canada's largest independent online all entertainment magazine. We cover more events across Canada then any other indie magazine. We have journalists from coast to coast who do interviews, reviews, articles and cover some of the most important events that Canada has to offer in entertainment. We have expanded to our own You Tube Channel packed with over 100 video interviews and the Canadian Film Review Web-show.

So check out the magazine, send us some feedback and let us know what entertainment you want to know about in Canada!

Kindah Mardam Bey (Ontario)
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Kindah Mardam Bey has achieved business success at just over 30 years old. Kindah is a Publisher, Producer, Public Speaker, and a Journalist. After her degree in Communications, Kindah started in the entertainment industry as an Assistant Buyer at the Festival du Cannes and 'worked her way up' the ladder. Kindah became inspired by the creative outlet of multi-platform communications and media, which was the foundation for Press+1. Recently, Kindah has been working closely with the Canadian film industry on multiple projects connecting Canadian audiences to their homegrown films. Favourites: Capra films, The Lake House, and too many filmmakers to mention, Keane, Prince, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, books about sociology, and has an unhealthy affinity for Buffy The Vampire Slayer...because we have a serious vampire problem these days folks. Read more about Kindah Mardam Bey.

Tessa Perkins (Vancouver)
Managing Editor
& Senior Journalist (Books/Films/Music/Theatre)

Bio: Tessa has just completed a bachelor’s degree in English and French literature with a minor in publishing at Simon Fraser University. With a love of all things to do with the arts, she enjoys writing about music, books, film, theatre, and dance. She has been doing ballet since she was five, is a Liverpool Football Club supporter, and is also very interested in environmental issues. Tessa is from Surrey, BC. In the future she would love to have a career that allows her to travel and write about the arts. Favourites: bands are Metric and The Doors; favourite films are Crash and Revolutionary Road; and her favourite books include Catcher in the Rye and the Bourne series.

Alex Hutt (Vancouver)
Editor & Senior Journalist (Music/Films/Theatre)

Alex has a Bachelors of Communications from Simon Fraser University and has been writing for Press+1 for 3 plus years. His main focus is music, film and stage interviews and reviews but he also TV and books along with other parts of the entertainment world. A shameless music geek who has way too much music on his computer and iPod, Alex also hosts PressPlus1's film podcast, CinemaPlus1!

Alana Marchetto (Calgary)
Executive Assistant

Alana is the “Girl Friday” for Press+1.  A role she has had plenty of experience in at her job as a full time mom to a very busy little girl. Alana graduated with distinction from the U of C with a degree in Socio-Cultural Anthropology which sparked a on going love affair with foreign film. In her spare time Alana is also an accomplished and award winning fibre artist and can usually be found watching movies or professional sports while knitting away on her latest project. 

Kevin Chan (Vancouver)
Editor & Journalist

Kevin is a currently working towards a Bachelors of Communications while also attaining a major in English and a minor in Publishing.  While he is not sure what career path he wants to take, he does know that he shares a passion for writing.  At Press+1, Kevin enjoys writing film reviews and the occasional book review (when he can put down his textbooks).  He is also learning the ropes of editing, and hopes to be able to hone his interviewing skills as well.  One day, Kevin hopes to attend the Sundance Film Festival and take in as many films as he can!

Sarah Rix (Toronto)
Senior Music Journalist

Sarah Rix completed her bachelor's degree at the University of Toronto, studying cinema, history, and music history and culture. Her fascination with popular culture was one fostered from a young age. Although Sarah enjoys film and television, her main interest is music. Sarah has a great ear for up and coming music talent and along with pursuing a degree in Journalism, she does concert coverage and video interviews for the Press+1 YouTube channel with artists like Panic! At The Disco, Simple Plan, The Joy Formidable, Midway State, Shad, and Justin Nozuka. Favourites: Franz Ferdinand, Metric, The Beatles and she favours British rock and Canadian indie talent. When not writing about and listening to music, Sarah spends a lot of time watching The Colbert Report and The Daily Show. She is also an avid George Clooney and Anderson Cooper fan. 

James Karas (Toronto)
Senior Theatre Reviewer

James Karas reviews opera and theatre and writes about cultural matters. He has been published in various publications including The National Herald, Press+1, METOXOS Magazine and The Greek Press.He lectured at Ryerson Polytechnic University for a number of years and has been involved extensively in community and other not-for-profit and charitable organizations. He is a lawyer and holds a BA in English Literature and an LLB, both from the University of Toronto. Favourites: authors are Shakespeare and Homer. He has seen some of Shakespeare's plays as many as thirty times and consider that just a beginning. As for opera, Mozart and Wagner are at the top of his. Give him Don Giovanni and the complete Ring of the Nibelungs any day of the week, or any week of the month…..

Rhys Dowbiggin (Calgary)

Entertainment Journalist (Film)

Rhys Dowbiggin was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario prior to relocating to Calgary, Alberta in 1999. He has been writing for Press+1 for over a year. By day, Rhys is the Coordinator, Media and Community Relations for the Calgary Stampeders Football Club, where he has worked for two years. By night, he is working towards a Bachelors of Applied Business and Entrepreneurship/Sport and Recreation Management Degree from Mount Royal University. Rhys is a passionate lover of the arts — film in particular. He has an ongoing Top 100 films list, which count 1999 and 2004 as his favorite years for film. When he is not enjoying the arts, Rhys loves sports; football in particular. He is an avid Chicago Bears fan. Favorites: Blade Runner, 12 Angry Men, Glengarry Glen Ross, Cinema Paradiso, and L.A. Confidential.

Robin Pierson (UK)
TV Critic Podcast

Robin Pierson is the TV critic at thetvcritic.org. He writes critical reviews of US TV shows and analyse what makes them good, bad, irritating and enlightening. He fell in love with American comedy and drama shows in the mid-90s and began writing an episode guide about “Friends” in 2005, determined to study why a shows quality declines over time. By 2008 thetvcritic.org was up and running and since then he has covered dozens of shows and recorded over a hundred podcasts sharing his passion for picking apart what makes TV shows succeed and fail creatively. Robin lives in London in the UK and has appeared on BBC News 24 and BBC Radio Five Live. e-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Aaron Bala (Toronto)
Entertainment Journalist (Television)

Aaron Bala currently writes for the TV section of Press+1. He is completing a degree in criminology, sociology and history, has run a 10k, hopes to one day enter a marathon and can speak Latin.Aaron’s dream job would be to decide what shows networks choose to make and when they should be scheduled....so basically the head honcho of NBC, ABC, or CTV... Favourites: shows are 24, Modern Family, Spartacus, Lost, Community, Parks & Recreation, Friday Night Lights, and The Soup. If he could bring back one show from the dead it would be NBC’s Kings. Some of his favourite movies include Wedding Crashers, Inception and Serenity. His favourite books include Animal Farm, The Prince, and Runaway Jury. Favourite musical artists are Paramore, Kanye West, Lifehouse and Jimmy Eat World. 

Ben Tsui (Calgary)
Media & Journalist (Film/Music/Theatre/Comics/Books/A&C/Fashion)

Ben Tsui is a graduate of the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Drama & Stage Designs, with a Minor in Art & Film Studies.  He also holds an Applied Arts Degree in Television (Writer/Producer) from SAIT Polytechnic. Ben has worked professionally on and off camera in the Canadian film, television, news, fashion and live theatre industries since the early 1980's. He is also one of the founding Board members of the Calgary International Film Festival, as well as the Calgary Asian Film Festival, and the Singapore Vancouver Film Festival. Ben is currently writing a world cinema survey guide, to be published in 2012.  *Favorites:*When time permits, Ben volunteers with many local multicultural arts & culture community events. He is also an avid movie lover of foreign language films, spaghetti westerns, silent cinema and Bollywood musicals.

Katie Nohr (Vancouver)
Entertainment Journalist (Television)

Katie enjoys television, a lot. She is a graduate of Simon Fraser University’s English department, where she developed a love of fiction. Katie mainly writes recaps and reviews for Press+1’s TV section, because there is very little that she enjoys more than a good story and television has been overflowing with good stories lately. Favourites: Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Dexter, Continuum, Supernatural, Doctor Who. She tends to like genre tv, but her taste in books varies widely; Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), and a collection of Grimm’s fairy tales are among her favourite things to curl up on the couch with.

Lindsay Marshall (Toronto)
Entertainment Journalist (Film)

Lindsay Marshall reviews mainly films, but will write just about anything if it involves pop culture! She was born and raised in Ottawa, before moving to London, and attending the University of Western Ontario, earning a BA in English Literature, with a Minor in Creative Writing. She moved to Toronto to attend Ryerson University, and earned a Certificate in Publishing. Lindsay is an avid reader, and aspires to write full time.  *Favourites:* Books: Harry Potter, anything Roald Dahl, The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls; Films: Casablanca, The Departed, Kill Bill, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Se7en, The Shawshank Redemption; Music: Kate Havnevik, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Pink, Robyn, Justin Timberlake; Television: Fraser, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, The Simpsons.

Damien O'Neill (Toronto)
Entertainment Journalist (Television)

Damien is a recent graduate from the Radio and Television Arts program at Ryerson. Film and television is a huge passion of his and he has been writing scripts since his high school years, with the dream of one day having his own television drama series. Some of his favourite shows include: Twin Peaks, Lost, Six Feet Under, Enlightened, Desperate Housewives, Freaks and Geeks, Daria, Weeds, and Damages. 

Juli Monroe (USA)
Entertainment Journalist (TV, Books)

Juli Monroe may be American, but she's more in love with British TV than the err...stuff...her own country produces (well, except for Castle, but who doesn't love Nathan Fillion, and he's Canadian anyway). In her day job, she coaches clients in networking and social media, but her real love is writing. She's published a book on networking, The Enthusiastic Networker, but the fun stuff is her urban fantasy series, The Warlock Case Files, about a warlock and vampire who battle the supernatural in Washington D.C. (No, that's not a commentary on U.S. politics. Honest.) Not surprisingly, she loves fantasy books like The Dresden Files and The Wheel of Time. Her favorite shows are Doctor Who and Sherlock.

Nick Watson (Ontario)
Entertainment Journalist (Film)

Nick Watson currently lives in Toronto and has always had a passion for film and reading. With a diploma in ASL-English Interpretation, he spends his time watching films and dreaming of living in them. A lover of everything horror and the macabre, he very much enjoys Harry Potter, sweeping romantic dramas of the classic variety and over-the-top musicals. Nick currently writes for www.iheartmoviesTO as well as Press +1.

Olivia Lam (Vancouver)

Entertainment Journalist (Television, Film)

Olivia is working towards a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Communications minor at Simon Fraser University. Aside from feeding her love for Restoration period novels, she admits to a pleasure of reading books from the contemporary teenage genre as well. When she’s not busy self-diagnosing herself on Google, Olivia spends her spare time filling her bookshelf with more authors than she can read, such as Emily Griffin. Olivia’s taste in television is quite an eclectic one comprised of shows such as: The Walking Dead, Modern Family, Game of Thrones, Glee, and even the web-series “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries”. Find Olivia on twitter at @oliveslamb

David Ly  (Vancouver)

Entertainement Journalist (Television, Music)

David is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Simon Fraser University through the World Literature program while also working towards an English minor. On Press+1, David writes reviews and recaps for films, TV, and music. As for the future, putting aside his ambitious dreams in becoming a dinosaur whisperer, David hopes that one day he will continue writing (creatively or critically!) for his professional career. Some of David’s entertainment favourites include: Primeval: New World, Being Human, Modern Family, The Walking Dead, Lifehouse, fun., P!nk, and Lady Gaga. Find David on twitter at @heydavie

Fiona Marchetto (Calgary)
Entertainment Journalist (Film/Books)

Fiona is 9 years old and attends the 4th grade in Calgary. She loves movies, especially old musicals and young adult action movies like Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia and Percy Jackson. She is also an avid reader and loves to listen to new music. Fiona is a serious musician and as been playing the violin since she was 4 years old. In her spare time she loves to play soccer, go to sleepovers and never EVER cleans her room.

Past & Present Press+1 Contributors:

Aaron Binder    Beverley Ann    Evan Dowbiggin    The British Chef    Max Specht    Miriam Cross    Amanda Waschuk    Benjamin Hayden    Carolynn Nguyen    Dan Blacklock    Daria Belseck    Jared Hunt    Jenson Quon    Jessica Fralick    Kathy Nguyen    Kristiana Barber    Lauren Konrad   Meghan Coslovich    Melissa De Leon    Meghan Masterson    Nicky Renault    Tiffany Sostar    Xanthe Couture    Ashleigh Rajala    Emily Wall   Monica Wierzbicki    Robert Waldman    Taryn Hubbard     Deborah Ground Buckner    Lauren Eldridge    Melanie Shim    Alan Jones    Gabor Pertic   Keith Wilen   Christine Lee    Peggy Karas     Peter Hemminger    Sarah Miller    Ian Gregg    Sean Marchetto    Sophia Ladovrechis  Adam Donaldson  Jenny Sung   Nadine Bachan   Amanda Bertucci   Felicia Chow   Sonja Jackson   Richard Lam   Kate Nestibo   Amanda Wenek  Christine Bode

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