Special Delivery empowers youth to find a voice through film

This October, more than 800 children and youth in grades 3 to 12 in Northern Ontario learned how to make their own film with a visit from Special Delivery, a year-round project of the Toronto International Film Festival Group.
This project, which began in 2002, usually reaches out to youth in under-served regions of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This was the first year that the program went to an area outside of the GTA.
Special Delivery expanded into Northern Ontario because the TIFFG recognizes that it is a part of the province that is under-served in terms of access to arts experiences and arts-based educational opportunities. TIFFG is a charitable organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film.
"It's my first trip to some of these communities," explains Emily Scheer, manager of special projects and outreach at the TIFFG. "We have been warmly welcomed, and in each community we have been told, and seen evidence, of how curious youth are about film, how eagerly they embrace it, and how much more they'd like to learn."
"We want to engage youth in these communities in a dynamic learning experience and inspire them to use film as a vehicle for self-expression," Scheer said.
By creating connections between filmmakers and communities, Special Delivery inspires youth by helping them to understand how film can be a tool for self-expression and positive social change, as well as a potential career path.
Special Delivery complements the Ontario media literacy and arts curricula.
The Special Delivery team and guests, including First Nations filmmaker Daniel Prouty, producer and director Anneli Ekborn, and producer Brent Orr, travelled to Sioux Lookout, Eagle River, Red Lake, Whitedog, and Kenora.
Young people in Whitedog had the chance to see their own community reflected in the screening of Daniel Prouty's film Band-Aid. A documentary about the first response team in Whitedog and how the community is hours from medical help, this film "had the students pointing and reacting in seeing their community and its members shown on the big screen-including the school itself!"
Prouty is a filmmaker who has several award-winning films. His first drama, For Angela, received a Gemini Award and a Canada Award in 1995. "When the presentation ended, a lot of the students came up afterwards for a chance to hold his Gemini Award," Scheer states.
Prouty's second film, a documentary called First Nation Blue, is about the police officers who serve First Nation reserves in northern Ontario. He explores the positive strengths of First Nations people in his films as he attempts to show the world a different side of the stereotyped "Indian."
"All children have a strong reaction when they see themselves reflected on screen-their community, their culture, even just an actor their own age," said Scheer. "When a story is put on screen that reflects your reality, it adds a layer of validation, a sense of pride, and a bit of inspiration."
To expand into the north, the TIFFG made initial contact with both the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and Lakeview Child & Family Services. Through these connections and recommendations that they received, they reached out to several schools, to an enthusiastic response.
A two-part visit exposed youth to relevant, challenging, and entertaining films along with a conversation with filmmakers. Through engaging and educational film-craft workshops, students experienced the world of filmmaking. Youth have "a number of questions about the filmmaking process, how certain things are done," Scheer said. "The younger ones are big fans of animation, and explaining how you make drawings 'move' is quite fascinating for them."
"In the high school setting, we get a lot of vocation-related questions-'How did you end up being a filmmaker? How easy is it to make a film like yours?'"
Each school had a group of students work for an entire day to create their own film.
"We teach them what they need to know-how to write a script, how to use the camera, lights, sound, etc," Scheer said. "But ultimately, it is their film. They write scripts in small groups, they pitch them to the entire group, they vote, and the script that wins is the film we end up making. Each youth takes a specific role as director, actor, camera, boom operator and we simply guide them through the process. All in one day."
"We have been getting a great response from the youth and the communities," states Sheer. "I love the thought of going back next year and in the future, the interest and talent is there. It's access and resources that are the issue."
"Once young people have the tools and skills to create their own films, films that reflect their thoughts and their stories, they can have a voice-a voice for themselves, and a voice for their community," explains Scheer. "That's a powerful thing."