Each year, September 30 marks Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day calls for remembrance, reflection, and action around the history and devastating legacy of residential schools on Indigenous Peoples, their families, and communities.
In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Innis College and the Cinema Studies Institute present a special screening of Aberdeen. Actor Billy Merasty will join for a post-screening Q&A, moderated by Maisha Baddoo from imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
Aberdeen is a raw, authentic feature drama interwoven with pockets of humor that shines a light on the indomitable Aberdeen; a middle-aged Indigenous climate change refugee who has been forced from her home due to flooding. As Aberdeen begrudgingly adjusts to big-city life, she must face the inter-generational cycle of trauma that has been tearing her family apart for 5 generations in order to protect her grandchildren.
Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave
Register for this free screening below
Billy Merasty is an actor, playwright, and language keeper. Billy was born in Brochet, Manitoba and moved to Toronto at age eighteen. At age twenty-three Billy launched his acting career after graduating from the Native Theatre School for aspiring Indigenous artists. He then went on to work for the renowned Indigenous performing arts company Native Earth Performing Arts. Billy has worked as a film, television, and stage actor for decades and notably played the first Indigenous gay character on television on the CBC series, Liberty Street, in the role of Nathan.
Billy is a recipient of the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt, the highest civilian honour awarded by the Government of Manitoba. The Order of the Buffalo Hunt was founded in 1957 to recognize the outstanding and distinctive contributions of leaders in areas such as politics, business, sports, and entertainment.
Maisha Baddoo is an independent writer and filmmaker based in Toronto. Born in Hamilton Ontario, she fell in love with movies at a very young age. At 16, she attended the University of Southern California’s Summer Program in Screenwriting and immediately knew in her heart where she wanted to end up. After high school, she studied at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, spending one semester studying abroad in the UK. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film, she moved to Los Angeles to work in the industry. After a little circling between the United States, Canada, and the UK, she settled in Toronto and now works as the Programming Administrative Assistant for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
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