This Regent Park project is helping young people find their voices through the world of film
CBC
Growing up in Toronto's Regent Park community, making a life from filmmaking was a dream that seemed beyond Abduallahi Ali's reach.
Pursuing a career in anything creative wasn't in the cards because it wasn't seen as a serious way to make a living, the 26-year-old recalls.
"My family was very academic-heavy, you know — go to school, get a degree, get a job," Ali told CBC News.
But two years ago, that changed when he learned through a friend about a filmmaking initiative called The Regent Park Project that brings together youth ages 15 to 26 and provides them with training in acting, writing and directing.
"Something like this wasn't around when I was growing up," Ali said.
"That whole idea was kind of blown away for me over the past two years where I see that you can actually make money, you can actually make a living, you can actually find success."
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The program is run by Kick Start Arts, a Toroonto-based organization that uses the arts to help empower youth and offer opportunities to thrive in creative fields.
Ali describes the program as "a community-based project that helps the community, especially younger people in the community, look at art as a means of expression, as a form of talking about their issues, talking about problems."
Since joining, he's had the chance to act in a monologue series that was released over the summer, and is working also on a play.
In 2018, the initiative launched a two-season, 16-episode web series based on characters and storylines that connect to Regent Park.
Those involved with the project have been able to pitch to media companies like Netflix and CBC, and some, like Mandeq Hassan, have even gone on to find careers in the industry.
Hassan, 23, has been a part of the project for close to eight years. She's now represented by an agent and has worked on shows for various production houses.
One of the important aspects of the project, she says, is how it's changing the way filmmaking is done.
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