HRFF+ Opening Night: A Bullet Pulling Thread

Join JAYU for the opening night of HRFF+ with the Toronto premiere of Ian Daffern’s A Bullet Pulling Thread.

In January 2020, the RCMP killed homelessness activist Barry Shantz at his home in Lytton, B.C during a mental health crisis. That morning, his family called 911 for help. What they got was an army of police officers, including snipers, but not a single mental health worker. In response to this tragedy, his sister Marilyn creates a series of art quilts called Kairos – a Greek word which means ‘an opportune time for action’. A Bullet Pulling Thread is a documentary that follows Marilyn’s journey through grief while telling the story of her brother’s life.

Marilyn began her Kairos quilts as a way to process her grief. She also believes they could be important tools to spark conversations about mental health and to motivate change in policing. While carrying on this artistic mission, Marilyn also tries to discover why police replied to her brother’s cry for help with fatal force. In doing so, she runs up against administrations that refuse to admit culpability or take responsibility. In the summer of 2021, Marilyn packed up her quilts and drove across the country to exhibit them in Abbotsford. Her aim is to confront law enforcement with her pain and share her experiences with those who knew her brother. And as she discovers, grief is a question with no easy answers.

The film will be paired with Karla Meza’s Wandering and followed with a special Q&A.

Content Warning: References to police violence, mental health crisis, and trauma.

Please note: The venue is wheelchair accessible and the film will have open captions. An ASL interpreter will be provided at the event upon request. Please email info@jayu.ca to request an interpreter. While they will do their best to accommodate, notifying them by December 1st gives them the best chance to book an interpreter in time for this event.

To learn more about additional HRFF+ events, check out the schedule here.