60 mins
Panel Discussion

Following screening of Brooklyn, Inshallah, TPFF will be hosting a lively panel discussion around the arts and community activation of diverse communities. The discussion is inspired by the film and not a response to the film.

The panel is open to participants who do not attend the film screening.

PANEL DESCRIPTION

Over the years, TPFF has screened numerous Palestinian films spotlighting community mobilizing for change in Palestine. More recently, films like Brooklyn, Inshallah have focused on marginalized Arab/Palestinian communities in the US organizing for local change. In an increasingly politicized climate, and on the eve of a federal election, our panellists will discuss their practices (film-making, curatorial, scholarly) and knowledge of using art to engage historically disenfranchised communities to mobilize for social change. They will also reflect on whether artistic strategies need to shift to address today’s polarized climate.

60 minute panel. Afterwards, conversations can continue at Founder's Lounge next to cinema.

The panel takes place after the screening of Brooklyn, Inshallah and is open to participants who do not attend the film screening.

PANELLISTS

Wanda Nanibush is an Anishinaabe-kwe curator, image and word warrior, and community organizer. Currently she is the inaugural curator of Indigenous Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario in new Indigenous & Canadian art department which she co-leads with Georgiana Uhlyarik Nanibush holds a masters in Visual Studies from the University of Toronto where she has taught graduate courses. She is touring the exhibitions Rebecca Belmore Facing the Monumental (AGO), Sovereign Acts.

Alison Duke is an artistic activist, award-winning filmmaker and passionate producer committed to the Canadian visual art form. She established Goldelox Productions to produce social issue content. In 2016, she produced the Akua Benjamin Legacy Project, a digital web series which celebrates the legacies of Toronto-based black activists Inspired by Ava Duvernay, #metoo and the reality that opportunities for women behind the camera in Canada are long overdue, Alison hired five black female Canadian directors to helm the films. Recently, she co-wrote and co-produced the television documentary Mr. Jane and Finch (19) directed by Ngardy Conteh George (and edited by Sonia Godding Tobogo) for CBCDocs POV. She also directed, Cool Black North (19), a two hour television documentary special for CityTV/Rogers. Current activities sees her producing Laurie Townshend's, feature documentary, Mothering in the Movement under Oya Media Group banner and kickstarting Year2 of Black Youth! Pathway2Industry, a 3- year initiative to support black youth access essential training, mentors, networks and film industry spaces.  

Hiba Abdallah is an artist and organizer who frequently works with others. Her practice explores locality, civic agency and collaborative structures as tools for gathering, learning and making. She received her BFA from the University of Windsor in 2012 and her MFA from the University of Guelph in 2017. She currently lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.

MODERATOR:

Richard Fung

Richard Fung is an award-winning Trinidad-born video artist and cultural critic. Until recently, he was Professor, Faculty of Art, OCAD University, where he taught courses in Integrated Media and Art and Social Change. His work and essays tackle challenging subjects ranging from the role of the Asian male in gay pornography to colonialism, immigration, racism, homophobia, 

HIV/AIDS, justice in Israel/Palestine, and his own family history. Richard is a longstanding member of the TPFF advisory board.