8/7/2019 May 7, 2010 - Listen to This

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The Toronto Sun n Friday, May 7, 201066  SHOWBIZ

Ater watching documenta-ries like the Academy Award-winning Born Into Brothels, araw yet inspiring look at thechildren o prostitutes liv-ing in Calcutta, India, I otenquestion i such ilms are thework o idealistic white liber-als rom the West on a missionto ‘save’ a ew young brownsouls.

hat question didn’t popinto my head while watch-ing Listen to his, one o the

most talked-about flms beingscreened at this year’s HotDocs estival. Juan Baque-ro’s lively littl e documen-tary, which introduces us tothree eisty kids — Whitney,Jasmine and Donta — whoattend Evolving hrough theArts, a songwriting workshopor children living in Jane-Finch, doesn’t reek o liberalcondescension.

How could it when the flm-maker comes rom a coun-

try that is demonized by themedia much the way Jane-Finch is?

“Even though I don’t livein the Jane and Finch area,I eel I have lots in commonwith people who live there,”Baquero tells me. “I am animmigrant and a lot o new Canadians end up livingin areas such as Jane andFinch. And also, Colombia,just like Jane and Finch, is aplace that has traditionally 

been maligned by main-stream media. here’s only limited space in newspa-pers and limited airtime onV and radio so there’s noroom or in-depth expla-nations (about what’s hap-pening in those places), andas a result the average per-son ends up with a sketchy image o a place and its peo-ple.

“In the case o Jane andFinch, it’s gangs and guns,” headds. “In the case o Colom-

bia, it’s drugs and violence.I’m not trying to say that thosethings don’t happen. It’s just

that they are a small part o the reality o living in thoseplaces.”

Armed with this empathy and respect or his subjects,Baquero spent several monthsin the neighbourhood beorebringing his equipment along.He even volunteered to teacha video workshop the summerbeore the start o the work-shop and returned regularly to the area.

“I think people saw that Iwas being genuine and they decided to give me what I’venow learned is the most essen-tial git a documentarian canever hope to receive — the gito trust,” says Baquero, whostudied law and chose mak-ing ilms over making argu-

ments. “Without it, you willnever be able to tell a story that alls out o the ordinary.With it, the doors to the mostuniversal eelings, aspirationsand desires open up and all o a sudden you fnd yoursel inthe company o people whocan provide the raw emotionsor stories to which we can allrelate.”

Invited into homes

his trust is evidenced by 

olks who invite him into theirhomes and the ilm’s maincharacters — who don’t dis-play an ounce o nervousnessor attitude when they’re inront o Baquero’s lens.

Baquero says he discov-ered Evolving hrough theArts when he met the pro-gram’s ounder, homp-son Egbo-Egbo, while doingresearch or a documen-tary about the Regent Park School o Music. Ater Egbo-

Egbo received unding torun a week-long songwritingworkshop at Firgrove PublicSchool, he hired Baquero tomake a short ilm about theprogram. he ilm, Baquerosays, “ended up evolving intoa longer documentary aterhompson was able to putthe unding together to run aworkshop that ran a ull ourmonths.”

Asked what he hopes audi-ences can learn rom Jasmine,Whitney and Donta, Baquero

says, “I truly hope that peoplewill see kids growing up in theJane and Finch neighbour-

hood with a dierent set o eyes. hese are kids with justas much potential and talentas any other kid growing up inany other part o the city. Andi and when things go wrong,it’s not because there’s somesort o mutating gene in theirDNA’s that makes it so. Teremust be a reason or that.

“Listen to his doesn’tattempt to explore that ques-tion, it merely poses it.”

NOTE: Listen to Tis screensSunday at 4:30 p.m. at heRoyal Cinema, 608 College St.For more info, go to hotdocs.ca. And for more informationon Evolving Trough Te Arts,visit egbofoundation.org.

Visi Eo’s bog www.musicinhemessge.

bogspo.com.

ErrOlNaZarEtH

Rhythms N Rhymes

Dylan Murray helines the atistso reugees beneftt the El Mocmbo

tonight. 7 p.m. $12. 464Spin ave.

A Drummer’s Dream, oc etuing seven

mste ummesom vious genes

peoming t cmp incottge county, sceensSuny s pt o Hot docs.1:30 p.m. The royl Cinem.hotocs.c.

Afrolatino DanceCompany, RobertoLinares Brown,Changuito n

Telmary ply Lul Stuys pt o Lulwol 2010.

9 p.m. $20. 1585 dunsSt. W.

HEARThis!

Now

Errol’s can’t-miss list:

1

2

3

Music fom he ’hood

Two o the kids rom Listen to This, a documentary on the Jane-Finch songwriting programEvolving Through the Arts. The flm is part o the Hot Docs estival.

Doc Listen to This demonstrates the power oart to lit youth out o difcult circumstances