On April 28th, the day before my birthday, Saints and Warriors had its Canadian premiere at Hot Docs. That still feels wild to say. Hot Docs is the most prestigious documentary film festival in North America, and our film was selected as a Special Presentation—which means the programmers didn’t just like it, they believed in it. That kind of spotlight means so much when you’re sharing a story rooted in place, community, and identity.

To make the experience even more memorable, my partner, my mum, our little one, and I packed up and road-tripped from the West Coast all the way to Toronto. It was a true cross-country adventure—snowstorms, sunshine, endless playlists, and far too many Tim Hortons stops. But honestly, it was kind of perfect. That slow build across the land gave me a lot of time to reflect on how far this story had already traveled—and how deeply it was still rooted in home.

The day of the premiere was a full sprint. We started with a media gauntlet through downtown Toronto, and I was stoked to have my mum with me for all of it. We met up with Marguerite from Touchwood PR, who walked us through each stop with care and grace. First was Breakfast Television with Devo Brown, who had already seen the film and brought real warmth and insight to the conversation. Then over to ETalk with Sonia Beeksma, whose calm energy and shared West Coast roots made it feel like I was chatting with a cousin, not a national TV host. Easily one of my favourite interviews of the year.

Later, we linked up with Desi Collinson—our lead and absolute heart of the film—and together we rolled through more press: NewsTalk 1010, Sportsnet with Donnovan Bennett, Yahoo, Telefilm, and Uninterrupted Canada. Seeing Desi in that environment—confident, calm, shining—was a whole moment in itself.