Going into my final year as English literature and History student, I am so grateful to have completed an internship this past summer with the Regent Park Film Festival (RPFF). RPFF is a non-profit cultural and media arts organization based in Regent Park, Toronto. They organize Toronto鈥檚 longest-running, free community film festival, and host a free screenings series called Under the Stars (UTS) each summer. This year, UTS returned in person after being online for two years.
As is infamous with English majors, I did not have a concrete idea of the career path I wanted to take when applying to this internship. I knew, however, that I wanted storytelling and service to play a central role in my career. RPFF鈥檚 main goal is to serve the Regent Park community, and the films they screen seek to amplify creators and experiences from BIPOC and working-class backgrounds. This was important to me as when I engage with art and literature through academia, the work can often feel detached from the real world. It was exciting for me to discover ways art can be used for education and community service and in active engagement with their subjects. Working as an outreach intern opened my eyes to the multitude of opportunities and roles not only in the film festival world but also with other non-profit art organizations that RPFF has long-term relationships with.
As an outreach and logistics intern, I was responsible for working with the internal team to create branding for UTS, execute social media strategies, design assets, write copy, and make connections with community organizations. Because of the small size of our team, I was able to actively learn from the decision-making processes and skills of other team members and gain insight into the working of the other two departments at RPFF (Programming and Operations). The highlight of my internship was definitely being able to work with this team, especially in person after such a long period of remote work. Many employees were relatively new at the beginning of our internship, so Kalpana, our executive director, sent out a survey that allowed employees to share information intended to help improve coworking harmony. It included questions such as preferred communication, confrontation, and working styles. This resource seems like such an obvious step to understanding co-workers more deeply as diverse people and being inclusive of invisible struggles, yet I鈥檝e never encountered a similar resource in previous workplaces.
Another highlight was seeing the community enjoying our screenings and events. This year, RPFF hosted a block party before the screening of Encanto, which included live performances from local artists and different activities run by community organizations. Close to 2,000 people attended, and seeing the whole venue filled was incredibly wonderful. Everything (including 1000 donated samosas!) was free. It was a huge accomplishment for such a small team of employees and volunteers. As Regent Park continues to undergo gentrification and displacement, I could see how important RPFF as well as other long-time community organizations are to preserving community space in the neighborhood. As this year is RPFF鈥檚 20th anniversary, their merch design this year puts an emphasis on the perseverance of the neighborhood, with the slogan 鈥淩egent Park Forever鈥�. I was lucky to be a part of this design process, with some of the first products selling at the third screening.
The most challenging part of this internship was learning to have confidence in my own ideas in a new working environment. As I had no previous film festival or non-profit experience, I often felt in the beginning that my opinions wouldn鈥檛 contribute much to the decision-making process. Academic environments often facilitate competition for excellence, and it can be difficult to relieve the pressure of being 鈥榬ight鈥� upon entering a workplace. This was a team, however, that welcomed and made everyone鈥檚 input feel valued. I soon realized that having a voice is more productive than being silent for both my team and for my own learning, even if I felt my opinions could be wrong or ignorant. As time went by, by practicing, speaking up more, and getting to know my teammates beyond their work positions, I slowly gained confidence.
Though I am not receiving academic credit for this internship, my experience with RPFF has added a greater perspective to how I will engage with art in my literature and history courses. I am so lucky to receive Carol & Lloyd Darlington Arts Internship Award. I am extremely grateful to Lloyd Darlington for funding this internship and invaluable experience. I plan to carry what I have learned about communication, community-building, and non-profit work both into my future career and final year of university.
