Air Show

This film was made with refugee actors and it was shot during the Canadian National Air Show.
Reeling from loss, a refugee father and daughter arrive in Canada, greeted by the raucous noise of the National Air Show. Pushed to relive the trauma of their past, they struggle to find meaning in this longstanding military tradition.

Director Biography – Maya Bastian

https://www.mayabastian.com

https://twitter.com/MayaBasti

Maya Bastian’s short films and documentaries have screened at festivals around the world. Primarily focusing on social justice issues, her work ranges from narrative to documentary to experimental. She spent several years traveling the world as an investigative video journalist, documenting areas of conflict and post-conflict culminating in her latest narrative short film ‘Air Show’, about the effect of the Toronto Air Show on newcomer refugees.

She is the recipient of the 2017 Magee TV Diverse Screenwriting Mentorship Award was selected as one of Reelworld Film Festival’s Emerging 20, and has been recently chosen as one of Regent Park Film Festival’s Home Made Visible artists. She is currently in pre-production on a short narrative ‘Tigress’, which examines militant rebellions and the ways in which we chose to rebel.

Director Statement

Amongst cheers of glee and exhilaration from it’s viewers, the Canadian National Air Show has been tormenting Parkdale citizens for nearly 50 years. The Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale is a diverse area which owes it’s vibrancy to the scores of immigrants and refugees that influence it’s streets. Nearly 20,000 displaced persons call Parkdale home, many of whom have experienced war and aerial bombing first-hand. What happens when they arrive traumatized by conflict, only to have an extravagant show of Canadian military strength in their front yard? Do the fighter jets above their heads, the deafening noises and the windows rattling elicit a distinct response?

‘Air Show’ aims to explore the intersection of Canadian culture and tradition with our ever-evolving climate of diversity. The result is an intimate look at the trauma of conflict, the remnants of which are oft carried over into daily life.

In an experimental fashion, the film was shot during the Canadian National Air Show using former refugees as actors. The lead actors in this film have all experienced aerial bombardment.

Air Show

Air Show

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