Winner—Rogers Audience Award
Honest Ed’s, Toronto’s iconic discount bargain palace, stood at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst for almost 70 years. Now slated to be replaced with luxury apartments, the Toronto landmark closed its doors on December 31, 2016. It was the end of an era—and another warning sign of Canada’s worsening housing crisis. Turning the lens on herself as well as several other longtime residents displaced by the new development, director Lulu Wei captures a unique profile of a community losing access to both the residential and commercial spaces that allowed it to flourish. Their story is another addition to the growing number of Toronto neighbourhoods whose community fabric has been torn by the forces of gentrification. The question skilfully posed by Wei’s film, “Are we building a neighbourhood, or are we just building buildings?”, remains yet to be answered. Aisha Jamal
This film includes a pre-recorded Q&A.
Co-presented with Myseum of Toronto
Canadian Spectrum program sponsored by
MEDIA COVERAGE