May 31 - June 9, 2024
VSFF: ON THE ROAD
in partnership with
the CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers
Wednesday March 24th at 6:30pm via Zoom
Short Documentary Screening and Discussion with Simone Blais
Thursday March 25th at 6:30pm via Facebook Live
Filmmaker Panel featuring creators from VSFF and CineVic communities
Program Sponsor
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Event Partner
On March 24-25 2021, VSFF is partnering with the CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers for our first event in the VSFF On The Road online event series: Racism and Cultural Appropriation in the Arts: A Screening, Workshop and Panel Event with Simone Blais.
Wednesday March 24th / 6:30pm via ZOOM
Short Documentary Screening and Discussion with Simone Blais
Screening: Dance Like Everybody’s Watching directed by Simone Blais
In this workshop, watch the 30 minute film Dance Like Everybody's Watching, which explores the lives of Black dancers in Victoria, BC (Lekwungen, W̱SÁNEĆ, Esquimalt territories). After this private viewing, participate in a facilitated discussion with the director and other participants. This is the perfect opportunity for people looking to work though themes of cultural appropriation and inclusion in the dance community and is ideal for artists and non-artists of any background. If you are interested in community-building and anti-racism, this workshop is for you!
REGISTER FOR SCREENING & DISCUSSION HERE
Thursday March 25th / 6:30pm via Facebook Live
Filmmaker Panel: featuring creators from VSFF and CineVic communities
Moderated by Simone Blais, this panel will further the conversation begun in the screening and workshop, and explore the intersection of these themes with the work and career of local filmmakers.
Featured Panelists: Andy Hodgson, Adhel Arop, Peruzzo
Simone Blais
Workshop Facilitator &
Panel Moderator
Simone Blais is a dancer, doula, director and aspiring midwife. She is a recent UVic Gender Studies graduate whose work focuses on decolonizing the dance community and reproductive justice for marginalized communities. In the past 5 years, she has worked with the Nesting Doula Collective, and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, delivering workshops about reproductive justice. She is also the director and producer of the documentary Dance Like Everybody's Watching, which highlights the experiences of Black dancers in 'Victoria'. Find about more at simone-blais.com
Adhel Arop
Panelist: Filmmaker Panel
Adhel Arop is a South Sudanese multidisciplinary artist residing in Vancouver BC. Her work ranges from visual to written art, exploring her identity through different forms of expression. As a teenager, Adhel was recruited into a modeling career. She embraced this opportunity to increase her visibility and platform, offering a vision of beauty and self-confidence that would resonate with other African girls who might struggle to figure out who they are and where they belong.
Adhel's first documentary project, Who Am I, won a competition for funding from Telus Storyhive in 2019, then went on to garner awards, international press, and greater attention to the existence of women who were once girls who fought in wars. When she is not pushing the boundaries of our collective narrative, Adhel spends her spare time studying renewable energy and developing a business plan to supply sustainable infrastructure supporting women and girls under-served communities of South Sudan.
Andy Hodgson
Panelist: Filmmaker Panel
Born in Ecuador and raised in the Middle East, Andy moved to Vancouver, BC, in 2001 to pursue film; he graduated from Capilano University Cinematography program in 2004. He began his film career working on several big-budget films and commercials as a member of IATSE Local 891. Andy is an award-winning cinematographer, the producer of independent feature films WOODLAND, BROTHER I CRY, EL SUSPIRO DEL SILENCIO, and the creator of the short film EL COLOR NEGRO. Andy has also shot studio projects for Netflix, Hallmark, and Lifetime.
Peruzzo
Panelist: Filmmaker Panel
Community-based learner, Photographer, Film-maker and Storyteller based in Canada and Brazil. Master’s of Social Dimensions of Health, with specialization in Visual Arts, at the University of Victoria. His personal and professional work examines the conceptions of self, identity and wellness in relationship to society and place.
Grounded in community-led engagement, Indigenous research & visual narrative and storytelling methodologies. Exercises mixed multi-media mediums of knowledge production- using a convergence of scholarship, photography and land-based learning to inspire critical consciousness, inter-cultural theory of identity, relationship, and wellness.
About VSFF On The Road:
The Vancouver Short Film Festival is excited to announce VSFF ON THE ROAD: an online event series connecting filmmakers across the province while staying apart. Sponsored by Creative BC.
VSFF is proud to partner with film organizations province-wide and connect with communities outside of Vancouver as we create unique educational and professional development opportunities for filmmaking in British Columbia. All events are available online, and are FREE and open to the public.
More events in the series to be announced soon!