The Canadian Studies program at the University of California, Berkeley has just confirmed it will be holding a virtual event featuring The Blinding Sea in the New Year.
The event will consist of a week-long streaming of the film, followed by a presentation I will give via Zoom conference, then a Q&A session moderated by Irene Bloemraad, Thomas Garden Barnes Chair of Canadian Studies & Director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative, and then a summing-up by a former director of Canadian Studies there. Professor Bloemraad is a leading sociologist, with expertise in immigration, political sociology, race & ethnicity, social movements, nationalism, research methods and Canada.
As an author and filmmaker, what appeals to me most of all is sharing the film with such a knowledgeable audience, and hearing their views of the film. I remember having such a positive experience giving guest lectures at Berkeley in 2008 about my award-winning, unauthorized biography of Conrad Black, Robber Baron: Lord Black of Crossharbour.
The Cinémathèque Québécoise, one of Canada’s leading cinema institutions, will also be screening the film in the New Year, with several more screenings coming in the university, foundation and museum worlds in the United States, Canada and Europe.
And of course The Blinding Sea is continuing to do the rounds on the festival circuit in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The film has won eight festival awards so far, including Best Documentary Feature, Best First Documentary, Excellence in Feature Documentary, Best Historical Feature, Outstanding Excellence in Biography and Excellence in Cinematography.