Check out our new 10-minute film on youtube about the Hand-Held [un]conference. It was sewn together by the lovely and talented Heather Frise, from many, many hours of footage taken of the day. (See if you can spot Tonya Lee Williams, of Young and Restless fame. Or maybe you’ll see yourself in there somewhere? Or, just learn about the open-source concept and how Misha Glouberman brilliantly mashes-up people from all walks of life.)
The other great news from the Hand-held front: there’s a meeting confirmed with the Ontario Minister of Youth and Children Services. The I WAS HERE team has an appointment with the Honourable Deb Matthews in mid-June. The photobloggers will share some of our media work with her, and talk to her about the idea for a Hand-Held Social Innovation Lab.
Then, we’ll follow up with everyone at the next advisory board meeting, set for June 18th. Please join us if you’d like to help out. Its only one meeting a month. e-mail me at k.cizek@nfb.ca for deets.
May 21st, 2008
Just in time for Mother’s Day, we’re in today’s Toronto Star in an article about the young parents’ project.
The piece focuses on our video bridge film, Unexpected, that kicked off our [un]conference. It is a frank and candid video dialogue between young mothers who have experienced homelessness and the health care workers who help to deliver babies.
There are a few inaccuracies in the article: “Keneisha, another young mom/videographer featured in Unexpected, opens the film with her contempt for the grilling she faced at St. Mike’s when she showed up expecting twins.”
Keneisha did not have her twins at St. Mike’s, nor was she speaking specifically about her encounter during her delivery of her twins. She was speaking in general about attitudes young mothers face everywhere.
Another important clarification: while many of the health care workers in the film are from St. Mike’s, the issues that everyone raises are not about *one hospital*; it’s about attitudes everywhere.
Kudos to St Mike’s for being part of the brave, innovative experiment.
The Toronto Star online is running an excerpt from the film here. The film will be available soon (on the documentary anthology DVD HandHeld: Health and Homelessness), check www.nfb.ca/handheld for deets.
Unexpected was made by Dawn Wilkinson, Adrienne, Jess, Keneisha, Meghan, Nicole, Catherine Moravac, Alice Gorman, Heather Frise, Genevieve Trilling, Erin Clarke, Rebecca Fortin and Daniella Guerriero. The project was made possible with the great support of St. Michael’s Hospital’s Oby-Gyn department, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of SMH, and we owe special thanks to the fantastic Head Nurse Audrey Nevins. Childcare thanks to Sophia at Ontario Early Years. Gerry Flahive is the Producer, Silva Basmajian is the Executive Producer.
May 10th, 2008
