Black Students Network and Indigenous Students Alliance
Exposing the history of slavery at McGill University.
Focus
Social Justice
Year
2021
Disciplines
Video
Introduction
We worked with McGill’s Black Students’ Network and Indigenous Students’ Alliance to produce a documentary about the history of slavery in Montreal and at McGIll specifically. Based on a report published by a team led by Prof. Charmaine Nelson called the “Bicentenary Report”.
Challenge
How do we pack years worth of historical research into an 8-minute documentary that is both comprehensive in its understanding, but engaging in its approach.
Pack years of historical research into an 8-minute documentary.
Approach
We approached members of the team that had written the report for interview. We engaged deeply with the source material, and did our own research beyond that. From there—we wrote a script that could narrate us through the history. It would bridge gaps between interviews and data.
Execution
We made the documentary—pulling from a mix of Vox-style and Netflix-inspired aesthetics, stock images, and interviews. Overall it was relased by the BSN and ISA to 25,000+ views. It was shown in classrooms and stimulated discussions on campus.
