The slow wheels of change

Mental health a key component to cycling doc

Marlene Hibbs has had her bicycle stolen, encountered bears, tornado warnings and a tire-flattening staple — all in the company of her Orca-shaped bike horn named Lucky.

The mother of two is cycling from Kamloops, B.C., to Ottawa for mental health awareness. Hibbs, a trauma awareness advocate and eating disorder survivor, is on a mission to discuss improvements to mental health care with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“It’s not about raising money,” Hibbs told Kamloops radio CFJC.

“There has been enough money raised for these causes. Now it’s time for the federal government to change what is acceptable.”

The quest is the subject of a new short documentary. The Womxn’s Film and Video Network of the Winnipeg Film Group, a collective of female and non-binary crew, is following Hibbs on the 500-km Manitoba stretch of her cross-country journey.

“I was thinking, ‘Well, if this isn’t an opportunity for me to give this opportunity to underdog female filmmakers, then I don’t know what is,’” said Melissa Van Soelen, operations manager of the Winnipeg Film Group.

“I didn’t even ask anybody, I was just like, ‘Yes, we can do.’ Just because I know the women who come to the Womxn’s Film and Video Network and I knew I would have no issues trying to find people to do this, especially women who don’t have a lot of experience but want the experience.”

Hibbs left Kamloops on May 24 with just her bicycle and a nearly 32-kilogram load of everyday essentials. Along the way, she’s collecting stories from everyday Canadians who have struggled with mental health. And she’s been writing members of Parliament and members of the B.C. legislature requesting support.

Hibbs doesn’t have any financial sponsors, but she does accept donations for her expenses through her Days of Action Facebook page. Her Facebook page also hosts a fundraiser to help finance the Manitoba documentary crew, which is looking for about $19,000 in support.

The collective, established in 2015, offers free training, equipment, and networking to established, mid-career or emerging directors, producers, writers and crew members in Manitoba.

“We want (the documentary) to represent Marlene’s ride,” Van Soelen said. “We want it to represent her cause and her beliefs.

“The wait for mental health is too long.”