Arts & Culture pages 12 to

Culture is not a monolith

The co-directors of Ma Nishma Manitoba on collaboration, culture and COVID-19

ARTS & CULTURE

Zoë LeBrun, volunteer This year’s Gimli Film Festival is premiering many fantastic films by local creators, and one of them is Ma Nishma Manitoba. Codirected by Sara Bulloch and Johanna Reimer-Henteleff, Ma Nishma Manitoba explores contemporary Jewish identity and history within Manitoba through interviews with members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community as well as the co-directors’ personal experiences.

provided Sara Bulloch / photo /

Both Bulloch and Reimer-Henteleff have backgrounds in film, but from differing perspectives — Bulloch studied film while attending the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba and ReimerHenteleff studied fine art at OCAD University prior to entering the film industry. The two began collaborating on Ma Nishma Manitoba with a grant through the Gimli Film Festival in 2019.

Coming from interfaith backgrounds, which include Judaism, Bulloch and Reimer-Henteleff wanted to use this project as an opportunity to explore not only their own senses of identity, but that of other Jewish Manitobans. Ultimately, Ma Nishma Manitoba underscores the diversity of cultural and religious practices surrounding Judaism in a contemporary world.

“We wanted to try to get a decent amount of different experiences just in terms of background and stuff, which was definitely a challenge,” Reimer-Henteleff said. “I don’t want people to view Jews as a monolith.”

In conversation, the co-directors also mentioned that there were groups they wanted to represent more in Ma Nishma Manitoba, such as Jewish people of colour and individuals from orthodox communities.

Similar to the wide range of experiences Ma Nishma Manitoba attempted to capture, the film’s alliterative title carries multiple meanings, which play on the film’s documentary nature and Jewish religious practice simultaneously.

“Ma Nishma” is a Hebrew phrase Bulloch stumbled upon while doing research for the film, which is most commonly translated to “What’s new?” in English. Reimer-Henteleff said, “[‘Ma Nishma’ is] very close to ‘Mah Nishtanah,’ which [are] the four questions in Passover […] I like that connection between the two, that little moment of religiosity, but not exactly. It’s a little bit off and a little bit more fun.” The filming of Ma Nishma Manitoba was also heavily impacted by COVID19’s arrival in Manitoba. Filming during the pandemic became a challenge for Bulloch and ReimerHenteleff to conquer as public health restrictions impacted their ability to conduct interviews.

Bulloch said, “Initially, it was supposed to be a six-month timeline [to film], but because of the COVID pandemic it ended up being a year and a half.”

“There was one particular month where three of our interviews got cancelled,” Reimer-Henteleff said. “COVID-19] made it just a lot more stressful [but] I’m proud that we persevered and got through it and got it finished though, despite all that.”

Ma Nishma Manitoba’s co-directors concluded with messages of encouragement to anyone who may be interested in exploring their own cultures.

“Doing your own version of this feels really nice to learn more and just kind of feel a bit more connected with it in your own way,” said Bulloch.

Reimer-Henteleff agreed.

“Especially if [the] culture that you’re in has been through some kind of assimilation, you lose so much of that without even knowing […] you never know what you might find out.”

Ma Nishma Manitoba is available to view for free on gimlifilm.com until July 25.

arts@themanitoban.com

’Toban turntable

Debra-Jean Creelman — ‘Threshold’

4/5 stars ARTS & CULTURE

Zoë LeBrun, volunteer

It is not often that the true intensity of an album sneaks up on you, but Debra-Jean Creelman’s Threshold, released earlier this month, takes you by surprise. Composed primarily of voice and string instruments, Threshold is simultaneously moving and unsettling.

Creelman, a Vancouver-based musician and former member of Canadian indie-rock band Mother Mother, used Threshold to reconnect with her strengths as a vocalist and explore the truths of human experience. Creelman’s music-writing process for Threshold hinged on her voice, with strings providing the harmonic foundation of the album.

The focus on Creelman’s vocal talents are evident from the moment you press play on Threshold. The record’s surreal energy immediately captures and holds your attention, and Creelman’s mesmerizing voice is both the anchor and driving force of the album.

The foundational importance of these vocals — not just to the songs that make up Threshold but to Creelman’s writing process overall — is evident throughout the album’s entirety. While each instrumental accompaniment within is beautiful, it is Creelman’s ethereal vocals and ingenious layering that structure the record’s compelling energy and unique sound. Threshold is described as “a body of work on the brink of catharsis,” which comes through in each of its multi-layered tracks despite the album’s lack of a distinct narrative — Creelman’s vulnerability shines throughout the record, emphasized by the swell of strings and vocals that carry you as the album’s intensity builds, reaching its zenith with “Animal” and “Body is Breathing.” These tracks, situated near the end of the album, contain multiple vocal layers which create a frenetic energy, pulling you in and spinning you around in their auditory undertow before leaving you metaphorically gasping for air as the album comes to a close.

With Threshold’s escalating harmonic tensions, emotional intensity and beautifully haunting crescendos, it is clear that Creelman caught her songwriting stride and has created a work that is both enjoyable in its sound

provided / Killbeat Music image /

and thought-provoking in its content — Threshold is an album reminiscent of a psychological thriller with a twist ending you don’t want to miss.

Want us to review your album? Email us at arts@themanitoban.com!

Canada West commits to athletic schedule

Change of format helps athletes return to competition

SPORTS

Matthew Merkel, staff Canada West has released all regular season and championship schedules for the 2021-22 academic year. Not only is this a victory for athletes, but also U-Sports athletic programs, who have suffered setbacks during the pandemic.

The announcement comes nearly a year after U-Sports and Canada West both announced the cancellation of all summer championships. As the academic year progressed, all fall and winter semester sports would also be cancelled due to the danger of the COVID-19 virus.

While there were rumours that some sports would be able to return to play under a bubble system, or even a more condensed schedule, nothing came to fruition.

Unfortunately for some student-athletes, this meant that their U-Sports careers had come to an end with little in the way of fanfare. In the case of the U of M Bisons volleyball team — who were set to host the 2020 national championships — the cancellation of that event and the subsequent destruction of the next year’s schedule had not only robbed athletes of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete for a Canadian title, but also an entire year of their athletic lives.

A year later, U-Sports and Canada West are much more prepared for any incoming complications brought on by the pandemic. U-Sports has utilized the increased resources and research into COVID-19 available to them, helping create a comprehensive schedule that emphasizes athletes competing against rival schools close in vicinity to their own. Using this format, Canada West aims to mitigate the risk of infection to its members and the public brought on by cross-border travel.

For example, the Bisons soccer team will play a slightly reduced schedule against teams from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as opposed to the usual format that has them playing against teams from all four western provinces.

In a statement, Canada West managing director Rocky Olfert praised members of the conference for their contribution to the schedule.

“Ultimately, I commend our membership for showing their commitment to playing a Canada West schedule, providing an opportunity for programs to compete at conference championships and ensuring that our student-athletes are able to appropriately prepare to vie for national titles with the approval of these alternate formats,” Olfert said.

Nicole Davis of the Bisons women’s soccer team feels reassured by the release of Canada West’s schedule.

“It’s nice and comforting to know that there will be a season this year since this time last year there was a lot of uncertainty and then ultimately sadness when it was confirmed that our 2020 season was going to be cancelled,” Davis said.

The women’s soccer team will also be the first program out of the U of M to begin its regular season.

As restrictions remain stringent, the Bisons coaching staff has found creative ways to help prepare their team for this unusual season.

“Normally for preseason, our team travels to Regina or the U.S to play exhibition games before our university league starts,” Davis said. “We do this to get a feel for how our team plays together and see what we need to improve on to be ready for our

staff

Dallin Chicoine / / graphic competitive season. Due to COVID, we were limited [in] traveling, so to prepare for this upcoming season our team is participating in the Winnipeg Women’s Soccer League. We will be using these local games throughout the summer to help us transition into our competitive season, which will be very beneficial as many of us couldn’t play a game of competitive soccer [for] a while due to COVID.”

The release of Canada West’s 2021 schedule is a sign this downtrodden era in Canadian sports is coming to an end. For student-athletes like Davis, the opportunity to step back on the pitch alongside her teammates makes the wait worth it.

“I feel very confident in my team to do well this season,” said Davis. “We could definitely go far in the playoffs and maybe even compete in U-Sports nationals.”

“Now that my team has experienced what it’s like to not have a season, we appreciate the opportunity to play and represent the Bisons even more. My team and I are ready to make the most of this upcoming season.”

sports@themanitoban.com