Tag Archives: AMI TV

Amazing Race Canada’s Julie and Lowell inspire in AMI’s Mind Set Go

The mind is a powerful thing. It can inspire you to seek the most powerful and healthy version of yourself or propel on to a downward slide of negativity.

Debuting Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on AMI-tv, Mind Set Go takes the latter and aims for the former with help from The Amazing Race Canada finalists Julie and Lowell Taylor and Canadian Paralympians. The eight-episode season features everyday folks struggling to overcome the negative thoughts that lead to obesity via a three-month system of diet, exercise and support to get them on the path to health and personal wellness. Serving as certified health and fitness coaches and confidantes are the Taylors, who millions saw competing in Season 4 of The Amazing Race Canada; Lowell is legally blind due to retinitis pigmentosa. The pair plays an integral part in helping the contestants shed weight and negative thoughts.

Gio strives to reach his goal

“AMI was very interested in our story,” Julie says on the line from Lethbridge, Alta. “Our relationship, our teamwork and the fact that Lowell is visually impaired worked. We realized that we have something special that can reach a broader audience.” The journey begins with Gio. One of the original members of The Canadian Tenors, Gio stopped singing professionally over a decade ago and fell into a depression he fed with food. Now he’s ready to get healthy. It’s not easy. After a pep talk and weigh-in with Julie and Lowell, Gio begins his transformative journey.

The road to self-worth includes a bike ride with Michelle Salt. The one-time fitness model lost her right leg in a motorcycle accident but found drive and a zest for life as part of Canada’s Paralympic Snowboard Team. Salt listens to Gio before putting him on a bike and challenging him to keep up and pedals away. As she says, the only thing holding Gio back from success is his mind.

AMI This Week’s Victoria Nolan

“We often talk to people who are patients about this,” Lowell says. “If you believe you can’t you’re right. If you believe you can, you’re also right. If we let those bully voices inside of our head, that becomes the limiting belief. That becomes the thing that pulls us away, to withdraw, to stop living.”

“I don’t even think people identify that that is what’s holding them back,” Julie continues. “It becomes so internalized that they haven’t even identified that. Bringing it to light is so important.” Future episodes of Mind Set Go showcase Canadian Paralympians and athletes in Maya Jonas, Josh Cassidy, Summer Mortimer, Ness Murby, Greg Westlake and AMI This Week co-host Victoria Nolan.

Mind Set Go airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on AMI-tv.

Images courtesy of AMI.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Growing Sense, a new gardening show rooted in inclusion, premieres March 20 on AMI-tv

From a media release:

Celebrate the first day of spring with a new 10-part documentary series focused on cultivating meaningful connections with nature and the community through accessible gardening. A series by Tell Tale Productions, Growing Sense premieres on AMI-tv Tuesday, March 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET and PT.

Novice gardener Milena Khazanavicius once worked as a floral designer with dreams of opening her own shop before losing her sight at the age of 22. Rosmarie Lohnes is a veteran ecological landscaper with a passion for restoring sustainable ecosystems that connect people with nature. Together, they’ll build and tend to an accessible garden plot at Common Roots Urban Farm in Halifax, Nova Scotia, growing a variety of foods, tackling tough landscaping projects and fostering a lasting friendship.

Growing Sense features Integrated Described Video and is accessible to audience members who are blind or partially sighted. Starting March 20, the series airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET and PT, and will be available online at AMI.ca and on the AMI app for iPhone and Apple TV after the initial broadcast.

Follow Accessible Media on Twitter: @AccessibleMedia

About Tell Tale Productions
Tell Tale Productions Inc. was founded in 2003 by Edward Peill with the goal of providing thought provoking and engaging content that will resonate with audiences and have long lasting global appeal. The company produces unique and highly rated one-off documentaries, factual entertainment series, and interactive media and has recently expanded its development slate to include feature films and mobile apps.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

AMI launches new wellness focused documentary series Mind Set Go

From a media release:

Six million Canadians struggle with obesity yet less than 5% lose the weight and keep it off. The new documentary series Mind Set Go (8×30′) follows eight brave Canadians as they tackle their obesity over a three-month wellness journey of body, mind, and soul. Fitness experts Lowell and Julie Taylor (Amazing Race Canada) and several famous Canadian Paralympians and athletes, all of whom have used a positive mindset to overcome their own barriers, provide essential insights to participants along the way. An Anaïd Production, Mind Set Go airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT starting March 8 on AMI-tv. The series features Integrated Described Video and is accessible to audience members who are blind or partially sighted.

Each episode of Mind Set Go starts with the participant’s backstory – perhaps a health scare or a traumatic event was the catalyst for their weight gain. To bookmark their journey, the participant sets a physically demanding goal – like climbing a mountain – to reveal how their lives and attitudes have progressed after the three months. Lowell and Julie Taylor offer their expertise along the way and bring on one Paralympian or athlete per episode to share their inspiring stories and insights with the participants.

Paralympians and athlete featured in the documentary include Michelle Salt(Calgary, AB), Maya Jones (Vancouver, BC), Josh Cassidy (Toronto, ON), Summer Mortimer (Hamilton, ON), Ness Murby (Salt Island, BC), Greg Westlake (Toronto, ON), Victoria Nolan (Toronto, ON), and Curt Minard (Vancouver, BC).

Mind Set Go airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on AMI-tv, starting March 8. Full episodes will also be available to steam online at AMI.ca following the initial broadcast.

Mind Set Go is developed and produced by Anaïd Productions in association with Accessible Media Inc., with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, Rogers Telefund, and the Province of British Columbia, Film Incentive BC, and  with the assistance of the Government of Alberta, Alberta Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Food Spin with Chef Aleem wheels and deals tasty treats on AMI-tv

I’ve been really impressed with the programming AMI-tv is offering. From folks with disabilities struggling to find a job in Employable Me to an all-out culinary competition featuring blind or low vision home cooks, the network is spotlighting truly inspirational people.

The same is true for the channel’s latest offering, Food Spin with Chef Aleem. Debuting Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on AMI-tv, cameras track Toronto’s Aleem Syed from the moment he wakes up to the time he shuts it down at The Holy Grill, his Halal food truck. The hook? Syed is in a wheelchair, but that hasn’t slowed down his passion. A 2008 shooting incident left him paralyzed from the waist down but hasn’t deterred Syed from following his passion; viewers learn that right away as he goes through his culinary education and work ethic.

Syed’s mother is a big part of his life and in the first of 13 episodes we see the duo bicker good-naturedly before getting down to business: Syed wants to re-create his mother’s classic dessert into something he can sell from the truck. After jumping behind the wheel of his car—yes, he drives himself around—Syed hits up a spice shop in Kensington Market to land spices.

Offered in integrated described video for blind and low vision viewers, Food Spin with Chef Aleem‘s production and entertainment value would be equally at home on Food Network Canada and is a testament to the work AMI-tv is doing with their original productions.

Food Spin with Chef Aleem airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on AMI-tv.

Image courtesy of AMI.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

AMI-tv to launch Food Spin with Chef Aleem – a documentary series focused on food, accessibility and community

From a media release:

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) announced today that Food Spin with Chef Aleem – a documentary series following the life of Toronto food truck owner Aleem Syed – will premiere on November 29.

A professionally trained chef, Aleem’s world was forever changed in 2008 when he was involved in a shooting accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. His passion for food never wavered and he made it his mission to open a halal – and fully wheelchair accessible – food truck called the Holy Grill.

Food Spin with Chef Aleem follows his day to day life as he whips through the streets of Toronto drawing culinary inspiration from his Indian roots, experimenting with new foods, and connecting with the community by sharing his story and creative dishes. He’s accomplished so much, but with many aspirations still on the horizon Aleem must contemplate: what’s next?

To be accessible for those with sight loss the show features integrated described video – where Aleem describes his actions and surroundings during filming – eliminating the need for a secondary audio track.

Food Spin with Chef Aleem is produced for AMI-tv by Fair-Play. The 13-episode series kicks off on Wednesday, November 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Full episodes will be available online after the initial broadcast.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail