Scene Otherwise (2012)

Scene Otherwise (2012) is based on the Occupy movement as it took place in Toronto during October and November 2011. It is set in a park where the Occupiers set up tents that included a library, media and arts centres, medical aid, and food services. A main narrative character, dressed in red, is shown at four stages of engagement with the movement. The foreground characters represent various issues and constituencies that made up Occupy: indigenous peoples, students, environmentalists, anti-poverty and migrant activists, union members, etc. The centre represents the Occupy circle and it’s democratic processes. Moving from the circle into the background are documentary subjects from Occupy and related demonstrations. Three historic characters have been added to the left side behind the circle: Che Guevara, Louis Riel (a M´etis who lead a rebellion in Western Canada in the 1870-80′s), and Harriet Tubman, to represent a cross-section of past issues and struggles. In the deep background, against a corporate cityscape, are flags and banners from the precursors of the Occupy movement: the Tunisian and Egyptian Springs, the Indignados movement in Spain and Occupy Wall Street in New York