On June 20th, ‘A Warrior’s Religion’ was screened for community members concerned about the recent rise in gang activity in Calgary, Alberta.

Here is an excerpt from the press release:

Over the past six months Calgary has seen an increase in gang related deaths. Communities are concerned and struggling to find ways to address this issue.

Please join us on Saturday June 20, 2009 for a community dialogue and private screening of A Warriors Religion, a documentary exploring the gang violence in Metro Vancouver.

A Warrior’s Religion provides an insightful view of both life as a gang member and the communities response to violence. It is our hope that we can learn from the experience of Metro Vancouver and begin to develop a Calgary based response to the violence in our communities.

Communities are made of parents, youth, schools, social service agencies, religious centers businesses and governments therefore solutions must  include the same. We invite you to share your experiences and learn from the experiences of others so that we may together begin to work towards a solution. Please consider attending and share this invitation with others in your community.

I was prepared to deal with the so called ‘controversy’ but I was quickly surprised at the progressive mindset of the community in Calgary.  As this dialogue event was intended to be a precursor for our public screenings set for July 25th & 26th, we garnered much support and sponsorship of tickets.  It was a great feeling to have the support of the community and the understanding of my intentions without the focus on the controversy.  This event will surely help pave the way for success during the public screenings and other events across Canada.

I want to thank all the volunteers for the event and give special shout outs to Kulwant Neote and Susan Ramsundarsingh.