This month Peel Region was home to a special film festival that showcased some of the area’s freshest talent. Students from both Morning Star Middle School and Fairlawn Public School who participated in their school’s Sankofa Nubian Alliance gathered at Morning Star on June 8 to showcase the projects they’ve been working on.
You know The Brandon Gonez Show team had to attend the festival to take in the creativity and talent of the students and speak with some budding filmmakers about what the evening meant to them.
“A few years ago we did a program focusing on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) and STEM, and exposing kids to the opportunity to see themselves represented in science, with a focus on Black inventors,” Fairlawn Principal Samantha Stephen said.
Stephen explained that along with her colleagues at Morning Star and McCrimmon Middle School, she wanted to grow students’ capacity to look at themselves and tell their stories via film.
Those who participated in the alliance had the opportunity to work with industry professionals who showed them the ropes, teaching them about sound, lighting, backdrops, movies, and other cinematography skills.
“We wanted kids to have an authentic opportunity to learn from people in their community, but [also] to hone in on skills they may not have known they have,” Stephen said.
Students from grades five to eight who identify as African, Black, Caribbean, Latinx, and Indigenous were invited to take part in the alliance. Organizers explained in an email that in response to the ministry’s review, the school board has recognized the need to foster positive 21st century learning experiences for students who have been traditionally and currently underserved in the education system.
Morning Star Principal Dinusha Gunasingham explained the majority of the students who signed up were Black or bi-racial.
“We recognize there’s a need to make sure we’re delivering programming that’s responsive and that really allows our Black students to highlight and shine the genius that we all know they have that they don’t always have the opportunities to do so,” Gunasingham said.
Sankofa Nubian Alliance: Students Share Their Experiences
Students told The Brandon Gonez Show that they were proud of their work, and excited to show their films to family, friends, and their peers.
“Our film is about the experience of being a Black student in the school system. It’s sometimes not very pleasant, so we have different stories combined,” a student filmmaker named Kyle shared.
Kyle explained that it was important for his team to have this opportunity to express themselves and their experiences.
“We’ve never had this opportunity before, so this is our time. This is our time to shine.”
Meanwhile, another participant shared her thoughts on the importance of gathering to celebrate and promote Black excellence.
“To express Black excellence and everything, basically showing Black excellence in different ways to show the world what we have,” Marquia shared.
“I’m part of Black excellence at this point. Black excellence means everything to me, it means my culture, and it means where I’m from and everything. It just tells a story.”
Fairlawn Principal Samantha Stephen also weighed in on what Black excellence means to her.
“It means that we look at taking every child’s natural propensities and growing those using their skills, their knowledge, bringing in mentors, networking capacities and then growing that knowledge using the Ontario curriculum,” Stephen shared.
“More importantly exposing them to STEAM and 21st century competencies like problem-solving, inquiry, research, and collaboration, so that they’re ready to pursue careers in their future.”
