"Redefining Canadian": A participatory filmmaking, action research project with immigrant and refugee youth

Short filmmaking is explored as a site for immigrant and refbgee youth to participate in ethnographic research, collaborative community inquiry, and media activism. The Redefining Canadian project took place over 9 months in 2004 and was a partnership between lead video mentor and research facilitator Joah Lui, the Multicultural Youth Circle Action, the Immigrant Services Society, and Video In Studios. Utilizing experimental, documentary and dramatic aesthetics, the youth created five films that problematize the stereotyped representations of youth, and especially immigrant and refbgee youth, in both mainstream society and its news media. The use of digital film technology within a participatory action research framework and a safe, creative environment, enabled these youth to access their imaginations, cultures and experiences and communicate their ideas through an expressive medium. The project opened spaces for intercultural learning and communication and serves to further the legitimacy of art and video as research tools.