Remixed festival features documentary on Indigenous activism

By Lia Pizarro

This year’s Sept. 16 grand opening of Remixed 2017 – the annual month-long celebration of arts and culture in Ottawa’s Chinatown area – featured an evening of short film screenings at the Shanghai Restaurant on Somerset Street, courtesy of a preview by the One World Film Festival.

The full day of activities for Remixed ended at the restaurant where visitors were welcome to view the films and grab a bite to eat.

The restaurant’s outdoor parking lot served as a makeshift theatre space for the screenings, which included Howard Adler’s An Object that has Spirit and a selection of shorts from OWFF’s 2016 co-presentation with the United Nations refugee agency.

The Remixed festival, which runs until Oct. 16, coincides with the four-day Ottawa documentary film festival, which runs from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1.

Organizers of the screening said they were excited to share these films at Remixed and to represent a film festival that is dedicated to inspiring change on urgent human rights, social justice and environmental issues.

Zoe Mallett, OWFF’s main coordinator, introduced each film that was previewed.

“Remixed is something that we really support fundamentally,” Mallett said. “There’s a clear, strong connection between the objectives and mission of Remixed, which is to showcase art and provide a forum, especially for local artists to share their work, and ours.”

Mallett said she believes that art and artists have always been at the forefront of human rights campaigns and are intimately involved with raising awareness for social justice.

Adler’s documentary was chosen as the main feature of the night as it highlighted some key issues that will be showcased in the film festival this year, including Indigenous resistance and activism.

“An Object that Has Spirit is about Indigenous artists who come together to commemorate the survivors of residential schools,” Mallett said. “The film is meant to expand people’s knowledge of Canada’s involvement in residential schools and our legacy of neglect and abuse with First Nations People.”

OWFF communications coordinator David Henderson said he sees the film festival as a unique gateway for the Ottawa community to actively engage with filmmakers of all ages who are sharing stories and experiences from all over the world.

“For almost 30 years, One World Film Festival has been an annual part of Ottawa, and being the capital of Canada, I think it’s crucially important for people to have an opportunity to see documentaries on stories that go in-depth and beyond the headlines,” said Henderson.

Henderson said Remixed offered a perfect opportunity to showcase the film festival’s mission.

Don Kwan, owner of Shanghai Restaurant and a coordinator of Remixed, partnered with OWFF on previous occasions during the annual Chinatown street festival.

With Remixed now in its ninth year, Kwan says it has become a community event that many Ottawa residents look forward to attending, as the artists and businesses that participate often change every year.

Organizers of OWFF hope that those who enjoyed the screenings at Remixed will come out to attend the film festival, which is held at the Saint Paul University Amphitheatre on Main Street.