Newfoundlanders are gifted with gab. The island is also home to a slew of gifted filmmakers. Those ingredients provide local writer, director, and comedian Mike Fardy with the perfect recipe to serve up generous helpings of local talent on his new venture The Greenlight Podcast.

“My mission is to continue to lure people who are more talented than me into a room where I can badger them with questions for roughly 90 minutes,” says Fardy. “I’ve already learned so much from those I’ve talked to. I hope the podcast can act as encouragement for others who are trying to break into the world of film.”

Fardy’s genuine desire to glean inspiration from his guests is echoed in a candid take on his humble film career beginnings.

“I think I knew I wanted to work in film when I really tried to make my first film. I tried so hard and it was so, so bad. It really made me want to learn how to make a film that looked as good on screen as it did in my head! I still haven’t figured out how to do that.”

As Fardy explains, he’s not the only brainchild behind the podcast.

“My friend Tim Collingwood mentioned he wanted to produce a podcast, and I wanted to talk to people about something I was deeply interested in. So The Greenlight Podcast was born! It lets me talk to people whose work I admire and get the answers to questions I wonder about every time I start on a new project.”

This past January, Fardy kicked off the podcast with actor, writer, director, and producer Ruth Lawrence, known for such films as Two Square Feet (2012) and Talus and Scree (2013), not to mention her recent vital role in convincing the City of St. John’s to reverse its nefarious arts sector budget cuts.

The second podcast aired on February 15th and featured actor, writer, director, and producer Ross Moore. He recently completed his short The Woman in White (2015), a follow-up to his previous two shorts Of the Essence (2012) and The Fourth Minute (2010).

When he’s not busy lining up future podcast guests, Fardy is busy with his stand-up comedy career and developing his own film projects.

“Right now I’m working on getting funding for a horror short and am finishing up the second drafts of my feature scripts. Hopefully I can get those scripts to the point that I don’t have nightmares about having to read them every night and eventually send them to others for notes!”

Perhaps Fardy’s dogged persistence will pay off and we’ll be treated to a self-interview on his podcast. Time will tell.

In the meantime, there are two ways you can tune in. Search The Greenlight Podcast on iTunes or go to mikefardy.com/greenlight-podcast. For those who choose the website, Fardy highlights an added bonus.

“There are also some weird short films on there for you to peruse, should you feel so inclined.”