The legendary Celluloid Social Club, renowned for bringing the independent Vancouver film scene together, was kind enough to reach out to me to have me show my film’s trailer and do a quick Q&A to the always interested audience on the night of February 10th, 2010.
The trailer seemed to reach the audience in the manner intended, to advise them there is an issue and we need to do something about it.
The Club was a great place to meet other likeminded individuals and also to garner support for one another’s film projects.
To everyone in the Vancouver independent film scene that is unaware of Celluloid, click on their logo at the bottom to check out their website. Also, check out their partner website, First Weekend Club.
Shout outs to Alexandra Staseson & Paul Armstrong, your support of the industry is definitely appreciated.
Tonight my film was screened for local youth at Grand Taj Banquet Hall in Surrey. The screening was put together by the always hardworking Rubina Mudhar & Sandy Bachra, both of Mosaic BC, both of South Asian Community Coalition Against Youth Violence (SACCAYV). The event was youth motivated and driven. Rubina, Sandy, and myself believed that this event should stay focused on youth and not have picture hungry adults invited. The setting was comfortable for the youth, comfortable enough to have a strong Q&A session follow immediately after the screening.
It was a great intimate event and I want to send my thanks and shout outs to Rubina and Sandy for their hardwork. Though they stray away from recognition, these two are some of the real community leaders that need to be known. Thanks again ladies.
I am requesting everyone’s support to help the people of Haiti.
One of the poorest and unprivileged nations on Earth got the short end of the stick one more time as a massive 7.0 earthquake destroyed much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Show your love and support by making a simple donation. The 2 most credible sites I found to donate through are the following;
Thanks to unsuspected phone calls from Assistant Professor Kym Clark and then Professor Reynaldo Ortiz from Binghamton University (State University of New York), my film was showcased via online streaming to the students of LACAS: 380-A: Asian, Latino/a, and African-American Gangs in NY and Californa: Stereotypes and Realities on January 6th, 2010.
Professor Ortiz advised me that the students were shocked to learn of some of the conditions/reasons for youth getting involved in gang activity in Metro Vancouver. Just as it is stated in my film, some precursors are considered abnormal reasons for motivating youth into this lifestyle.
I was happy to learn that my poetic footage was deemed ‘moving’ by the students. The use of strong metaphorical visuals and impacting audio seems to be working for bringing awareness. I hope to use such tools in my future film endeavours.
Currently, Professors Clark & Ortiz are working on bringing me to New York to showcase the film to a larger audience, along with a Q&A.
Shout outs to Kym Clark & Reynaldo Ortiz & Binghamton University.
A couple of months ago, early in the summer, I was approached by Mercer Creative to come in to check out their ‘project’. Mercer had been commissioned to produce a second music video for Daniel Wesley’s new hit single – Pilgrimage. The intent for this version was to showcase the sad outcomes of the gang lifestyle and bring further awareness to the BC gang issue. Its medium would be an online viral marketing campaign. Mercer had heard of my work with this issue and asked for my insights on their project and if I could ‘donate’ anything to it. I was humbled by their request.
After watching the music video a few times, both my manager, Sandi N., and I felt as though the gang lifestyle was glamourized and that the harsh realities were given a back seat in the music video. I offered to donate any and all footage from my film. After a few revisions we felt as though the message was clear and that it could be showcased.
Mercer Creative is not only known for their great design and marketing, but for all the pro-bono work they do for issues that effect our world. Such as tv-spots on human trafficking which you can watch here.
I want to give shout outs to the good folks at Mercer. Thanks to president/creative director Terry Mercer and associate creative director Deborah Kieselbach for taking on this project. And a special shout out to editing genius Dermot Shane, whose wisdom & character continues to amaze me. Dermot is by far the most knowledgeable person I have met in the film industry. I always jokingly mention to him that I will need his pro-bono services, the kind person he is says, ‘anytime.’
The spoken word rap in my film was done by Rupinder Sidhu a.k.a. Sunskript. His messages in his chosen medium are crossing barriers. Props to you my brother.
As the ‘gang’ issue steadily inclines, more and more communities around BC and across Canada are looking for ways to spread awareness.
A couple of months ago, I was kindly approached by a criminology professor to the possibility of bringing myself and my film to their University.
After many emails and phone calls, we were able to schedule a firm date to showcase my film and proceed with a Q&A session. Vancouver Island University were spectacular hosts and the criminology department went above and beyond to organize these events.
The film was showcased at the Parksville VIU campus on November 4th. The screening on November 5th took place at the Nanaimo campus along with the Q&A session with myself. The criminology students came prepared to ask questions and I hope I was able to answer them sufficiently. It is in our youth we must place our greatest amount of support. Without their intuitive and progressive thinking, issues such as gangs will surely not be resolved for future generations.
Worldbridger is a great organization that brings provocative films to many communities. Please show them support so they may continue to help spread valuable messages.
Finally I wanted to send a special shout out to a new friend, Professor Joanne Simister, Chair, Department of Criminology, Vancouver Island University. Professor Simister’s drive to educate youth and propel them to think outside the ‘box’ is very apparent. It is not often you find someone whose impressive acumen takes a back seat to humility and kindness. Professor Simister is as lovely and kind as she is intelligent and wise. I am blessed to have made this new friend whose views are very much aligned.
I write this blog today, with some disappointment, some frustration, and a little bit of anger.
Yesterday was Halloween, youth take to the streets, dressed up in costumes, and they trick or treat. Some of the costumes I saw this year as I handed out the candy in North Delta saddened me.
First off, let us establish that my neighbourhood is a fairly multicultural neighbourhood. There is no minority but an almost equal mix of different cultures.
Our house had about 100 kids knock on the door this year. Out of the 100, there were about 15-20 that were between the ages of 12 to 15. Their were a few young ladies between those ages wearing short skirts, knee-high boots, and not enough clothing on their upper bodies. Top that off with fish-net stockings and a whole lot of make-up. I asked them what they were suppose to be and they replied with nothing. Is this what our young ladies strive to be?
If that was not enough, this further increased my disappointment; I had 6 young men in the aforementioned age group, all of whom were South Asian, dressed up as hoodlums and wreaking havoc by throwing firecrackers at little kids. One young man came to my door, and I asked him, ‘what is your costume suppose to be?’, and with a golden smile and a tone of pride he replied, ‘a gangster!’
Six young men! Dressed up as hoodlums/gangsters/idiots/whatever you may wish to call them. And sadly, all of them South Asian.
Next year I will be handing out a copy of my film to young men such as this.
It is very apparent that striving for ‘gangsterism’, plagues are youth. More positive role models are needed. I send out a cry for help. Please come forward and educate the youth around you.
The amount of support I get from our neighbouring province is overwhelming. Alberta has been so respectful of my work. They continuously provide support. I sincerely hope British Columbia can start taking the initiative as Alberta has.
On October 27th, AWR screened at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. The film screened to an audience of over 200 people. Members of the community, volunteers, students, law enforcement, government officials, youth, and other proactive peoples were present. The film was meant to be used as a tool (as it was intended) to educate other minority communities as well as society on the gang issue. By taking an in depth look at one community’s struggle with this issue, perhaps awareness can be provided and the issue can be prevented in another community, and eventually society. The ultimate goal is to save lives, now and for the future.
It is no easy task to have something ‘outside the box’ be done in any government agency. Sgt. James Clover, of the Edmonton Police Force worked tirelessly for months (after meeting me at the Alberta Gang Summit) to bring my film out to Edmonton. His active role in the community and with youth is amazing and I thank him sincerely for his efforts.
On October 19th, after months of hardwork by the criminology coordinator, AWR was brought to the collegiate level as a film that was required to be watched for criminology students for a related assignment.
It was great to see students watching the film with the goal to be educated. The Q&A period was my opportunity to educate these eager young minds on how they can make a difference. As criminology students, their potential for helping is limitless. For them to have an accurate understanding of why the issue is happening was essential. I made them aware of the relation of marijuana trade in British Columbia and how it increased the number of gangs significantly.
I was given much respect as many students stayed after the Q&A to continue the discussion with me and to give me their positive comments. It is reasons like this I never tire in trying to make a difference. The kindness and respect is more than enough fuel to drive advocation of the issue forward.
Thank you to Douglas College for welcoming me. The screening at the college was in association with Cinema Politica, a great proactive network of film screenings. A special shout out to Heidi Currie, criminology coordinator and faculty member.
Surrey, a suburb of Metro Vancouver, has seen its fair share of gang violence. Surrey is also home to the largest population of Sikhs and South Asians in North America.
On September 28th, AWR was booked to be screened for Professional Development Day for approximately 70 teachers. Despite the bright sunlight through the windows of the library, the teachers were able to extract enough content from the film to be given insight and awareness into this gang violence issue that has shaken Metro Vancouver. The screening led to an in depth Q&A period lasting nearly 45 minutes. Questions presented were thought provoking none the less to the audience, I hope the answers and avenues I provided were equally as thought provoking and enough to have the issue discussed in the future.
I wanted to thank Q.E. Secondary School, Q.E. Secondary Teachers & Staff. A special shout out to Don Cosens, chair of Professional Development, for recruiting the film and working very hard to bring it to his school.
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One of the teachers present on the September 28th screening of my film took it upon herself to initiate conversation with her Punjabi Studies Class. The interest was evoked, my film was screened for the class on October 8th, and further discussion occurred. The response was so positive that a student took it upon himself to seek me out. Contacting me and speaking about the issue for well over an hour, it was apparent the thirst for knowledge was there for this youth and his classmates. He further took initiative and approved my visit to the Punjabi Studies Class as a guest speaker on October 14th. The discussion about my life, my work, and an educating Q&A seemed to have kept the youth interested for nearly 2 hours.
This further solidifies my belief, that with a spark, you can engulf the world with the fire of awareness.
Thank you to Q.E. Secondary School once again. A very special shout out to Rani Kandola, the teacher who further took the initiative to bring my film to the youth, and Shehbaaz Jhalli, the youth, who took the initiative to bring me to the youth.
