REEL CANADA Blog : Tags : students

Students from across Windsor in attendance at the Capitol Theatre

Another successful partnership between REEL CANADA and the Windsor International Film Festival is in the books. This year’s festival at the beautiful Capitol Theatre featured over 500 high school students from eight schools across both local school boards! The morning featured two of our most inspiring films, the ever-popular BREAKAWAY and the environmental documentary SHARKWATER, featuring a special guest, “eco-warrior” and filmmaker Emily Hunter (daughter of Greenpeace co-founder Paul Hunter). Following the screening of BREAKAWAY, a fascinating discussion involving several students regarding what it means to be Canadian and growing up under pressure was led by the co-founder of REEL CANADA, Jack Blum. The students of Windsor were very eager to share their stories with their fellow students.

Windsor Star sports journalist Bob Duff

The afternoon also featured two films, including the hockey epic THE ROCKET. We brought in hockey expert and sports journalist for the Windsor Star Bob Duff to discuss Maurice Richard, today’s NHL and the current lockout with the students. Our other feature presentation in the afternoon was a new film to the REEL CANADA program, director Nathan Morlando’s bio-pic about Canada’s most notorious bank robber, Edwin Boyd. It was a packed house for REEL CANADA’s first official screening of EDWIN BOYD: CITIZEN GANGSTER. We were fortunate enough to reach the director of the film in Los Angeles via Skype for a very interesting post-screening conversation.

EDWIN BOYD director Nathan Morlando via Skype 

Over a dozen students lined up to ask Nathan questions ranging from what it was like to spend time with the family of Edwin Boyd to how to make it in the Canadian film industry. One student asked Nathan, “What advice do you have for [those of ] us who want to become filmmakers?” Nathan replied, “Get a cheap camera or borrow one from your parents and start writing stories and making movies with your friends. Your circle of friends, whether it’s from high school or college, will be the ones you work with over and over again because they share the same love for storytelling and they will work for free!”

Nathan was a great guest to the students of Windsor and we’re looking forward to his followup to EDWIN BOYD.

For two days in April, students at New Westminster Secondary School were treated to several inspiring screenings of short films on issues of Aboriginal identity and social justice.

Thanks to the efforts of teacher Lorena Jones, the school library was transformed into a screening venue and attentive crowds of students filed in to enjoy the films.

REEL CANADA’s own Deanne Esdale attended the event and facilitated discussions with two audiences of 100+ students who were attending the social justice-themed screenings. They discussed issues such as the Rwandan genocide after a screening of the short documentary YESTERDAY IN RWANDA, and perspectives on immigration after a screening of the short film TAXI LIBRE.

Even larger crowds turned up to be part of the Aboriginal issues session, and watched THE VISIT, WAPAWEKKA, and the documentary MEMERE METISSE. Seeing unique perspectives on Aboriginal identity told by young filmmakers was refreshing for the students and sparked much great debate. They’d recently watched a hard-hitting doc about residential schools, and were happy to also see some positive stories and expressions of Aboriginal identity in Canada on the big screen.

The event was a real launching pad for discussions and students were energized and enthusiastic to share their comments. We look forward to connecting with the students of New Westminster Secondary School again next year. 

Are you interesting in experiencing animated, documentary and fictional short films by up-and-coming talent? Here’s your chance! We have 3 pairs of tickets to the Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival (this weekend, June 2 to 3) to give away. To enter, send us your name and email address to: reelcanadahq (at) gmail (dot) com

The Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival is a local film festival that showcases the diverse talent of young and emerging filmmakers while offering an educational forum for participants to strengthen their skills through advice from industry veterans. 

REEL CANADA ESL Event at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute

by Richard Park (REEL CANADA OISE intern)

As a teacher candidate from OISE, I chose to complete my internship at REEL CANADA, partially because I’d always harboured a personal interest in cinema. In a professional vein, I’d hoped that I would be able to glean new means of infusing relevance and interest into science curriculum (my teachable subjects being general science and biology) through the medium of Canadian films. I feel that one of the greatest obstacles any teacher faces in a classroom is trying to get students to connect with the material being taught, as opposed to merely digesting and later regurgitating the content.

My first experience attending a REEL CANADA film festival was a decidedly positive one, as I was able to see firsthand how movies, riddled with educational extensions and teachable moments, can serve to ignite students’ interest. Early Tuesday morning, I set off with the REEL CANADA crew to Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, located in Scarborough. The front foyer alluded to the diverse demographic that the school houses, as suspended from the ceiling were a wide array of national flags. In line with the equitable mandate of the REEL CANADA organization, the day’s feature showing was DOUBLE HAPPINESS, a film that carries themes and messages that cater to that morning’s ESL student audience. The feature film was followed by a conversation with Mina Shum, the director, with question, reactions, and comments from the students facilitated by Judith Cockman.

As an educator, I believe that films are an excellent medium for bridging the growing divide between the mandated curriculum and the personal interests of students. Many students feel disconnected from the classroom experience because they don’t find any applicability in what they are learning to their lives outside of school. However, films like DOUBLE HAPPINESS, saturated with values, symbols, and ideas that resonate with Chinese students living and studying in Canada, can serve as means for sparking thoughtful discourse amongst the students and teachers alike. The teacher liaison that coordinated this event with REEL CANADA said that she plans to incorporate the messages of the film into lessons with her ESL students. Reflective writing, classroom discussions, and vocabulary identification are all practical ways in which a fiction film, traditionally produced as entertainment, can be transformed into an educational vehicle for students learning English. Essentially, educators must continually strive for innovation and progressive teaching strategies in the classroom. Harnessing films for this purpose is just one way a teacher can make students feel like they are the star of the show.

Students and teachers from Toronto District School Board at Sheppard Grande Cinemas

It's amazing to think that we've been doing these multi-school Cineplex events in Toronto for five years. The first year, we started with the nine alternative schools that are part of the Toronto District School Board, and nearly all 500+ alternative school students from across the city attended. The second year, we opened it up to the entire board, and got about a dozen schools in. Every year, the event gets a little bit bigger, and the audiences get more diverse. Some schools come year after year, but we attract new ones every single time. This year, a record 20 schools participated. 

Dwain Murphy (left), Daniel Keith Morrison (left middle), Jack Blum (right middle), and Kevin Duhaney (right).

At this year's event, we kicked things off with a screening of the hilarious short PEDESTRIAN JAR, with director Evan Morgan in attendance to talk to a packed house, before they settled into a screening of GUNLESS. Across the way in another equally full auditorium, another group of students watched SHARKWATER, which was followed by a spirited and inspiring talk with Emily Hunter. But the room (and the enthusiastic crowd) was our HOW SHE MOVE audience, which was treated to a visit by Dwain Murphy (who plays the lead role, Bishop, in the film) as well as co-stars Kevin Duhaney and Daniel Keith Morrison, the only bonafide dancer in the bunch (Kevin and Dwain modestly claim to be actors who only pretended to know how to dance). 

How She Move Q&A

At lunch, Pizza Pizza came in with 100 pizzas to feed the 1000 students who came to the event. It was a madhouse, but nobody was left hungry, and by the time the afternoon screenings started, we saw a lot of happy faces heading back into the cinema (with seconds or thirds of pizza tucked under their arms). 

In the afternoon, students watched BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD, BON COP BAD COP and THE ROCKET - truly a program with something in it for everyone. As we were leaving the Cineplex Sheppard Grande at the end of the day, I overheard one student say to a friend that the film he saw (BON COP) was "dope". I didn't realize that slang was even in use anymore, but back in my day, it meant "awesome".