Hope Heights

Hope Heights is a documentary short set in Lawrence Heights, one of Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods.

The documentary challenges pervasive media narratives that frame the community as one plagued by violence and dysfunction.

Consistently at the center of these stigmatizing narratives are the young men of Lawrence Heights.

These men are portrayed as violent, gang-involved, drug-dealing dropouts.

Hope Heights shares experiences that are not privileged in the media.

It represents not only Lawrence Heights but many neighbourhoods that are stigmatized and misrepresented in the media by stories that focus on sensational violence and ignore the diversity within these complex communities.

Hope Heights tells a different story.

Through the voices and lives of youth, community leaders and educators, the film highlights the beauty and strength of the neighbourhood and the character, sensitivity and ambition of its young men.