"Stepping Into Halka" follows the experiences of Hunnayna Hemed, Kaymarie Sutherland, and Kendra McDonald, three young women, as they document the work (and world) of Halka, a multimedia performance collective composed of well-established academic researchers, university professors, world-famous metal musicians, touring djs, and contemporary artists. The work spans over a year and offers the three girls’ unique perspective into Halka's latest creative manifestation, which included a two-night public performance in Montreal and the recording of an album. Standing on the outside looking in (with a camera) becomes an interesting intersectional positioning for Hunnayna, Kaymarie and Kendra as they explore the very ethics of their inclusion into the inner workings of academia, research, artistic production and performance. Follow them as they navigate not only the ethics of representing others, but also themselves.

"Stepping Into Halka" is a youth-centred documentary essay that stems from a Youth Documentary Internship I established in the fall of 2022 as part of my research and work as affiliate artist in the UNESCO-PREV Chair.

The documentary essay "Stepping Into Halka" premièred on June 6, 2023 at Cinéma de Sève at part of the No Outsides Conference at Concordia University.

Thank you to Dr. Vivek Venkatesh, Director of Project Someone, for his trust and unwavering support.

This project was supported by "Les Fonds de recherche du Quebec" and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.