Projects
IN PRODUCTION
“Dead Ducks”
Global Cities are intimately and integrally embedded in the oil economy, particularly first world cities whose energy intensity and rates of consumption are frequently 10 times that of the developing world. Our transportation, heating, the energy to run our air conditioners and computers to a very large extent is bound into a global oil economy responsible for environmental devastation, climate change, and ongoing wars over access to cheap oil. DEAD DUCKS is a thirty minute black comedy inspired by the true story of the 1600 mallard and bufflehead ducks who landed on the Syncrude tailing pond in the Alberta tar sands during their spring migration in 2008 and perished in a mass of toxic bitumen.
Key Collaborators:
- Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory – Mars Horodyski & Jason Sacha
- Brenda Longfellow, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Film, York University
- Chris Romeike , Filmmaker & Cinematographer, Film Production MFA at York University
“Walls and Barriers”
Youth in Toronto deserve an opportunity to express how they feel about the walls and barriers within their communities and in their life as a whole. Preliminary findings show that regardless of socioeconomic or cultural background certain subjects are universal when talking about W&B regardless of age or socioeconomic background. Through an outreach program and exhibit at the ROM, many youth are given an opportunity to share their experiences through art. (20 minutes)
Key Collaborators:
- Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory – Jason Sacha
- Institute of Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum
Vanessa Barnett (curator for W&B at York University)
Elena Soni (curator & Board Member, Institute for Contemporary Culture)
Francisco Alvarez (Managing Director, Institute for Contemporary Culture)
“Defining the Creative City”
A series of eight mini web documentaries use a series of interviews to explore what constitutes a creative city. It seeks to explore the idea that creativity comprises a type of innovation and explosion of diverse attributes, personalities and cultures.
Key Collaborators:
- Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory – Mars Horodyski
- Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies (RCCS)–
Daniel Drache (Professor of Political Science, Associate Director RCCS, York University)
Warren Crichlow (Associate Professor B. Sci. State University of New York at Brockport; M.Ed. State University of New York at Brockport; Ed. D. University of Rochester)
- Public Culture Working Group
Angelica Radjenovic, Taunya Tremblay, Andy Burke, Dayna Jones, Michael Bowmile, Jason Arsenault, Maureen Senoga, Joe Banh, Jessica Kelly, Marilyn Lambert
“Wind Energy in Canada; the basics, the resource and the opportunity”
While wind energy will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels there are concerns about rural wind farm sites being too close to residences. There are also concerns about impacts on wildlife and there are limitations on site selection which take these into consideration. In general the Canadian public is not well informed on issues related to wind energy and much of the opposition to the construction of new wind farms is by relatively small groups such as Wind Concerns Ontario (seehttp://windconcernsontario.wordpress.com/). Their claims are often misleading but can be effective in terms of attracting press coverage and encouraging a negative attitude towards this development. (30 min.)
Key Collaborators:
- Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory – Mars Horodyski
- Peter A. Taylor (Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering York University)
- Laurence Green (Documentary Producer, Director of Graduate Film Studies York University)
- York Film Graduate Students:
Vicki Lean, Yi Cui
IN DEVELOPMENT:
“Traces of Blood and Belonging: Family History and the Quest for Total Memory”
In spite of the scale of the personal investments, religious ambitions, philosophical questions and business interests, scholars have been slow to investigate genealogy as a topic of research, in no small part because of a professional antipathy on the part of historians. The aim of this project is to undertake a genealogy of genealogy, beginning with videotaped interviews with key intellectual, social, religious and commercial participants. These interviews will test assumptions about the motivations of family historians, probe the corporate interests of the largest databases, and generate accessible summaries by experts in the field. Key questions unite these constituencies: What is it that genealogical and genetic databases are selling? and, What do genealogists imagine they are buying? (Full Length Documentary Project)
Key Collaborators:
- Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory – Mars Horodyski
- Julia Creet (Associate Professor – Department of English, York University)
“Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights”
Toronto is a global crossroads: one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, with a large number of diverse ethno-cultural LGBT community groups and social service agencies and a sophisticated resource of LGBT community leaders, legal experts and academics. This global diaspora and organizational leadership is reflected in the composition of the research team and provides an important foundation for the project. The contribution of diverse ethno-cultural LGBT groups in Toronto has challenged social movement politics within LGBT organizing, created new social spaces and engaged in transnational politics. Some of our partner groups maintain links with countries of origin; others are concerned with addressing settlement issues for newcomers or providing services to diasporic communities. Moreover, the research focuses on organizations internationally that are publicly identified with these issues, which in turn will inform this research initiative.
The goals of this project focus on contemporary movements challenging criminal laws affecting sexual minorities in the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia – laws that are a legacy of British colonial rule. Further our research is on human rights work and building international links between communities in Canada and the global south. (Full length documentary project)
Key Collaborators:
- Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory – Mars Horodyski
- Nancy Nicol et al. (Principle Investigator. Associate Professor, Visual Arts Dept. York University)
Multifaceted research project involving a team of 14 researchers and 18 organizations based in Toronto, the Caribbean and Africa. Part of the research components will include two documentary projects.
“Arts-Informed Inter-professional Education on Loss and Grieving: Creating a Series of Research-Based Documentaries Making the Invisible-Visible for Students, Healthcare Professionals and the Public”
The content of the documentary segments will cover a diverse array issue relating to living and transforming with loss and grieving. Since Toronto is such a culturally diverse place, the importance of communicative resources in this area is especially important. This series will address these issues of access to diverse and relevant information. It will examine the unique aspects of dealing with grief in a global city, communicating with the public and with healthcare professionals. (Part of a half-hour documentary series)
Key Collaborators:
- Christine Jonas-Simpson (RN, PhD Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, York University)
- Dr. Louise Hartley (Director, York University Psychology Clinic)
- Eric Foss (CBC Television)
- York Film Graduate Student: Mary Daniel (editor)
PAST PROJECTS:
Mexico City/Toronto Photo Exhibit
The “Mexico City/Toronto” exhibit was a portrayal of Uzon’s experience of Mexico City in 2003 and Toronto in 2005. The photos convey similarities in theme and tone, yet actually have very little in common. In order to draw a further comparison of these two distinctly different places, the actingAcademic Director of CURL also created a supplementary Comparative Fact Chart that was displayed alongside the exhibit.
Due to the spontaneous nature of the photographs Uzon captures the impression of each city, documents the passage of time and manages to retain life in each picture that he captures.
“Both cities have changed: where before there was a construction project, an empty plot, the advertisement for a new building, now the promised mound of concrete has been poured. And that is what photography is: history. In this case, a history of particular private and public places.”Photo Exhibit
Key Collaborators:
- Jorge Uzon (Photographer/Photojournalist)
- Gregory Smith (Acting Academic Director 2009-2010, CURL)
- Mars Horodyski (Artistic Director 2009-2010, CURL)
(This photo exhibit was presented during the official CURL launch on December 26th, 2009 and will remain on display until the end of January. Jorge Uzon is CURL’s first Artist-In-Residence and his work was also posted online.)
“Creative Places & Spaces “Spotlight” – Autism A Diversified Perspective”
This documentary “Spotlight” was commissioned by Artscape for The Creative Places & Spaces Conference which took place in Toronto in October 2009. Eight “Spotlights” were produced by various directors across Canada, each exploring unique collaborative relationships of various Canadian organizations.
“Autism A Diversified Perspective” highlights the unique collaborative approach toward Autism Spectrum Disorder at the Centre for Applied Genomics.
Science is among the most competitive global fields and scientists are faced with daily questions of whether to release research data or to keep it in-house for further development and the sake of patent holding. We have seen the global impact of the traditional proprietary approach, especially in cases related to delays in releasing daa in the field of HIV research.
Although faced with these conflicts, The Centre for Applied Genomics has a very personalized approach to its Autism Genome Project, which puts the lives and outcome of the patients first. This is greatly due to the fact that cross-disciplinary collaborations provide a bridge between science and the humanities.
By allowing the personal and the scientific, the local and the global, to live on one plane, this unique project is helping bring innovative progress to the understanding of Autism and related developmental disorders. It is also working towards revolutionizing genetic diagnosis and through its “team” approach addressing/resolving important ethical questions that come hand in hand with diagnostics and patients care.5 minute Documentary “Spotlight”
Key Collaborators:
- Mars Horodyski ( Artistic Director 2009-2010, CURL)
- Michael Emberley (Editor-In-Residence 2009-2010, CURL)
- Dr.Steve Scherer ( Director, Centre for Applied Genomics)
“Where the Sidewalk Begins: The University & The Global City”
In global cities – such as Toronto, New York, Mumbai or Sao Paulo universities are in dialogue and contestation with their transnational urban environment, often mirroring the city’s experiences and experimentation with questions of access, identity and competition. As we move further into the 21st century knowledge society, methods of generating, disseminating and implementing knowledge have become survival questions for city governments and universities alike. This documentary traces the parallel histories of Toronto and York University through the latter half of the 20th century, and examines the city’s and the university’s challenges in our fast-evolving globalizing world. (Half-Hour Documentary Film)
Key Collaborators:
- Mars Horodyski ( Artistic Director 2009-2010, CURL)
- Professor Peer Zumbansen (Canada, Research Chair in Corporate Governance in Knowledge Society,Osgoode Hall Law School)
- Michael Emberley (Editor-In-Residence 2009-2010, CURL)
(This half-hour documentary was produced for York University’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. It premiered on June 17th, 2009 at Price Family Cinema at York’s Keele Campus. Preceding the screening, special guest Mark Osbaldeston author of “Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City that Could Have Been”, presented a brief talk about the inception of York University in the context of Toronto’s expansion 50 years ago. Stan Shapson (Vice President Research & Innovation, York University) also attended and gave opening remarks prior to the film. Since it’s premiere the film has been requested by several faculty members to be used as a tool to initiate discussion about education, it’s context in the global city and in community engagement.)