A film by Jadis Dumas
2019 / 1h13m / Canada / English
What does it mean to decolonize schooling, and to create environments of learning that challenge capitalist modes of education? Co-produced by Cinema Politica Productions and Wide Open Exposure, ANOTHER WORD FOR LEARNING examines the disconnect between the contemporary colonial educational system and Indigenous communities, in light of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the painful legacy of the Sixties Scoop.
An inspiring production that puts autodidacts and alternative education at the forefront, filmmaker Jadis Mariette Dumas-who is mostly self-taught herself-spotlights the story of 11 year old Aisha, a Kwakwaka’wakw girl who is navigating choices on her schooling while living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Along the way, Aisha is guided by her mother-Vancouver-based radio host, producer and activist Gunargie O’Sullivan-as she explores alternative modes of learning while asserting her Indigenous sense of identity and knowledge. Clever, creative and fierce, Aisha pulls no punches as she critiques the colonial institutions that seek to fit her into a box she finds unrelatable and unjust at the core.
Gunargie herself is a residential school survivor, and lends a critical voice to their legacy, alongside the intersectional issues of the opioid crisis as it unfolds in Vancouver, and the potency of self-education outside of the confines of traditional schooling. ANOTHER WORD FOR LEARNING is a thoughtful portrayal of this compelling and outspoken young protagonist and her relationship to her mother, while offering a nuanced view of one of Canada’s principle colonial institutions, where so many learn precisely what it means to be “Canadian”.
Produced by: Wide Open Exposure, Cinema Politica Productions
Distributed by: Cinema Politica
22 авг 2024
