NEWS RELEASE
UNITED WAY SIMCOE MUSKOKA
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United Way Simcoe Muskoka's Real2Reel Film Festival presented by the RBC Foundation is wrapping up its season with a screening of the documentary "Four Feet Up".
This moving Canadian-made film, which focuses on childhood poverty, will be screening at the Orillia Opera House on Oct. 24.
"15% of children and youth in our community are living in low-income households," says United Way chief executive and philanthropy officer Brian Shelley. "It is our hope that this film helps us all to understand how poverty is impacting kids here in our own community.”
In this personal documentary, award-winning photographer and filmmaker Nance Ackerman invites us into the lives of a determined family for a profound experience of child poverty in one of the richest countries in the world.
Eight-year-old Isaiah is trying hard to grow up healthy, smart and well adjusted despite the odds stacked against him. Isaiah knows he's been categorized as "less fortunate," and his short life has seen more than his share of social workers, food banks and police interventions.
His parents struggle to overcome a legacy of stereotypes, abuse and dysfunction. More than anything, they want Isaiah and his siblings to have access to opportunities they never had.
Ackerman spent two years with Isaiah and his family. As her portrait of the family unfolds with the help of Isaiah's creative input, curiosity and zest for life, so do Ackerman's own feelings about the responsibilities of Canadians to raise all children as our best investment in the nation's future.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with local advocates and experts from local agencies to open a dialogue and shine a light on this complex local issue.
When: Oct. 24, 2023 – 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Where: Orillia Opera House, 20 Mississaga St. W.
Who: This event is open to the public. Tickets are $5
Tickets: Four Feet Up ticket purchasing
More information: https://uwsimcoemuskoka.ca/four-feet-up/
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