Twenty-five years ago, Barbara Lee founded the as a way to shine a spotlight on creative Asian-Canadian talent and dismantle discrimination.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 really proud of the community weB次元官网网址檝e built. It takes a village to get to 25 years,B次元官网网址� Lee said. B次元官网网址淓verybody believed that representation matters, that our stories matter and we need to tell them ourselves.B次元官网网址�

Lee said when she founded the festival, she hoped that anti-racism work wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be needed 25 years in the future. But she says anti-racism work is needed now more than ever.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 2,265 incidents of anti-Asian racism in Canada. B.C. has the highest rate of incidents per capita out of any North American province or state. Vancouver is the city with the highest number of reported incidents per capita in North America.

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is the advocacy arm of the festival. Beyond film, the group has worked to organize workshops and support for the Asian diaspora. One of their programs is the B次元官网网址榬eclaim your name circleB次元官网网址�. ItB次元官网网址檚 common among the diaspora to westernize their names. Elimin8Hate encourages people to reclaim their traditional names and their Asian identity.

B次元官网网址淚f you share your name with someone else theyB次元官网网址檒l get it. ItB次元官网网址檚 always a great place to start an easy conversation by introducing your name.B次元官网网址�

Whether itB次元官网网址檚 learning someoneB次元官网网址檚 name or hearing someoneB次元官网网址檚 story, Lee said that proper representation can dispel racist stereotypes that people see in media.

B次元官网网址淭heir whole idea about a community or people or an entire race is based on what they see on T.V., we need to get a wider representation of what the Asian community is all about. We have a lot more in common than we have differences even though we may approach things from a different cultural lens. In the end, weB次元官网网址檙e all human.B次元官网网址�

Folks living outside the Metro Vancouver area will be able to view VAFF films online . Tickets are $50 and films can be viewed from Nov. 8 to Nov. 13. Films can be viewed from anywhere in Canada.

cole.schisler@bpdigital.ca
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