This week’s working session focused on clarifying our research objectives, developing a plan of action for our documentary, and delegating roles to team members. Thinking through our idea of focusing on the Regent Park South Ice Rink, we adapted our primary research question to feedback we received, simplifying it to get to the heart of what we are trying to document: 1) How is “The Rink” understood by different generations of Regent Park residents? 2) What does it represent or preserve about Regent Park’s history in the face of rapid change?
The first thing we discussed was how the rink fits into a broader narrative about the Downtown East. Although our initial finding that it was the only rink in the DTES was incorrect (which Adonis was very quick to call us out for!), it is true that it’s the only outdoor rink within a 20 minute walk of Regent Park, and this is the off point from which we’ll start our discussion. The Moss Park rink is inside, which has a totally different building typology and spurs very different social relationships than an outdoor gathering place does. And while South Riverdale does have an outdoor rink, Mishika explained that even though it was often used for class field trips growing up, it isn’t a neighbourhood watering hole in the same way nor is it specifically by and for the Regent Park community. Additionally, the Don Valley Parkway is seen to some as a boundary of the DTES, so it’s not very accessible by foot to those in the neighbourhood. We decided we will get some footage of these rinks to offer a brief narrative overview of how they both relate to the DTES and create a network of public outdoor spaces, but then zoom back in on the particular role that the Regent Park rink plays in this ecosystem.
We also discussed in more detail what our visual and aesthetic inspirations are for the documentary. We would like to combine various materials, like video footage, maps, archival photos, voiceover narration, and photos that we’ve taken, to stitch together a narrative that is full of colour and texture. We want the feel of it to be warm and lived in, and to have our own contributions as well as those of our interview participants feel candid and not overly formal. We discussed documentaries that we really love which achieve this; in particular, Charlotte mentioned Bill’s Tacos, and Maddy mentioned the NFB documentary Our Street Was Paved With Gold by Albert Kish, a favourite of hers. A throughline of these films is the focus on depth, not breadth, of specific subjects and places to weave a story.
Lastly, we discussed how to divide up roles. Maddy will be doing research on urban planning and ice rinks, trying to understand the cultural and geographic history and significance of city ice rinks, as well as how the Regent Park ice rink was formed and what its initial operations looked like. Charlotte will write interview questions to be approved by Aditi, while Mishika will confirm interview subjects and begin scheduling interviews. She will also complete a few simple spatial analyses to compare photos of Regent Park versus other city neighbourhoods and their access to walkable rinks.
Our next step will be meeting tomorrow (Monday morning) at the Regent Park rink to gather some initial shots of it in action. Although this early spring arrival has been a delight, it is also our principal concern right now: will everything have melted?! We realized we’re in a time crunch to gather this footage before winter slips away, so our main focus right now is on collecting all of the imagery we actually need from the rink in the nick of time. We are never ones to hope for a prolonged season of cold, but we do hope it hangs on just for another week while we meet our deadlines!
Attached for our media components is a quick map we made of ice rinks across the City, as well as a YouTube link to a video that Regent Park TV posted of the Friends of Regent Park community celebrating Family Day Skate in 2024 – a testament to the core of our documentary that the ice rink brings spirit and togetherness for the community.
Outdoor Ice Rinks Across Toronto By Ward (by Maddie Wintermute)
The team members of Frozen in Time are Mishika Khurana, Maddie Wintermute, Sumayyah Shahajan, and Charlotte Pink.