Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children was a film we had to skip at the 2022 Windsor International Film Festival. We also thought the documentary would be highly depressing. Glad we got a different way to watch. The film is depressing yet informative.
The journalist in me is always intrigued in documentaries between objective and subjective. Barri Cohen has a connection with this subject matter. Then again, no one might have done this film without a connection.
Cohen's 2 half-brothers were at Ontario's Huronia Regional Centre facility for developmentally disabled children. Both died in the facility. Alfred, the older brother, died at 23. Louis died when he was 4.
The facility was considered to be the worst in the region in terms of abuse.
Cohen chases down where Louis is buried. There is a lot of doubt as to where exactly he is buried. There feels like a parallel to the bodies buried at residential schools. They were given numbers, not names.
One of the signs near the end of the film said: "I have a name, not a number; Remember every name." That is the message from this film.
Cohen talks to survivors. We get rather remarkable footage of the children in the facility. These children are definitely forgotten in the system.
Focusing on Alfred and Louis helps the viewer get a sense of individuality where little of that existed in the facility. Cohen gives care to the others in the system.
Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children is enlightening and depressing. The film reminds us to treat people with dignity, regardless of their circumstances. While this feels like a long ago story, there are parallels to current and future societies.
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The film was the third-place winner of the Rogers Audience Award at the 2022 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, where the film made its premiere. It was a nominee for the DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Film at the 2022 Directors Guild of Canada awards.
Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children is available in Canada via the Documentary Channel and CBC Gem.
video credit: YouTube/Lunenburg Doc Fest
photo credit: Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children
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