66 SHOWBIZ The Toronto Sun n Friday, May 7, 2010

Music from the ’hood Doc Listen to This demonstrates the power of
art to lift youth out of difficult circumstances
Errol
Nazareth
Rhythms N Rhymes
After watching documenta-
ries like the Academy Award-
winning Born Into Brothels, a
raw yet inspiring look at the
children of prostitutes liv-
ing in Calcutta, India, I often
question if such films are the
work of idealistic white liber-
als from the West on a mission
to ‘save’ a few young brown
souls.
That question didn’t pop
into my head while watch-
ing Listen to This, one of the
most talked-about films being
Two of the kids from Listen to This, a documentary on the Jane-Finch songwriting program screened at this year’s Hot
Evolving Through the Arts. The film is part of the Hot Docs festival. Docs festival. Juan Baque-
ro’s lively little documen-
tary, which introduces us to
three feisty kids — Whitney,
Jasmine and Donta — who
attend Evolving Through the
Arts, a songwriting workshop
that they are a small part of
the reality of living in those
places.”
Armed with this empathy
and respect for his subjects,
Baquero spent several months
in the neighbourhood before
bringing his equipment along.
He even volunteered to teach
a video workshop the summer
before the start of the work-
shop and returned regularly
to the area.
“I think people saw that I
was being genuine and they
decided to give me what I’ve
now learned is the most essen-
tial gift a documentarian can
ever hope to receive — the gift
of trust,” says Baquero, who
studied law and chose mak-
ing films over making argu-
ments. “Without it, you will
never be able to tell a story
that falls out of the ordinary.
With it, the doors to the most
universal feelings, aspirations
and desires open up and all of
a sudden you find yourself in
the company of people who
can provide the raw emotions
hood with a different set of
eyes. These are kids with just
as much potential and talent
as any other kid growing up in
any other part of the city. And
if and when things go wrong,
it’s not because there’s some
sort of mutating gene in their
DNA’s that makes it so. There
must be a reason for that.
“Listen to This doesn’t
attempt to explore that ques-
tion, it merely poses it.”
NOTE: Listen to This screens
Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at The
Royal Cinema, 608 College St.
For more info, go to hotdocs.
ca. And for more information
on Evolving Through The Arts,
visit egbofoundation.org.
Visit Errol’s blog at www.
musicinthemessage.
blogspot.com.
Now

for children living in Jane-
Finch, doesn’t reek of liberal
condescension.
How could it when the film-
maker comes from a coun-
try that is demonized by the
media much the way Jane-
Finch is?
“Even though I don’t live
in the Jane and Finch area,
HEAR
for stories to which we can all
relate.”
Invited into homes
This trust is evidenced by
folks who invite him into their
homes and the film’s main This!
characters — who don’t dis-
t:
play an ounce of nervousness
or attitude when they’re in
Errol’s can’t-miss lis
front of Baquero’s lens.

I feel I have lots in common
with people who live there,”
Baquero tells me. “I am an
immigrant and a lot of new
Canadians end up living
in areas such as Jane and
Finch. And also, Colombia,
1
Dylan Murray
Baquero says he discov-
headlines the Artists
ered Evolving Through the
for Refugees benefit
Arts when he met the pro-
at the El Mocambo
g ra m’s f ou n d e r, Th o mp -
tonight. 7 p.m. $12. 464
son Egbo-Egbo, while doing
Spadina Ave.
research for a documen-

just like Jane and Finch, is a
place that has traditionally
been maligned by main-
stream media. There’s only
limited space in newspa-
pers and limited airtime on
TV and radio so there’s no
room for in-depth expla-
nations (about what’s hap-
pening in those places), and
2
tary about the Regent Park
A Drummer’s Dream,
School of Music. After Egbo-
a doc featuring seven
Egbo received funding to
master drummers
run a week-long songwriting
from various genres
workshop at Firgrove Public
performing at a camp in
School, he hired Baquero to
cottage country, screens
make a short film about the
Sunday as part of Hot Docs.
program. The film, Baquero
1:30 p.m. The Royal Cinema.
says, “ended up evolving into
hotdocs.ca.
a longer documentary after

as a result the average per-
son ends up with a sketchy
image of a place and its peo-
ple.
“In the case of Jane and
Finch, it’s gangs and guns,” he
adds. “In the case of Colom-
bia, it’s drugs and violence.
I’m not trying to say that those
things don’t happen. It’s just
3
Thompson was able to put
Afrolatino Dance
the funding together to run a
Company, Roberto
workshop that ran a full four
Linares Brown,
months.”
Changuito and
Asked what he hopes audi-
Telmary play Lula Saturday
ences can learn from Jasmine,
as part of Lulaworld 2010.
Whitney and Donta, Baquero
9 p.m. $20. 1585 Dundas
says, “I truly hope that people
St. W.
will see kids growing up in the
Jane and Finch neighbour-