A documentary that features local voices is winning awards.
“One In Six” was produced by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario in 2008 to help better understand how poverty affects students’ learning abilities.
The name of the documentary reflects the statistic that one in six Ontario children is living in poverty.
The EFTO asked local anti-poverty activist Colleen Purdon and United Way of Bruce Grey Director Francesca Dobbyn to share their stories in the film.
Dobbyn says the film was distributed to all Ontario schools last spring and has since been entered in film festivals.
Dobbyn says “One In Six” has won the documentary category at the Philadelphia International Film Festival.
She adds it was the only Canadian entry at the festival and was actually given the coveted Opening Night screening slot.
Dobbyn says the award validates the seriousness of the issue.
She also says it’s great to see the film create a legacy – she says many projects receive a lot of attention when they first come out, but can then loose steam.
Dobbyn says “One In Six” is obviously still out there making a difference.