minor Disturbances

Various times at Various locations

Curated by Debbie Ebanks Schlums

A little off-beat. Somewhat abrupt and disjointed. Inspired more by the pull-ups and interruptions of DJs from my native Jamaica than by tried and true curatorial practices, my programming methodology addresses the site on which we are presenting, and hitchhiking, with the programmers’ permission, on their program. By maintaining some distance through timing and clarity, these works introduce the audience to the site, before transitioning to the main program.

Things I Can’t Tell You, Randall Okita, 2015, 28min
Saturday, July 22 @Sunset @ Sauble Beach
Opening night begins with Okita’s frightening but beautiful, Things I Can’t Tell You, prior to ImagineNATIVE’s program. In a dance with the famous sunset of Sauble Beach, we watch Okita’s body, set on fire, traverse the screen towards its middle and then back again. The multiplicity of associations that come with this image set the stage for an opening up; a birthing; and a surviving.

I Am Anishnabe, Allison Ladd, 2016, 3:50min
Thursday, July 27, @9pm @Hanover Drive-In Theatre

On the largest screen in our festival, Ladd’s film will mirror the pride of her home community, Saugeen First Nation. For non-Anishinabe people, it gives us insight to develop our understanding of the deep belonging associated with this territory. It reminds
us of our obligations to understand and respect the rich and vibrant culture of the
people on whose land we live. It forces us to ask ourselves, if we are settlers, who are
the people we need to answer to in recognizing our own status as treaty people and
stewards of the land.

V-Formation from the BODY LAND IDENTITY project, Ella Cooper
Saturday, July 29 @7pm @Glencolton Farm
Just south of the Rocky Saugeen and north of so-called Darkie’s Corners, BODY LAND IDENTITY, will be projected. Echoing the formation of Canadian migratory birds, the work respects the resilience and continuing presence of Black settlers, and in
particular, Black women, in Durham and area.

Death Barrel, Stefan Luciani, 2016, 7min
Sunday, July 30 @1pm @The Garafraxa Café
Finally, Stefan Luciani’s, Death Barrel, is a short, humourous film starring his grandmother, Elia (Mamma) Luciani. Stefan is Tony Luciani’s (Durham) son; Tony’s photography project with Mama became a local and international phenomenon. In Stefan’s film, Mama goes through extraordinary lengths to protect her garden, and as such, becomes an allegory for the aging immigrant condition in Canada, holding onto traditional values while surrounded by a different culture and time. Death Barrel
closes the festival.