Contact:
Shauna Sylvester, SFU Public Square, 778.782.7895, shauna_sylvester@sfu.ca
Sarah Van Borek, ONE VOICE director, 604.723.8429, svanborek@gmail.com
Emily Ross, SFU Vancouver, 778.782.5151, ebr@sfu.ca


When it premiered at the SFU Public Square Community Summit earlier this past year, it was clear that the ONE VOICE music project resonated with its Metro Vancouver audience.

Featuring 15 Lower Mainland musicians performing Juno award-winning singer/songwriter Ruth Moody’s song One Voice, the video produced from the project has now received international acclaim, winning first place in the music video category at the 2012 MY HERO International Film Festival.

The video, along with four other films, will be screened during the festival on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles.

The MY HERO International Film Festival began as a web-based media activist project 17 years ago called the MY HERO Project. Initiated by a group of parents who wanted to promote positive role models in the media for their children, the festival showcases films that embody the values of the MY HERO project.

“ONE VOICE was selected for creating a true sense of unity in a diverse humanity, and that reflects the mission of MY HERO, to see where humanity is united, not divided,” explains festival director Wendy Milette.

Directed by Sarah Van Borek, the video features each performer recording their contribution to the song at different iconic Metro Vancouver locations. Created for the inaugural SFU Public Square Community Summit Alone Together: Connecting in the City, the video was designed to harness the power of music, media, performance and collaboration to bridge across differences and inspire meaningful connections between diverse community members.

“To see that the video's hyper-local elements resonate so strongly for people in other cities both near and far reassures me of our shared desires for connectedness and bridging across differences,” says Van Borek.

Watch the ONE VOICE music project online.  For more details on MY HERO and the film festival screening on Dec. 15 visit their website.

Simon Fraser University is Canada's top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

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