By: Alison Wick, Arts Editor
Reel Causes: Because We Are Girls
Update: Check out our review of the film and evening here.
This week, Reel Causes — a film society dedicated to promoting and screening films for social justice and stimulating conversation — will be screening the 2018 documentary Because We Are Girls at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema. Previously screened at DOXA Documentary Film Festival, the film is an emotional and nuanced documentary about the impacts of sexual abuse on an Indo-Canadian family in rural B.C.
Vancouver-based filmmaker Baljit Sangra follows three sisters as they come forward about the abuse they experienced as children in order to protect the next generation of young women. The film is an empathetic look at the complicated, and retraumatizing, process of coming forward about sexual abuse, the power of unconditional love, and the importance of healing together.
A post-film discussion will be had after the film with the filmmaker and the sisters with a counselor from Family Services of Greater Vancouver. The cause being specifically highlighted this evening is Family Services of Greater Vancouver, which seeks to support and strengthen families as well as fight violence against women and youth.
Because We Are Girls is screening Thursday, June 6, at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema in SFU Woodwards. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.
Emerge Festival Showcase 2019
The Emerge Festival is an annual festival in the Downtown Eastside to celebrate and showcase DTES Small Arts Grant Recipients. The festival features group art exhibitions, readings, workshops, and screenings from artists whose work and selves are based in the community.
On Wednesday, the festival begins at the Vancouver Public Library’s nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch with “Writers Read,” an evening of new local literature of all genres. On Thursday, June 6 the multidisciplinary showcase “Screening, Songs, & Spoken Words” is being held at SFU Goldcorp Centre. “Filmmakers, Musicians, Singers, and Storytellers” will be performing and screening their films, free to the public.
Finally, from Friday through Sunday, the group art exhibition will be shown at the BC Artscape Sun Wah Centre. If you are looking for ways to support your local community or find new artists to put on your radar, look no further.
Writers Read is Wednesday, June 5, at 6:30 p.m. at nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Library. The showcase is Thursday, June 6, at 8 p.m. at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. The group exhibit opens June 7 at 6 p.m. at the BC Artscape Sun Wah Centre. Each event is free to the public, but you can see the schedule and donate at vancouverfoundationsmallarts.ca
