Listen to Me, a documentary by South Asian documentary maker Lalita Krishna, won Best Canadian Documentary at the Reel World 2015 Film Festival this year. The documentary featured Schlifer Clinic Counsellor Farrrah Khan, The Third Annual Spirit of Barbra Schlifer Award Winner Deepa Mattoo, and the Outburst! program, highlighting their groundbreaking work on forced marriage. Read an excerpt of a Toronto Star article about the award-winning documentary below:

Forced marriage focus of award-winning Canadian documentary

By: Debra Black Immigration Reporter, Published on Thu Jun 25 2015

“Krishna wanted to do something more: She wanted to propel change and inspire young women from the South Asian and Muslim communities in Greater Toronto and beyond.

After talking to Deepa Mattoo, executive director of the South Asian Legal Clinic, and doing a lot of research, she found Farrah Khan, an outspoken advocate at the Barbra Schlifer Legal Clinic involved in groundbreaking initiatives to help young South Asian women find their voice.

It was then that Krishna, who made documentaries for TVO when she first came to Canada from India in 1980, knew she had a way into the subject.

She would focus on Khan and her devotion to helping young women to stand up, be themselves, and take a stand against family violence and forced marriage.

The result is Listen to Me, which took the prize for best Canadian documentary at the Reel World 2015 Film Festival earlier this year.”

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