Live Events via Zoom Webinar
Monday, August 16
Tuesday, August 17
Wednesday, August 18
Thursday, August 19
Friday, August 20
Torching the Dusties
"It's our turn."
Protestors have appeared outside the gates of Ambrosia Manor. From behind strange baby-faced masks, they issue a chillingly simple demand: it’s time for the residents of this posh retirement home to give up their space on earth. Trapped inside as the situation worsens, Frank and Wilma struggle to respond. Despite Frank’s failing vision the two must hatch a plan to escape before Ambrosia Manor goes up in flames.
Based on the short story of the same name by Margaret Atwood, Torching the Dusties dramatizes issues arising from ageism, age-related macular degeneration, and Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Starring Eric Peterson and Clare Coulter, the 11-minute film marks the second collaboration by writing and directing team Marlene Goldman and Philip McKee.
Torching the Dusties was produced in partnership with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and York University’s Centre for Research on Vision. The film remains accessible to people with vision loss through the use of audio-description, and specialized screenings are available for clinicians and caregivers. Through immersive camerawork and well-drawn central characters, the project aims to lessen stigma, increase patient engagement, and raise awareness of issues surrounding age-related vision loss and Charles Bonnet Syndrome.
The Promised Land (Scene 1)
During a pandemic in the not-too-distant future, a young woman escapes the quarantined city and stumbles into a farmhouse on the Canadian prairies. While the army combs the area in search of her, the young woman reveals her troubled past to the father and son who inhabit the farm, forcing them to choose between self-preservation and the need to do what they know is right.
The Promised Land by Dwayne Brenna was recently workshopped at the Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre. The first scene of the play (approximately 15 minutes in length) is directed for the conference by Jennica Grienke, Artistic Associate at Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon, and features actors Emily Heinek, Liam Johnston, and Dwayne Brenna. The scene has also been published in the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild 2021 anthology apart: a year of pandemic poetry and prose.
Playwright: Dwayne Brenna
Director/designer: Jennica Grienke
Cast: Celeste: Emily Heinek
Gordon: Dwayne Brenna
Rob: Liam Johnston
Props: Grahame Kent
Technical: Jody Longworth
Filmed by Myriad Entertainment in Saskatoon
Note: The film and scene from the play can be watched at any time during the conference week, through links sent to participants who register for the entire conference.
Note: Times are Central Standard Time (Saskatchewan); Saskatchewan does not use Daylight Savings Time. Use time zone converter to determine event times in your region.
Registration:
Members of the public may register for individual events with featured speakers Cherie Dimaline and Wayde Compton, as well as the Thursday author reading and panel, using the link buttons above. Registration for all events is free.
Conference panelists and those who plan to participate in multiple events should register for the entire conference, which will provide access to all live events. Registration is free.
Information about Featured Speakers
Panel Presentations
Available online from August 16-22, 2021; click on the link for each panel.
Speculative Archives, Pedagogies, and Research
Revisionary, Reconciliatory, and Relational Speculations
Cherie Dimaline: Survivance, Resurgence, Relationality
Revisiting the MaddAddam Trilogy
Station Eleven and Pandemic Fiction
Speculation in Comics, Television, and Film
Against the Grain: Rereading/Rewatching Killjoys
Climate and Reproductive Fiction
Creative Panel 1: Speculative Readings
Creative Panel 2: Creative-Critical Speculations