For our May CTMS Film Night we present Passage to Freedom, a documentary that features powerful oral histories of Southeast Asian refugees who made dangerous journeys from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to Canada between 1975 and 1985. New government policies and programs, including the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program, enabled Canada to resettle over 100,000 Southeast Asian refugees during that time. The film weaves archival clips of news stories, wartime footage, and interviews with former refugees and Canadian immigration officials. It delves into refugees’ integration into the fabric of Canadian life and highlights the contributions of the first generation and their descendants. Passage to Freedom was produced by the Canadian Southeast Asian Refugee Historical Research Project: Hearts of Freedom.

The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with Stephanie Stobbe, associate professor in conflict resolution studies at Menno Simons College, a member of the Hearts of Freedom research team.

The event begins at 7:00 p.m. in EG Hall, on third floor of Centennial Hall at the University of Winnipeg.

Runtime: 50 minutes. Producer, writer, director: Sheila Petzold.