COMMENT 💬

September has been busy with the return to work and school. Earlier this month, I attended a News Sustainability Conference in Chicago hosted by LION Publishers where local news publishers discuss 🌱, civic and community engagement 🤝, sustainability and trends. I also attended the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 🎥. There were almost 300 films that premiered over the 10-day festival with many films from talented Canadian 🇨🇦 and BIPOC filmmakers.

Attending TIFF was a breath of fresh air 🌬️ at a time when Toronto residents continue to experience affordability and cost of living challenges 💸. One reason people attend TIFF is to escape from their daily routines 🏙️, and immerse themselves in stories on screen that create a sense of hope 🌟. The film selections were excellent this year 🎬 and beaming with hope. Fans and industry people were also buzzing with excitement and hope 🎉. This energy renewed my sense of optimism and hope in the city 💖. In this issue, I cover Village Keeper, a beautifully told story by filmmaker Karen Chapman. The story is set in Toronto 🏙️, and the director, producers, and most of the cast from the city 🎭.

⌚Reading Time: 6 minutes

Flavian DeLima

Publisher & Editor, Spinning Forward

IN THIS ISSUE 🪧

➡️ 🎥✨TIFF Film: Toronto's Village Keeper Sparks Hope and Healing for Survivors of Abuse

➡️ 🎉 YouTube Canada's Event Highlights Fan Engagement and Influence

➡️ 🛡️ Meta Introduces Parental Controls for Teen Instagram Accounts

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 📜

"I think for me, I wanted to create a reality that was different to my own. My family never made it into that [therapy] room. I really wanted to write something that was hopeful for a family and the possibilities and just to scratch the surface on mental health."

-Karen Chapman, Guyanese-Canadian, Film Director and Producer, On portraying mental health in the Village Keeper

SPOTLIGHT 💡🔦


Oluniké Adeliyi Shines in Village Keeper, Exploring Trauma and Strength

Village Keeper tells the emotional story of Beverly-Jean (Oluniké Adeliyi), a grief-stricken single mother protecting her children from violence while haunted by traumatic flashbacks of abuse from her late husband. Living in a crowded apartment in Toronto's Lawrence Heights, Jean struggles to keep her family safe alongside her two teenage children, Tamika (Zahra Bentham) and Tristin (Micah Mensah-Jatoe), and her mother (Maxine Simpson). The film covers themes of domestic violence and intergenerational trauma.

Brampton-raised Oluniké Adeliyi delivers a compelling performance playing Jean’s complex emotional journey. Her nuanced facial expressions reveal deep-seated trauma from dark family secrets while also capturing joy, like when she dances at Toronto’s Caribana festival.

Chapman effectively uses non-verbal communication to enhance the narrative. Jean is often seen alone, riding public transit to do errands and get to her caregiver job in a more affluent neighborhood. Passing a Chinese restaurant triggers recurring unpleasant flashbacks, and she later returns with her children for closure. Jean worries about protecting her kids from their own emotional challenges: Tamika suffers panic attacks after seeing blood in an elevator, while Tristin is accused of hitting another boy at school.


Healing in Your Own Way

Village Keeper succeeds on various levels. For one, it provides space for each family member to heal in their own way. Jean feels compelled to improve her family's circumstances and seeks help from a therapist for her kids when things seem to be falling apart.

Chapman says mental health isn't often discussed around the kitchen table in the Black community. Therapy is often associated with being “crazy,” and a popular view is to tough it out. In the Q&A after the screening, she said,

"I think for me, I wanted to create a reality that was different to my own. My family never made it into that [therapy] room. I really wanted to write something that was hopeful for a family and the possibilities and just to scratch the surface on mental health."

She suggests that survivors of abuse or those who feels shame in their current circumstances take small steps to boost their mental health and happiness:

"I don't think everyone has to go to therapy. Like with grandma [in the film], it's her garden, it's her giving, that's her way. I think we just have to find the way as opposed to living in the shame of the thing. However you do that and at whatever age, I just think it's quite urgent [to do something.]"

The Problem with Upward Mobility at Any Cost

In her essay, Chapman critiques society's unrealistic expectations of breadwinners, particularly single mothers, and the sacrifices they make to pursue upward mobility. She writes:

“Before I started writing Village Keeper, I was ruminating on a handful of themes. Hard truths that go lifetimes without being spoken. … Class divides and the demoralizing pursuit of upward mobility, with the strain it puts on breadwinners (particularly single mothers). The enduring capacity of mothers living with broken hearts while building love-filled lives for their children.”

Celebrating Resilience and Hope

Chapman wanted her characters to focus less on constant struggles and more on noticing and appreciating the small joys and moments of gratitude in daily life, no matter how insignificant they might seem. By shifting the emphasis to these aspects of the human experience that are often overlooked, she created a more uplifting and hopeful story.

"I was also interested in this quest for better, this hustle [culture] for a better, a bigger house, a better car. And the question of in the midst of that hustle, can I not be happy? In the midst of trying to get the better [and faster] life , why not just take the long way home? We think that we're going to be happy tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come. What do we do with the time that we forego happiness until retirement? That's no fun."

Despite tackling serious topics, Chapman says Village Keeper is ultimately about hope, resilience, and celebrating women and survivors.

"We didn't want to make a sad film. We wanted to make a film that champions women who survived and people who survived abuse. And the lives they built afterwards."

QUICK HITS

🕵️ Deepfakes Could Collapse the Internet: In a recent interview Peter H. Diamandis, Neil deGrasse Tyson predicts convincing deepfakes could lead to the collapse of the Internet. He says deepfakes could become so convincing that we won't be able to tell what’s fake and what's real.

Why it matters? As Artificial intelligence-generated media convincingly manipulates visual and audio content to create fale representations, people will question all media due to an erosion of trust. Deepfakes promoting falsehoods will promote societal divisions.


🛡️ Meta Introduces Parental Controls for Teen Instagram Accounts: Meta is rolling out "teen accounts" on Instagram for users under 18, allowing parents to set time limits, block access at night, and monitor interactions and content. Teens under 16 will need parental permission to change settings, while 16- and 17-year-olds can do so independently. This change, affecting users in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, aims to give parents more control. Meta hopes this will improve online safety, addressing criticisms of past efforts.

Why it matters? These changes are meant to enhance online safety for teenagers by giving parents more control over their children's Instagram usage and interactions.


📹 YouTube Canada's Event Highlights Fan Engagement and Influence: YouTube Canada held its annual YouTube Features event this week for advertisers, featuring the creators and content that are defining a new era of entertainment. Canadians prefer YouTube for cultural moments and related content, making it their choice if they had to choose one service. Regarding fan engagement, YouTube viewers are becoming creators, focusing more on fan content, and it's the top platform for Canadians' purchase decisions.

Why it matters? As creators become media companies that foster greater connection with viewers, brands with will be able to reach and engage audiences, driving better business results.


🚫 Australia's PM Proposes Social Media Ban for Minors: Australia's Prime Minister plans to ban minors from social media, citing concerns about social harm and parental worries. The ban, extending beyond schools to all devices, includes age verification trials. While popular, it faces criticism for potentially limiting access to essential services and driving minors to less regulated online spaces. Experts argue the ban could lead to more harm and raise data privacy issues. Similar efforts in the U.S., EU, UK, France, China, India, and Brazil have shown mixed results and enforcement challenges.

Why it matters? The proposed ban raises concerns about mental health and safety, but it also raises issues about essential service access, data privacy, and the effectiveness of such regulations.