A film student hopes a new documentary she produced will draw much-needed attention to the issues of youth homelessness in this area.
“The community needs to be aware of what’s happening and what’s needed, and film is one of the best mediums to demonstrate those challenges,” said Svjetlana Oppen, whose 40-minute documentary What Is Home? will be screened for the first time tomorrow night at the Capitol Theatre.
Shot in black and white, the film focuses on the Windsor Youth Centre, a local drop-in site for homeless youth that’s located on Wyandotte Street East. It dispels the ‘squeegy-kid’ stereotype, featuring the story of a young woman with a full year of university under her belt, as well as others who talk with clarity and sincerity about their lives on the streets.
Oppen, a fourth-year student in Communication, Media and Film, said making the film was a passion project done over and above her requirements for academic credit. It began as a series of short videos to complement a published collection of reflections by WYC staff, volunteers and youth on the subject of home. All of the photography and production for that book was handled by fellow student Mary Katharine Keown.
The president of the non-profit Stagehouse Multimedia, Oppen and her husband, who directed the film, began spending a lot of time at the centre, getting to know the youth who rely on it. The result was some very candid and raw commentary from them.
“At times it was way too emotional for me,” she said. “There were times when I had to stop and put the camera down.”
Tamara Kowalska, a fellow student and one of the centre’s founding members, said the film is so honest because the pair earned the respect of their subjects by spending so much time there.
“They really gained the trust of the youth,” she said. “They got what they got because of who they are.”
Identifying with her subjects wasn’t difficult for Oppen. Originally from Bosnia, her own education was interrupted by the war there.
“I was a student in Sarajevo when the siege started,” she said. “I went from having everything I needed to having nothing but the t-shirt and jeans I was wearing and standing in food lines. I understood that feeling of hopelessness.”
Oppen said she hopes the film will open people’s eyes to how they can get involved with tackling the issues of youth homelessness.
“I hope people will leave the theatre thinking that it’s very easy to help,” she said. “It’s easy to get involved and to help these people. You just have to make up your mind and go there.”
Screening of the film will begin at 8:15 p.m. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the MILK Coffee Bar, Villain’s Beastro, or the Windsor Youth Centre at 1321 Wyandotte Street East.
The film will also be screened at Glenwood United Church on Nov. 27 .