About SCENE 49
Canadian entertainment. Canadian culture. Canadian voices.
SCENE 49 is an independent Canadian entertainment and culture publication covering the people, productions and creative work coming out of Canada. From film and television to music, books and publishing, theatre and comedy, performing arts, and festivals and events, we report on the stories that make up this country's cultural scene.
There is a lot happening in Canadian entertainment, and plenty that deserves more attention. We follow major productions and established names alongside emerging filmmakers, independent musicians, writers, performers and arts organizations. We're interested in the work itself, the people making it and the decisions that bring it to audiences. That includes interviews, reviews, original features, industry reporting and the stories behind the announcements.
Our focus is Canadian, although that doesn't necessarily mean the work has to take place here. Canadian actors, writers, directors, producers and companies contribute to productions around the world, and those connections are part of our coverage. We also look at the business of Canadian entertainment, including the opportunities and challenges facing the people working in it.
How SCENE 49 began
SCENE 49 grew out of the entertainment coverage at The Boundary Sentinel, an independent British Columbia news publication. What began as a place to cover Canadian books, television, music and other entertainment news soon expanded into something much broader. There were filmmakers to interview, new productions to follow, festivals to explore and Canadian stories that warranted more space than a regional news publication could reasonably provide.
In 2026, that coverage moved into its own publication, giving SCENE 49 room to develop a national focus while continuing to pay attention to the independent creators and smaller organizations that have always been part of our reporting.
Behind the publication
SCENE 49 is owned, edited and published by Shara Cooper, an Edmonton-based Canadian journalist, editor and independent publisher with more than 20 years of professional writing and editorial experience.
Cooper took over The Boundary Sentinel in 2013 and has worked across community journalism, arts and culture, public affairs, history and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in Canadian publications including the Toronto Star and The Tyee. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and an MA in creative writing from Kingston University.
SCENE 49 is part of Cooper's independent publishing work under the Birchbound Media name, which also includes The Boundary Sentinel, covering news and public affairs in southern British Columbia, and Nordic Prairie Life, exploring Nordic heritage, Canadian Prairie history, food and cultural traditions.
Working with SCENE 49
Good entertainment journalism depends on relationships with the people who create, produce, present and support cultural work. We welcome news, story ideas and interview opportunities from artists, filmmakers, authors, publishers, publicists, production companies, festivals, arts organizations and readers across Canada.
We take those submissions seriously and consider them on their editorial merits. Coverage and reviews remain independent, and our reporting follows established journalistic principles of accuracy, fairness, verification and attribution. You can read more about our approach in the SCENE 49 Editorial Standards.
If you're working on a Canadian project, have an upcoming event or release, or know about a story we should be following, we'd like to hear from you. Visit our Contact page to get in touch.
This is our scene.