Opening Night Gala: Migration on Cinema
Thursday, November 5th - 7:00 pm
ONLINE
This program will be available to view for one week (November 5th, 7:00 PM - November 12th, 5:00 PM).
Duration: 1 hour 7 mins
Get Tickets | Price: $10 CAD
*ALL FILMS WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES*
Regular screenings are restricted to those 18 years of age or older according to the Ontario Theatres Act.
Note: This screening is only available in Canada.
Our opening night program emphasizes one of our central themes, “migration in cinema.” Every day, countless people are migrating between borders, many seeking safety and security… and all seeking a new life. But many who set out for these new lives are met with obstacles and difficult choices. In these times, small acts of kindness can make all the difference. For our opening gala, we have selected three films that centre around migration and immigration from multiple perspectives, telling stories both eye-opening and heartwarming.
This program begins with the short film Birth on the Border. Celebrating the courage and strength of mothers, this film centres around two brave women who share their experiences of crossing the border from Ciudad Juarez to Texas to give birth safely and comfortably. A testament to womanhood and motherhood.
Following this piece is the short documentary Será Hermoso (It’s Going to Be Beautiful), a sardonic look at the samples built for Trump’s border wall, ironically narrated by one of the Mexican men working to build and test the walls.
The final film of the evening, Sadika’s Garden, places the spotlight on a Syrian refugee, Sadika, who comes to Canada in search of a better life for her seven children. Forced to leave her parents behind, Sadika is faced with concerns for her family and belonging in her new life, but finds hope, kindness, and joy in unexpected places.
All three of these films display the many facets of being a migrant, and how powerful generosity and empathy between fellow migrants can be. Migration can connect those who are otherwise strangers, laying the foundations for support systems that make a strong impact on the lives of those in need. Through these films, the beautiful side of humankind is put on display.
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Birth on the Border
Ellie Lobovits
2018 - Mexico/U.S.A. - 28 mins - Documentary
Canadian Premiere
San Antonio Cinefestival
Femme Frontera Film Festival
Ambulante Festival
This intimate and personal documentary follows two women from Ciudad Juárez as they cross the U.S.-Mexico border legally to give birth in Texas, putting their hearts and bodies on the line as they confront harassment at the hands of U.S. border officials. One million people legally cross the U.S.-Mexico border every day in both directions. Among them are women who cross for the purposes of childbirth. With the threat of obstetrical violence in Mexican hospitals and the desire for natural birth with midwives, Gaby and Luisa make the difficult decision to cross the border to El Paso, seeking a safer future for their children. Even with papers, their journeys are uncertain.
Será Hermoso / It’s Going to Be Beautiful
Luis Gutiérrez Arias and John Henry Theisen
2018 - Mexico/U.S.A. - 9 mins - Documentary
Canadian Premiere
Melbourne International Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
Tacoma Film Festival
Eight prototypes for a border wall stand on the US-Mexico border. To choose a winning design, Border Patrol officers and the military will attempt to climb, dig under, or breach the structures using techniques employed by immigrants and drug dealers.
Sadika’s Garden
Julia Iriarte and Chad Galloway
2020 - Canada - 30 mins - Documentary
Toronto Premiere
Oxford Film Festival
Yorkton Film Festival
Sadika’s Garden is a moving and uplifting story of a group of Canadians, once refugees themselves, uniting to sponsor a Syrian refugee family of eight from war-torn Raqqa to Vancouver, completing the circle of generosity. Those who once received refuge now pay it forward to the vulnerable, which leads to a miraculous dream coming true for Sadika’s daughter, Batoul.
