Cultural producers call for cancellation of Border Security in open letter
As part of a campaign to cancel the TV series Border Security, an open letter of concern has been signed by over 100 artists, calling for the show to be cancelled.
Among the names who have signed are author Naomi Klein; documentary filmmaker and TV host Avi Lewis; actor and playwright Marcus Yousef; filmmaker Velcrow Ripper; actors Margot Kidder, Nicola Cavendish, and Maggie Wheeler; My American Cousin director Sandy Wilson; film festival programmer and author Amber Dawn; and media producer Sid Tan.
Artists and cultural producers who are interested in adding their names to the list can email info@cancelbordersecurity.ca
Meanwhile, a petition (endorsed by Naomi Klein, Sarah Polley, and more) calling for the show's cancellation has gathered over 23,000 signatures.
Protests against the show arose in March when the show's camera crews accompanied law enforcement teams on raids on construction sites to arrest immigrants.
Others who have spoken out against the show include: Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson; BC Civil Liberties Association; Amnesty International; Council of Canadians; MLAs Mable Elmore, Jenny Kwan, and Raj Chouhan; and more.
Here is the open letter of concern:
Annie Banks, Artist and Cultural Producer
Samuel Pruneau Beaudry, Composer and Performance Artist
Hauke Boettcher, Filmmaker and Editor
Sam Bradd, Artist and Cultural Producer
Angelina L. Cantada, Curly Tail Pictures
Patricia Chica, Filmmaker and TV Content Producer
Stéfanie Clermont, Documentary Filmmaker
Martina Comstock, Writer and Director
Andrea Curtis, Producer
Amber Dawn, Film Festival Programmer and Author
Deborah de Boer, Writer and Curator
Ruby Smith Díaz, Filmmaker
Farzana Doctor, Coproducer and Author
Jadis Dumas, Documentary Filmmaker
David Emanuel, Actor and Director
Jesse Freeston, Independent Filmmaker and Journalist
Julien Fréchette, Director
David-James Fernandes, Filmmaker
Damien Gillis, Documentary Filmmaker
Gordon Grdina, Musician and Composer
Malcolm Guy, Director and Producer
Deblekha Guin, Project Manager and Film Producer
Freda Guttman, Multimedia Artist
Callista Haggis, Documentary filmmaker
Christopher Heffley, Creative Director
Glenn Hodgins, Filmmaker
Audrey Huntley, Independent Documentary Filmmaker
Troy Jackson, Singer and Producer
Ali Kazimi, Filmmaker
Sara Kendall, Performance Artist and Filmmaker
Noura Kevorkian, Filmmaker
Arshad Khan, Filmmaker
Margo Kidder, Actor
Naomi Klein, Filmmaker and Writer
Erica Køhn, Artistic Director and Filmmaker
Zoe Kreye, Artist and Professor
Diana Leung, Filmmaker and Cultural Planner
Avi Lewis, Documentary Filmmaker and TV Host
Franklin López, Media Saboteur
Jessica MacCormack, Artist and Professor
Laurie MacMillan, Documentary Filmmaker
Alex Mah, Filmmaker
David Maidman, Community Television producer
Marc-André Manseau, Producer and Director
Richard Marcuse, former Western Representative for Canadian Actors Equity Association
Claudia Medina, Filmmaker
Amy Miller, Director and Producer
Elizabeth Miller, Documentary Filmmaker & Professor
Cecily Nicholson, Artist and Arts Administrator
Isaac Oomen, Filmmaker and Journalist
Christina Panis, Arts Administrator
Nicholas Perrin, Writer and Artist
Summer Pervez, Filmmaker and Professor
Helgi Piccinin, Documentary Filmmaker
Imtiaz Popat, Producer, Monkeyking Motion Pictures
Ian Iqbal Rashid, Independent Filmmaker
Rhona Raskin, Production Company Owner and Radio Producer
Vanessa Richards, Artist and Cultural Worker
Velcrow Ripper, Filmmaker
Ally Robertson, Multimedia Artist
Emilio Rojas, Filmmaker and Performance Artist
Tom Sandborn, Writer
Igor Santizo, Artist and Teacher
John Sharkey, Videographer and Programmer
Rupinder Singh Sidhu, Composer and Producer
Adrian A. Stimson, Curator and a former Canadian Immigration Officer
Jordan Strom, Visual Art Curator
Jeremy Todd, Interdisciplinary Artist and Educator
Geneviève Trudel, Art Historian
Kim Villagante, Multimedia Artist and Singer-Songwriter
Mark Vonesch, Director of Reel Youth
Tamara Vukov, Filmmaker and Educator
Harsha Walia, Independent Filmmaker and Writer
Shannon Walsh, Director and Writer
Maggie Wheeler, Actor
D Lee Williams, Filmmaker and Artist
Sandy Wilson, Film Director and Screenwriter
Rita Wong, Writer
b.h Yael, Filmmaker and Professor
Marcus Youssef, Actor and Playwright
Alejandro Zuluaga, Documentary Filmmaker
Comments
6 Comments
SPY vs SPY
Apr 19, 2013 at 11:54am
Prime Minister "The Freakin Moron" Harper live in a delusional world. He has buried in the back of his brain and IDEA, that Canadians are just AMERICANS who need a push in the RIGHT DIRECTION. Pardon the play on words.
This show is all about emotional control. Make Canadians Suspicious, Fearfull, Angry and then they will vote Conservative forever.
Canadian are very emotionally different from Americans. The simple fact that I never had to worry about going to Viet Nam, a National Health Care Plan, Descent Schools and What do you Know ??? A Kinder Gentler American, Northern American or CANADIAN
Harper is starting to act desperate now that the Federal Liberals have a Leader. Trudeau and the Liberals will be polling 40% - 45% by July and Harper knows he and the Shit Bags are finished.
Mary-Colin Chisholm
Apr 20, 2013 at 4:28pm
While as an artist I hope to sometimes expose and even soothe misery, I hope I never cause, or profit from, human suffering. This show humiliates the people being filmed and degrades anyone who watches.
enquiring mind wants to know
Apr 21, 2013 at 7:53am
Just wondering...is the letter supposed to look like that? It looks kind of incomplete to me --more like a statement? Where is the letter going? Who is it addressed to? Thanks.
Harper Fan 69
Apr 21, 2013 at 11:54pm
There is a lot of really awful hack artists on that list. If artists of their caliber hate the show so much I think I'm going to have to check it out.
Grandma Cool
Apr 23, 2013 at 2:17pm
You guys couldn't get Patrick Duffy to sign?!?!?!?!?
He'll sign anything! Go for it!
Mayor McCheese
Apr 23, 2013 at 4:37pm
I also endorse this message. I haven't seen the show, but I sign a ton of stuff in McDonaldland, and usually without reading it. Hit me back