THUNDER BAY – “The Aboriginal population is rapidly growing in the City of Thunder Bay, and, as with any rapid growth, we have experienced both exciting opportunities as well as real challenges as a community,” said John Hannam, City Clerk. “The question is, how do we move forward, together, as a community? This documentary series will help us discuss diversity in our City in a meaningful, welcoming, respectful and inclusive way that encourages participation from all the members of our community.”
The Aboriginal Liaison Unit, is currently seeking sponsors to help fund a high-quality, four-part educational documentary film series. It is designed tohelp develop strategies to strengthen the relationship between Thunder Bay’s urban Aboriginal population and the broader community.
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The Thunder Bay has partnered with award-winning Aboriginal filmmaker Michelle Derosier of Thunderstone Pictures on the initiative, called the Walk-A-Mile Film Project.
The finished films will be screened at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium in early 2014. After that, they will be distributed in the community for use as educational and training tools.
“Our objective is to create an engaging and forthright toolkit for building understanding and tolerance,” Derosier said. “We hope these films will help our community develop strategies to create change with regard to the relationship between mainstream society and Thunder Bay’s urban aboriginal population. We also hope these films will inspire our community to see those strategies through.”
The projected cost of the entire project is $45,000, with each film dealing with specific topics. So far, about $18,750 of that has been raised.