{"id":11212,"date":"2020-03-09T12:13:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T12:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=11212"},"modified":"2021-04-10T00:25:38","modified_gmt":"2021-04-10T00:25:38","slug":"diversity-and-self-discovery-showcased-at-tiff-next-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=11212","title":{"rendered":"Diversity and self-discovery showcased at TIFF Next Wave"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Young filmmakers showed their films at the TIFF Next Wave Young Creators Showcase on Feb. 16, 2020.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”11217″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]This year, 14 filmmakers submit diverse films about the struggles of growing and discovering their own identities and accepting oneself.<\/p>\n

The TIFF showcase aims to inspire young people interested in film and help filmmakers establish their place in the film industry.[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”11215″ alignment=”center”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Onyeka Oduh created her personal film, Boy Before<\/em>, which delved into the delicate ideas of gender identity and religion in a young teen’s life, reflective of their journey as a queer, non-binary person who grew up Catholic and Pentecostal Christian.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Oduh made the film so other Humber College students would have courage to tell their own stories \u201cbecause they are important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Humber College alumni hoped others “won’t see resistance from the powers that be\u201d of administration.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Boy Before<\/em> \u201cwas a love letter to that kid in me that was able to learn and grow from their experiences,\u201d Oduh said, \u201cto become the best version of one’s self.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cI learned to defend myself, my story, my characters, my choices and my crew while making this film and it is something that I will take with me into the next project that I make,\u201d Oduh said.[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Do Turtles Swim in Maple Syrup?,<\/em> was a film created by Paul-Daniel Torres to celebrate Toronto and show Latin-Canadians on screen.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”11216″ alignment=”center”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Torres’ film portrayed a teen struggling to decide between “succumbing to racial stereotypes or fight for a better life.”[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Through Torres’ choice of music and visuals, he wanted racialized audiences to know that “we’re more than the stereotypes and prejudices that people have for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, the individual, hold the power to decide who we become,\u201d Torres said.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Andrew Stevenson, the program coordinator for film and television at Humber College, said film festivals encourage students to produce bold films that wouldn\u2019t be seen in class.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Film is “the most powerful tool” to communicate with audiences, Stevenson said, “you can be sure that the audience is fully immersed in the story that you’re telling.”[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

\u201cFilm brings together all different types of sensory experiences,\u201d Stevenson said, \u201cwith dramatic visuals and a tapestry of sounds.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Young filmmakers encounter many challenges when making films, everything from financial to technical obstacles, Stevenson said.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]”You have inspiration and you have to figure out what you want to say,\u201d Stevenson said, \u201cand it is increasingly difficult to do in the world we live in today.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]TIFF audience member Hope Drawl said all the films were very unique and showcase different aspects of Toronto and society.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cEven though I’m not a filmmaker myself I just really appreciate and love films and all the production and everything that goes into films,\u201d Drawl said.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fourteen films challenge the limits of storytelling at the Young Creators Showcase at TIFF Next Wave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":11221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[132],"tags":[626,627,234],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11212"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}