We are excited to co-present the program His Name is Ray with Hot Docs Ted Hot Rogers Cinema.
In his anticipated follow-up to Transformer, which took home the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary at Hot Docs 2018, acclaimed director Michael Del Monte gives a human face to our growing homelessness and opioid crises. Ray once had everything. A job that he loved with the Canadian Coast Guard. The husband to a wife. The father to a family. But his heroin addiction took it all away. Now, the former sailor lives on the streets of Toronto with an entire population that seems to have just fallen through the cracks. Who was he? How did he end up there? With a remarkably compassionate and intimate lens, Del Monte follows Ray on his precarious journey to get off the streets and back on the water, where — in the ultimate achievement of the oblivion he craves — he could just sail away from it all.
+ Screening also includes a special recorded epilogue featuring Ray and Q&A with Michael Del Monte (Director), Scott Montgomery (Writer/Producer) and Hanan Townshend (Composer), moderated by Hot Docs programmer, Aisha Jamal.
On Wednesday, May 26 at 7:30 PM (EST), we hosted a free live panel Homelessness in the Time of COVID in conjunction with the screening of His Name is Ray. The talk wae moderated by Dr. Naheed Dosani, a palliative care physician who cares for homeless and vulnerably housed individuals with dignity and compassion. The recording of the talk is not available for streaming. Click here for more info or to view the panel discussion.
Panelists
Dr. Naheed Dosani (Moderator) is a palliative care physician who cares for homeless and vulnerably housed individuals. He’s a Lecturer at the University of Toronto & lead physician of Palliative Education And Care for the Homeless (PEACH). During COVID19, he has served as Medical Director for the Region of Peel’s COVID19 Isolation/Housing Program.
Michael Del Monte (Panelist) is a documentary filmmaker and the Director of His Name Is Ray. His film Transformer won both the Audience Award and the Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award at the 2018 Hot Docs Festival.
Akia Munga (they/them) (Panelist) is a harm reduction worker, activist and consultant.
Jesse Upton Crowe (they/them) (Panelist) is an affordable housing advocate, musician and hairstylist who works with the Encampment Support Network (ESN) in Toronto’s Parkdale.
Jennifer (she/her) (Panelist) is a 50-year-old disabled, queer woman & artist currently trying to survive the shelter system. Happiest when living amongst the bees & trees.
