In recognition of the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, York University’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (REI) will screen the documentary Shadow Girl on campus on Nov. 30.
The screening takes place in partnership with the Faculty of Health, School of Social Work, and Enable York Committee, and runs from 11am to 1:30pm in Room 1014 Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building. The UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities is acknowledged annually on Dec. 3.
In focusing on resilience and disability, the documentary chronicles the journey of filmmaker María Teresa Larraín as she suddenly loses her sight while editing her last film.
Larraín, who studied law and drama in her native Chile, immigrated to Canada in 1976, where she worked for several years as a legal assistant and a community developer. After training in prestigious film institutions in Canada and the United States, she started working as an independent writer-director. Her films reflect the duality of living in, while constantly moving out of and between these two worlds: her native Chile and Canada, her second home.
Her films range from the political with Besieged Land to the personal and poetical with Shadow Girl. Her character-driven documentaries often focus on racialized and marginalized communities, poverty and the environment, diversity, social inclusion, aging and disability.
Shadow Girl is an autobiographic film that follows her journey into blindness. It had its world premiere at DocsBarcelona (Official Section) in May 2016. It had its Chilean premiere at the Gala section of Sanfic (the Santiago International Film Festival) in August 2016 and in November of the same year, the film participated and won several awards in the following festivals: Fidocs (Santiago International Documentary Film Festival), DIVA (Diversity Film Festival of Valparaíso), DocsBarcelona Valparaíso and Fedochi (International Film Festival of Chiloé).
Larraín will be present for the film screening and will participate in a Q&A after the film. The screening will be close captioned, and a version with audio description is forthcoming with updates available on the film’s website.
To view the trailer, watch below.
The film is provided by Maremoto Productions and Storyline Entertainment.
The event is free to attend, and registration is not required. For more information, visit the REI website.