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As an inside voice of the queer Muslim community, Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF)’s Closing Gala Film delivers an intelligent rom-com that is also a celebration on intersectional identities. “I have created the gay, Muslim version of Julia Roberts,” humorously says director Mike Mosallam about his acclaimed film Breaking Fast. Building complex and realistic queer characters,…
As an Indigenous woman, Canadian writer Francine Cunningham hopes to bring understanding and empathy to a world that greatly needs it. Her first poetry collection, On/Me, explores the universal themes of identity and what it means to fit in. On/Me, published by Caitlin Press in October 2019, is currently a finalist for the 2020 Indigenous Voices…
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of online migration for many art forms, temporarily or permanently. Theatre is also trying new ways to keep its spirit alive while adhering to safety requirements. Red Phone and Plays2Perform@Home, two innovative theatre projects developed by theatre company Boca del Lupo, are blurring the line between audience and performer. Red…
Amiskwaciy (Edmonton)-based trio ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐊᐧᐠ (nêhiyawak) has been nominated for Best Indigenous Artist or Group in the 2020 Juno Awards for their debut full-length album nipiy. Kris Harper, the band’s lead singer, songwriter and guitarist speaks to the influences and inspirations behind the band’s genre of Moccasin-Gaze – an Indigenous play on the British-derived, guitar-heavy, wall-of-sound genre Shoegaze –as…
In need of comic relief? Just in time for the summer, Gene Luen Yang has recently released his first non-fiction graphic novel, Dragon Hoops. This past March, Yang, whose workshop at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL) was cancelled due to the pandemic, had a virtual book launch where he discussed Dragon Hoops and answered questions from fans. Interested…
In our lives, we do some activities so automatically that we do not realize how art, or even existential questions might be present in them. Grocery shopping is one example. As customers, we tend to do it quickly, and not think about the relationships between the supermarket workers, and the richness of the universe. That…
The DOXA Documentary Film Festival offers over 40 films you can view from the comfort of your living room until June 26. One of them is Dope is Death, a story decades old yet strikingly prescient, directed by Montreal-based filmmaker Mia Donovan. The film examines racial politics and activism in 1970s New York City through the…
Sade Awele, Nigerian-born Vancouver-based singer-songwriter, shares her blend of neo-soul, afro-soul, alternative and contemporary R&B, all while drawing on her personal and cultural experiences and heritage. “My dad is from the Yoruba culture, and [with] Yorubas they always say that music is in our blood. So, I found that as I write songs, there are…
As people are staying home to contain the spreading of COVID-19, many entertainment options have been restricted to activities that can be done at home. Keeping ourselves, and especially children, amused during the pandemic has been quite a challenge. Two of the most common entertainment options, television and the internet, can provide relaxing moments, but…
“We wanted to create a forum and a space to tell the stories of individual people, their communities and their interaction with wildfire,” says Sharon Roberts, project manager, educator and writer. For the past two years, Roberts and Megan Majewski have been researching and learning about wildfires and their impact on forests. “It’s really easy…
The precise number of languages spoken on this planet is not really known. For a variety of reasons, some may become endangered, and finally lost. Some examples of lost languages are Latin, Sanskrit, Coptic (the language of the Egyptians) and Sumerian. The main reasons they are no longer spoken is that their native speakers are…
Naomi Steinberg is back in her hometown to unveil Goosefeather. The local performer, and now author, plans to share her adventures of world travel and performance through her debut book. When most are stuck at home, Goosefeather allows for travelling the world on an adventure of a lifetime. On June 9, 2020, a virtual book launch of Goosefeather will take…
Joshua Feinberg, a New Yorker who started learning piano at age four, didn’t expect his musical journey would lead to the faraway land of India. However, drawn to music improvisation and composition, he found his love for sitar and Hindustani music in his teenage years and since describes himself as a musical immigrant. “Indian classical…
