Submitted by Paulina Grainger, Arts & Outreach Coordinator

We’ve come to the end of this youth-driven film project. And what an eight months it’s been! We began the year by asking 5 young adults between the ages of 18 – 30 two central questions, “Who are you?” and “What do you believe in?”. You’d expect that they would have some answers by now, but as Brianna Dick, one of the participants, says in a moment of self-reflection, “We’re still trying to discover who we are. We’re still trying to discover how we fit in.” Along the way, however, they tell us they’ve learnt a few things:

“It has put me in a place where I’m more comfortable shedding labels, and I’m not concerned with proving to anyone what I am, what I’m not, or what I’m trying to be.” – David Mutuku

“The most important thing I learnt through this process is that I’m able to finally embrace myself for who I am, and my differences… to connect the dots.” – Leat Ahrony

“A lot of our faiths have way more similarities than differences… we discuss the same topics, we believe the same things, and we’re feeding into the same ideas, rather than praying to different gods and deities.” – Suvreet Johal

“It’s been a positive, stressful and emotional journey… in the larger context of things, I think it will bring about the idea that we’re not all one stereotype, we’re not just Indigenous, we’re not just Christian, we’re not just Jewish or Buddhist, we’re not just Sikh, we’re not just Rastafari. We are so much more than that. We’re not just the stereotypical idea that everyone has of us.” – Brianna Dick

“This process has been really awesome. I got to meet four different people with four different backgrounds, cultures and religions, and it was just a great experience for me to understand… and to know that it‘s okay to be who you are and what you believe in.”.“ – Jessica Pamplona (Youth Film Editor)

To hear more about their stories, we’d like to invite you to join us for the free screening of the final documentary on Saturday, September 12 from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville St.

With gratitude to the project mentors and educators, Photojournalist Quinton Gordon and Documentary Filmmaker Peter Campbell.

This project was funded by Inspirit Foundation and ICA’s Blossom’s Campaign.
For additional information, please contact Paulina Grainger, Arts & Outreach Coordinator, pgrainger@icavictoria.org