It might be set in the urban war zone of Toronto’s Jane-Finch corridor, but Canada’s newest cinematic sensation has strong roots in Brantford, wrote the Brantford Expositor Jan. 31. That’s where screenwriter and York alumna Annmarie Morais (BFA ‘95) grew up, facing the same struggles to find herself as the young protagonist of How She Move – which was just snapped up by Paramount Vantage for US$3.4 million after wowing crowds at the Sundance Film Festival. The distribution deal means the low-budget indie will hit movie screens across North America and beyond. "I couldn’t be happier," Morais enthuses during a telephone interview from California. "Suddenly, I’m being discovered. I’ve become this nine-year overnight wonder," Morais says with a laugh.
Helping empower African farmers
One of the most appealing things about working in Kenya as a small-business adviser for Practical Action is that I have the opportunity to empower people; to help them improve their lives, but it’s not likely I will be here to see whether my efforts have had any success, wrote York alumnus Jacob Kojfman (LLB/MBA ‘03), in his ongoing column on his six-month work experience in Kenya for the National Post Jan. 31.
My job is to help Practical Action to sell the organic fertilizer it produces…. In theory, my project has the ability to empower. But for me to see the empowerment, I would have to be here until at least the start of the next planting season, to see whether or not farmers are buying the organic fertilizer. As much as I love the notion of teaching a man to fish so he can eat, I must return to Canada.
Kojfman, as the Post notes at the end of each column, has an LLB/MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Local student raises money for trust fund in murder victim’s name
A York University student inspired to learn about the life of Chantel Dunn is taking her interest to another level by raising money for an endowment fund, wrote the North York Mirror Jan. 30. Dunn was a second-year York student who died in a shooting incident on Feb. 7, 2006. With Black History Month approaching, Rahel Appiagyei began to consider how we could celebrate Dunn’s life. Appiagyei and a friend decided to raise funds to establish a scholarship in her memory. The Mirror noted that readers can mail a donation to the York University Foundation, West Office Building, on the Keele campus.
Schulich prof’s book looks at globalization
In The Strategic Challenge: From Serfdom to Surfing in the Global Village (Captus Press), Schulich School of Business Professor Charles J. McMillan offers a critical examination of globalization and its impact on national economies, as well as growth strategies and the structure of international management based on best-practice companies in Europe, South Korea and North America, wrote The Globe and Mail Jan. 31.
On air
- The unveiling of a sculpture of Ali Jinnah at York, was featured on OMNI-TV’s South Asian news on Jan. 30. The item included coverage of comments by York President & Vice-Chancellor Lorna R. Marsden, Ghalib Iqbal, Consul General of Pakistan in Toronto, Babar Qureshi, spokesperson for York’s Pakistan Students Association, and York fine arts graduate student/sculptor David Mcdougall.