7 minute read
Innis events 2021-22
2021-2022
We celebrated
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CLASS OF 2022 JUNE GRADUATION RECEPTION AND AWARDS CEREMONY
The June 2022 celebration went live at the Innis Town Hall and Green, hosted by Principal Charlie Keil, Dean of Students Steve Masse, and Registrar Donald Boere, who welcomed community organizer and activist Winston LaRose (Hon. LLD ’22) as speaker and honorary degree recipient.
Winston LaRose (right) with alumnus Kofi Hope (HBA ’06 Innis) outside of Convocation Hall Recipient of the Robert Patrick Student Initiative Award, Amisha Punja (HBA ’22 Innis) celebrates with namesake alumnus Robert Patrick (BA ’67 Innis) in the Green.
In November 2021, Innis launched its seventh annual alumni mentorship program, and piloted the Black Alumni Mentorship Program, matching Black students and Black alumni. Read more about the latter on pp. 18-19.
Student mentee Larry Afun addresses participants at the mentorship program closing event.
Photo by Rahul Parhar
Alumni Radheyan Simonpillai (HBA ’07, MA ’08 Cinema Studies) and Alicia Fletcher (HBA ’07, MA ’08 Cinema Studies) co-open the virtual celebration.
FALL 2021 GRADUATION RECOGNITION
With keynote speeches by Bahi Kandavel (BASc ’01, MMF ’02) and Sharon Lewis (BA ’89 Innis), and video contributions from alumni and staff, hosts Principal Charlie Keil, Registrar Donald Boere, and Dean of Students Steve Masse celebrated the newest grads in virtual style. Learn more about Sharon Lewis on pp. 12-13.
5TH ANNUAL REFUGEE STUDENT FUND BENEFIT CONCERT
Hosted by Charlie Keil, Andrew Zhao (HBA ’20 Innis), and student Emily Shi, the December 2021 concert showcased entertainment by students, alumni, and staff, and raised funds to support resettled refugee students at Innis. Watch the concert on our YouTube channel and learn how you can support the fund. Scan the QR codes with your phone to view the event online
We watched
ONE OF OURS
To recognize and celebrate February 2022 Black History Month, Innis College and the Cinema Studies Institute (CSI) hosted filmmaker Yasmine Mathurin for a virtual presentation of her documentary feature, followed by a Q&A moderated by culture critic Huda Hassan.
AKILLA’S ESCAPE
In a second virtual film presentation commemorating Black History Month, filmmaker Charles Officer brought his crime-drama to Innis, with a Q&A moderated by filmmaker Yazmeen Kanji (HBA ’20 Innis, Cinema Studies).
BEYOND MOVING
Innis College and the CSI welcomed filmmaker Vikram Dasgupta and film subject Siphe November for a screening of their acclaimed documentary, the College’s third film in recognition of Black History Month. Deirdre Kelly (BA ’83 Cinema Studies, MA ’84), writer and dance critic, moderated the Q&A.
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BEANS
In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this Sept. 30, 2021, Canadian Film Forum presentation of Tracy Deer’s award-winning Beans featured an informative post-screening discussion with the filmmaker, moderated by Alexandra Lazarowich. “I was 12 years old when I wanted to become a filmmaker, and 12 years old when I lived through the Oka crisis, and I knew that even back then I wanted to tell the Oka story from a child’s point of view.”
—Tracy Deer on her film Beans
Innis College and U of T administrators welcome Ukrainian students living at Innis Residence with a barbecue in the quad (photo by Shayla Anderson).
WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
In a special fundraising event—and a return to in-person events at Town Hall—Innis was proud to host a screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary, Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom. Director Evgeny Afineevsky answered questions in a discussion moderated by Lucan Way, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.
The April 2022 event raised money for the Innis College Ukrainian Community Scholars-at-Risk Award, which supports displaced students, including those from Ukraine, who wish to continue their education at U of T. To date, $30,000 has been raised. In another support initiative, Innis Residence also housed Ukrainian refugee-students this past summer.
PIG
In the September 2021 inaugural “Innis and Rotman Movie Night,” now an annual event, virtual viewers were treated to a screening of Pig, an odyssey of love and loss starring Nicolas Cage. The postfilm discussion featured Laurie May (LLB ’93), co-founder and co-president of Elevation Pictures, and was moderated by Charlie Keil, Innis College principal and Cinema Studies Institute (CSI) professor.
NIGHT RAIDERS
Filmmaker Danis Goulet brought her acclaimed science-fiction feature, Night Raiders, to the Canadian Film Forum in March 2022. Award-winning journalist Duncan McCue moderated the Q&A that followed.
THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK
Innis College, Victoria College, and the Cinema Studies Institute welcomed director Alan Taylor (BA ’81) in a March 2022 presentation of his film prequel to the groundbreaking television series, The Sopranos. Innis principal and CSI professor Charlie Keil moderated the Q&A.
We learned
“AN UNLIKELY ICONOCLAST” AN EVENING WITH PETER RUSSELL
In a wide-ranging November 2021 discussion moderated by political science professor Rob Vipond (BA ’75 Innis, MA ’77), Peter H. Russell, Innis’s second principal, offered insights from his latest book, Sovereignty: The Biography of a Claim.
2021-2022
Photo by Samuel Engelking
“CAN YOU SAY THAT ON THE INTERNET?” INNIS ALUMNI LECTURE WITH VIVEK KRISHNAMURTHY
In April 2021, Vivek Krishnamurthy (HBA ’02 Innis), director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic and law professor at the University of Ottawa, explored the law and politics of online speech, moderated by Philip Dawson, policy lead at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society.
Moderator Philip Dawson led a lively Q&A with Innis Alumni Lecture presenter Vivek Krishnamurthy.
WRITERS ON WRITING DISCUSSION SERIES WITH CANISIA LUBRIN
Innis College’s Writing & Rhetoric Program (W&R) launched its first instalment of the Writers on Writing series in March 2021, with Canisia Lubrin, poet, writer, and professor of English at the University of Guelph. Andrea Williams, W&R director, moderated.
“WHILE NATIONS TALK, CITIES ACT” HAROLD INNIS LECTURE WITH DAVID MILLER
November 2021 saw former Toronto mayor David Miller deliver the annual Harold Innis Lecture, a topical presentation of the leadership role cities are taking in response to environmental crises. Journalist Jaren Kerr (HBA ’17 Innis, Writing & Rhetoric) moderated.
We explored
JESSE WENTE’S UNRECONCILED
In November 2021, Jesse Wente (HBA ’96 Innis, Cinema Studies), Indigenous activist and chair of the Canada Arts Council, spoke movingly about his award-winning memoir, followed by a Q&A moderated by broadcaster Falen Johnson.
MICHELLE ORANGE’S PURE FLAME
Michelle Orange (HBA ’98 Cinema Studies) opened the 2022 Innis events calendar with a January presentation of her affecting memoir, a reckoning between mother and daughter. Writer Pasha Malla led the discussion.
SARAH POLLEY’S RUN TOWARDS THE DANGER
Speaking to a packed Town Hall audience in May 2022, renowned writer, actor, and filmmaker Sarah Polley discussed her acclaimed bestselling memoir with Eva-Lynn Jagoe, Innis vice-principal. Read more about Eva-Lynn on pp. 26-27 and 41.
Sharon English (left) discusses her novel with Andrea Most in Innis Town Hall (photo by Shayla Anderson).
SHARON ENGLISH’S NIGHT IN THE WORLD
In May 2022, Innis W&R associate professor Sharon English presented her compelling new novel of the interwoven stories of three people deeply affected by what we have done to our natural world. Andrea Most, a professor in U of T’s Department of English, led the Q&A.
