Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives

Menu

Category: films

SSHRC’s Storytellers Challenge features Ghada Youssef as Finalist

Categoriesfilms, news, student engagementPosted on

We are delighted to share that the SCVN project has been selected as a finalist in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada’s Storytellers Challenge for 2026! This challenge is open to postsecondary students, inviting them to show Canadians, in up to three minutes or 300 words, how social sciences and humanities research is impacting our lives, our world and our future for the better.

For SCVN’s entry, research assistant Ghada Youssef produced a 3-minute video summarizing the project’s goals and outputs. She will be participating in the second phase of the challenge by presenting the project in front of a jury at a conference in Montreal, Quebec this June 2026, where five winners will be announced.

Ghada’s selection has also been featured in the UVic News and the VPRI Bulletin article ‘Storytellers on screen’ where she shared that SCVN was among her motivations to pursue her doctoral studies:

“I was very excited that the project uses visual mediums to approach social justice topics—it felt like it sat squarely within what I’m already passionate about.”  

Congratulations to Ghada and the media and communications team on this achievement! You can watch the submission video on the SSHRC YouTube below:

Ghada’s participation featuring on Uvic News:

Storytelling on screen

‘Why We Dance’ begins its film festival tour with first award!

CategoriesfilmsPosted on

We are thrilled to share that the documentary short film ‘Why We Dance’ by filmmaker Marc Ellison, part of the Rwanda Research Cluster, has received its first two official selections and an award at film festivals. The film features Jerome Irankunda, a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and graphic artist Michel Kichka, who interviewed Jerome to create a graphic novel about his life and experiences during and after the genocide.

The first is the Toronto/Los Angeles Documentary Feature and Short Film Festival, where the film was screened as part of the official program in Toronto and awarded the ‘Best Short Documentary’ Audience Award. Audience responses to the film are available to view here: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-why-we-dance

The second is the IndieFEST Film Awards, an international competition that does not include a live screening component.

The film is currently awaiting further award announcements from both festivals, where selections are judged by panels of award-winning industry experts and filmmakers.

The trailer is available to view on our SCVN YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAe5d6evLEk, and you can learn more about Jerome and Michel’s collaboration on the Rwanda Research Cluster page.

Congratulations to Marc and the Rwanda Research Cluster on this recognition!

‘Almasa’s Story’ – Official Trailer from Yugoslav Wars Research Cluster

Categoriesfilms, newsPosted on

The official trailer for the upcoming documentary short film ‘Almasa’s Story’ is now available to view on our SCVN YouTube channel. Filmed in Sarajevo and directed by Bojan Hadžiabdić, ‘Almasa’s Story’ features Almasa Salihović, a child survivor of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, and graphic artist Anneli Furmark, who spent a year interviewing Almasa to create a graphic novel based on her lived experiences during the genocide.

Almasa was six years old when Bosnian Serb forces overran the UN ‘safe area’ of Srebrenica. More than 8,000 men and boys were killed in one of the most violent chapters in European history since World War II. As part of their year-long collaboration, Anneli met with Almasa in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and together they visited locations from Almasa’s past, including the village of Potočari, where she lost her older brother, Abdulah. ‘Almasa’s Story’ bears witness to this journey through the physical and emotional landscapes of a history both deeply personal and universally significant.

Stills from ‘Almasa’s Story’ directed by Bojan Hadžiabdić

Today, Almasa works at the Srebrenica Memorial Center, an organization ‘committed to preserving the history of the genocide in Srebrenica as well as combatting the forces of ignorance and hatred which make genocide possible’.

The full documentary short film will be released on the SCVN YouTube channel in 2026.

More information about the genocide and the graphic novel can be found on the Yugoslav Wars Research Cluster page.

‘Why We Dance’ – New trailer from Rwanda Research Cluster

CategoriesfilmsPosted on

The trailer for the upcoming documentary short film, ‘Why We Dance’, has just been released and is available to view on the SCVN YouTube channel. Filmed and directed by Marc Ellison, it features conversations between Jerome Irankunda, a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and Michel Kichka, an artist who is currently creating a graphic novel about Jerome’s life and experiences during and after the genocide. The film shows the trust that develops between Michel and Jerome as they discuss Jerome’s experience fleeing his home town when he was only six. Now a community leader and educator, Jerome also speaks about the ordinary acts of resistance that he hopes define his life and will influence the life of his children.

For more information about Jerome and Michel’s collaboration, please visit our Rwanda Research Cluster page. Our SCVN YouTube channel also has more details about the trailer and upcoming film:

Filming with Yezidi Survivor for Iraq Documentary – July 2025

CategoriesfilmsPosted on

After thoughtful consideration, our Yezidi survivor Jilan (not her real name), decided to participate anonymously in the documentary film about her collaboration with the graphic artist, Birgit Weyhe. The filming took place on July 1 and 2 and Filmmaker Olaf Markmann and Research Consultant Leyla Ferman coordinated and outlined a filming schedule. The first day started with Birgit’s art studio in Hamburg to focus on the process and partnership between graphic novelist Birgit and the Yezidi survivor. The second day was filmed at our project partner, the Bergen-Belsen Memorial site, as it serves as a place of remembrance (see below).


Filming at the Bergen-Belsen Memorial on July 2, 2025. Photo credit: Kjell Anderson.

The challenge was to respect the anonymity of the Yezidi survivor while simultaneously achieving a sense of closeness to the subject and the broader community. The approach to filming included scenes filmed in closed and open spaces, reflecting this duality.

In addition to Olaf and Leyla, Research Cluster Co-Lead, Kjell Anderson joined for off-camera interviews with the survivor, to help us to better understand their experiences and potentially be included in the project archive. 

Image gallery image

Filming at the Bergen-Belsen Memorial (top left) and at Birgit’s studio in Hamburg (top right & bottom) and team photo of Leyla Ferman, Birgit Weyhe and Kjell Anderson in July, 2025. Photo credit: Kjell Anderson and Elif Eker.

Learn more about the collaboration and Jilan’s story on the Iraq Research Cluster Page.

Turtle Island Research Cluster wraps up filming for documentary short

CategoriesfilmsPosted on

The Turtle Island Research Cluster has completed filming their short documentary film, ‘Kokum Dorothy’s Story’, directed by Andy Rutter. The film features conversations between residential school survivor Dorothy (Sekan) Visser (nee Whiskeyjack, Cree) and Métis illustrator Natasha Donovan as they discuss their upcoming graphic novel, ‘We Can Still Sing and Dance: Kokum Dorothy’s Story.’ More information and photos from the filming can be found on UBC’s Pop Culture Cluster website here.

Natasha Donovan (Métis, left) showing Dorothy Visser (Cree, right) the final pages (May, 2025). Photo credit: Elizabeth Nijdam.