FIGHTING HATE
Asian film fest launches initiative
The Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) is calling for submissions from filmmakers and the public for a campaign to help stop racist attacks against Asian Canadians.
The Vancouver Police Department recently reported there has been a rise in hate crimes since the onset of the COVID -19 pandemic. The department said 11 hate crimes were reported in March and five of those had an “anti-asian element.”
“Watching the police footage of that elderly Asian man with dementia get verbally and physically abused is heartbreaking and disturbing and shows that more must be done to counter racism,” Barbara Lee, founder of VAFF, said in a statement announcing the #elimin8hate program. “Significant investments in public education and government efforts should be a priority to combat this growing sentiment.”
VAFF’S #elimin8hate campaign hopes to “encourage Asian Canadians to report and document their experiences of racial profiling and any attacks (verbal, physical or online).”
Videos should be 60 seconds or less and contain no profanity, nudity or vulgarity. By submitting your film, you agree to allow VAFF to post and share.
The public service announcements will be shared online through VAFF’S Youtube channel. The platform is anonymous and secure.
“The racist attacks on Asians in Canada is unacceptable and MUST STOP,” Vancouver actor Ludi Lin (Mortal Kombat, Aquaman, Power Rangers) said in a statement. “We all need to unite and speak out against these attacks motivated by hatred and misinformation. Canadians inspire the world by reaching out in friendship and acceptance in spite of hard times, and more than ever we must embrace that core value. An attack on any race is an attack on the human race.”
You can get more information and email your film to elimin8hate@vaff.org.