A Crack in the Pavement : Growing Dreams

A Crack in the Pavement is a two-part video set that shows children, teachers and parents how, working together to green their school grounds, they can make positive changes in their communities. Digging In follows students from Toronto's Jesse Ketchum School as they take steps towards the greening of their schoolyard. Along the way they get "how-to" advice and inspiration from kids across the country; from Pauline Public School, where students raised $10,000; from Broadacres School, where a family of wild ducks found a home in their pond; and from Queen Mary School, where the students tip is to "get help from your parents and teachers to make your garden happen!".

How big is the world? Searching for an answer, a young boy waves goodbye to his classmates, hops the schoolyard fence and disappears into the city, swallowed by the din and decadence of its machines and masses and automobiles. Back at school, amidst a crowd of confused onlookers, the runaway's best friend, a young artist, smiles and waves goodbye with equal parts understanding and expectation: she is biding her time, preparing for her own adventure to begin. In Flutter, award-winning artist and illustrator Howie Shia marries traditional and digital media with a mish-mash score of jazz, electronics and sampling to create an urban fairy tale that sets to reclaim the contemporary world as fertile ground for epic adventure and romance. This is not a story about humble beginnings, but about two school kids with ambition and love so potent that they reinvent the landscape as endless canvases; infinite mazes. A film without words.

Beating the Streets traces six years in the lives of Marilyn Brighteyes and Lance Marty, two inner-city Aboriginal teenagers struggling to turn their lives around. And it is the story of Joe Cloutier, the teacher -- and former dropout -- determined to help them. In Beating the Streets, Marilyn and Lance candidly discuss the abuse and violence that drove them into prostitution and drug dealing. The video also introduces Joe's innovative approach, combining alternative education and popular theatre as a way to get young people off the streets. The film begins in 1986, when Joe creates the Inner City Drama Association (ICDA) for teens like Marilyn and Lance. They participate in theatre workshops led by actors like Tantoo Cardinal Dances with Wolves and their plays explore important issues like substance abuse, family violence, suicide and racism. Performances lead to discussions with the audience in an effort to seek healthy solutions. Then, in 1993, Lance encourages Joe to take on the immense challenge of opening an alternative school -- Inner City High -- for teens at risk. And we witness a remarkable transformation in Lance and Marilyn as they become leaders at the school.