Selected Writing
Interviews
Precious elements: In conversation with Parastoo Anoushahpour
As part of a 2023 Images Festival screening series called Passages, Anoushahpour’s film was screened alongside the works of Iranian filmmakers Naghmeh Abbasi, Siavash Yazdanmehr, and Rojin Shafiei.
‘Go read’—In conversation with Shasha Li
Li’s debut film, Heaven Rain Flows Sweetly, recently premiered at DOC NYC. I spoke with Li about the making of the film and what nature can teach us about life.
Lucy Tulugarjuk on co-directing the award-winning film Tatuktavuk (What We See)
Filmed during the height of the pandemic, Kunnuk and Tulugarjuk had to navigate public health policies that forced changes to filming locations and ultimately shifted the storyline to an intimate portrait of two sisters who connect over a vast distance.
Q&A with award-winning Indigenous artist Shelley Niro
Shelley Niro’s visual art and film have explored a borderless continent, power and pop culture, life on First Nations reserves, and much more – never without a sense of self.
Profiles
Natashia Allakariallak
As a mother and artist, Allakariallak continues to explore the depths and distances between kinship and personal identity—how the passing of time affects one’s body and the relationships we hold.
Lou Gehrig Day: A call to action from a former NHLer
In the spring of 2015, Mark started feeling muscles in his right bicep twitch, and he was getting weaker. “The disease moved around like a clock – going from right arm to left arm, to left leg to right leg, and it caused a lot of damage along the way,” he says.
In the face of hardship and an ALS diagnosis, love persists
For Idris and Mutiat, the time is now for love, hope and kindness. Even as they face immeasurable hardships, Mutiat and Idris rely on love to carry them through the adversity they encounter on a daily basis.
While I still can, I will inspire my community to learn about ALS: Jane's story
“We often take our daily lives for granted, and life altering conditions make the once joyous holidays very difficult. Our family and close friends visiting will create ‘different’ memories and reflecting on the past can become a very sad time for the present,” Jane says.
A family of Blue Jays fans cheers on Lou Gehrig Day
When they heard that the Major League Baseball community was rallying together for Lou Gehrig day, the Cels were excited. “As someone living with ALS, I am glad to see Major League Baseball take on this cause recognizing that since his passing in 1941, Lou Gehrig has been permanently associated with the disease,” Mike says.
Abolition architecture
In December 2015, Tings Chak stood among protesters outside the Toronto Police Service’s headquarters, holding a banner that read, “NO STATUS CHECKS IN A SANCTUARY CITY.”
Toronto based researcher works to preserve ancient Syriac inscriptions
More than a decade ago, Amir Harrak spent three sweltering summers in his native Iraq, photographing inscriptions written in the Classical Syriac language. The University of Toronto researcher had set out to document the centuries-old engravings, knowing many would eventually be lost.
Reviews
The World is Family: An intimate portrait of lives lived in peace and tumult
I feel lucky to have entered the world of Anand Patwardhan’s documentary filmmaking through his latest, most personal film, The World is Family. I wandered into the screening enchanted by the title, which seems not to be an anomaly but an extension of some sort of artistic hand.
The Taste of Mango
The Taste of Mango is a beautifully made film, but it resists the saccharinity of beauty, mediates on its usefulness in bringing about a picture. Metaphors abound almost effortlessly: the revolutions of a wheel and its spokes on hard pavement, the slicing of mango near the pit. But there’s the labour of love and care that settles on the mantle—the sound of a voice in various stages of admiration and lament.
NAGA, an unlikely best film at TIFF 2023
A film that screens at 11:59 p.m. is bound to draw the eye. Although NAGA, a Netflix film out of Saudi Arabia, would be inconspicuous otherwise—a title among other titles on the TIFF programme, it certainly found the right crowd as part of a Midnight Madness screening at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on a Tuesday.
Reporting
FACE looks to support Black entrepreneurs beyond post-pandemic hardships
The COVID-19 pandemic placed Black entrepreneurs under significant financial strain. To address this issue, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in September 2020 that up to $221 million would be invested in the Black Entrepreneurship Program through partnerships with financial institutions.
Canadian charities need to up their digital games to upend giving declines
Despite a spike in online giving at the start of the pandemic, charitable donations are by and large on the decline in Canada. Experts say organizations need to shore up digital skills and infrastructure to nurture relationships with donors.
Ryerson acquires Edward Burtynsky photo collection
The donated images document the Canadian photographer’s renowned career, starting with his time as a Ryerson student.
Social entrepreneurship gains ground on Canadian campuses
An array of new programs gives students an opportunity to tackle issues of importance to their local communities.
Canada launches its own version of the Athena SWAN charter
The new Dimensions pilot program to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in Canada’s postsecondary institutions is set to launch.
Budget 2018 gives a major boost to fundamental research in Canada
An injection of $3 billion for research and expressed support for the “next generation of researchers” figures prominently in the federal budget.