In the Spotlight
Film Premiere: Giving Ourselves a Voice
Date: May 13, 2012, 4:00pm
Venue: SCC 115, Ryerson University
Over the course of two chilly weekends in January, twelve young Muslims took part in a workshop conducted by filmmaker Jawad Jafry and a team of professionals to learn about the art of documentary filmmaking. By the end, they had produced short films presenting the stories of two Muslimahs in Canada.
Please join us as we release these films and speak with the participants about their experience, and the role of art as a form of political expression.
The event will also feature a talk by Dr. Jasmin Zine, and the screening of Neglected Voices, four short films about Muslim youth and Canadian identity.
This event is free of charge and open to all. Refreshments will be served.
RSVP on Eventbrite or Facebook. For more details, visit: http://www.tessellateinstitute.com/2012/04/21/gov-premiere/
This project was made possible through the kind support of the Toronto Arts Council, the Islamic Institute of Toronto and the Ansar Cooperative Housing Corporation. Sponsors include Compass Books, the Noor Cultural Centre, and Fair Share Marketing.
Mosque One: Oral Histories of Toronto’s First Mosque
From 1961 to 1968, the first mosque in Toronto was a little building on Dundas Street W. The Dundas Street mosque was a prayer hall and community centre in which social activities, major religious celebrations, and schooling took place. Today its existence is largely unknown. This oral history project allows those connected to the mosque to tell their stories.
Screening: Neglected Voices: Stories of Canadian Muslim Youth and Identity
On Tuesday, February 28, the Tessellate Institute screened the four short films produced as part of the Neglected Voices project (description below) in 2011 to a small audience of engaged community members.
Nabeel Ahmed provided a brief introduction to the Tessellate Institute and set the context for the screenings.
Then the four short “point of view” style films were screened, which helped young Muslims explain their feelings about Canadian identity.
The screening was followed by a Q&A with director Jawad Jafry, of Adam’s World fame, and Dr. Kathy Bullock, President of the Tessellate Institute. The audience was full of questions and a lively discussion ensued, about Canadian and Muslim identity, integration and multiculturalism, and discrimination.
About Neglected Voices:
Muslim youth are often at the forefront of international public debate, analysis and scrutiny. What is often missing from these discourses are the voices of young Muslims themselves. Neglected Voices presents 4 short films about Muslim youth who are at risk of being marginalized, representing different ethnic groups that face divergent challenges in Canadian society.
Films produced by the Tessellate Institute & Olive Tree Foundation, presented by the University of Toronto Students’ Union