Shorts Program – JAYU Festival of the Arts

Join us for a series of screenings featuring a selection of powerful short films that delve into themes of equity, social justice, and human rights.

These films highlight both local and global issues, offering diverse perspectives that inspire critical conversations. Screenings will be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A, providing a space for deeper reflection and meaningful dialogue.

Shorts Program Features:

• in the whiteness by Niya Ahmed Abdullahi, iAM Alumni
  a poetic exploration of identity through the eyes of a Harari-Ethiopian woman, displaced via war, now living in Canada. She uses poetry and movement as a meditative method of reconnecting with her roots and in doing so, establishes a magical bond with her ancestors.
  
• your land cries for you by Niya Ahmed Abdullahi, iAM Alumni
  Lost in a trance between conversations of the past, old worlds, and alternative realities. Marium is called for prayer along this journey home. Alas, she tries, to find, her place.
  

• the mis(re)education of the invisible yet furious five by Paul-Daniel Torres, iAM Alumni
  An experimental docu-drama/thriller about the dark beginnings of Ontario's public eduction system.
  

• Knots by Shane Ravel Jackpaul, iAM Alumni
  Explore the intergenerational impact of Indo-Caribbean misogyny through video and photography. This series honors Coolie women—heterosexual, queer, and beyond—who redefine sexual identity outside the confines of patriarchy, reclaiming power over their bodies. By drawing on ancestral connections and everyday acts of joy, dance, and resistance, they reflect on how identities expand as these women reclaim their narratives and reject what no longer serves them.
  

• Everyone Wants a Tight Pussy & Heal by Cassandra Myers, Youth Artist
  Details the grief of living with chronic vaginal pain (Vulvodynia), talking back to claims about pain during sex and otherwise. Patient is a video that speaks to doctors about their non-compassionate presence while supporting their clients, calling for a decolonial approach to care.
  

• Marcela by Dina Lobo, Youth Artist
  Marcela follows Dina’s journey to uncover why she abruptly quit ballet at 12, using her mother’s VHS archives and family interviews to reconstruct her past. As memories unravel, the film delves into the complexities of Dina’s biracial identity, shaped by racism and xenophobia in the Arab world. Through intimate storytelling, Marcela challenges simplistic narratives of race, exploring how exclusion and internalized trauma shape a child’s sense of self.
  

• unhome by Ella Saini, Youth Artist
  unhome explores the impact of gentrification in Scarborough. It features three Scarborough residents who share their personal memories and reflect on the changes they have witnessed over the last 5-10 years in their neighborhoods. Through their stories and scrapbook imagery, unhome explores the pain of nostalgia in the face of a lost community

About JAYU Festival of the Arts

A four-day celebration of the freedom of creative expression rooted in human rights, social justice, and equity. Youth produced and curated, youth artists and filmmakers from the GTA will hit the stage, screen and gallery to share their stories and spark conversations that matter the most –our stories.

Thank you to the Government of Canada, Ontario Arts, Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Foundation for funding JAYU Festival of the Arts.

Host or Publisher JAYU