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Movies · Mississauga
Illuminating the Stories of WWII: Movie Screening and Sculpture Talk
Come enjoy this multifaceted evening, which includes a photo display, film screening and informative talk.
On view during this event are five photographs by Jason Van Bruggen from the 80 Years of Freedom Exhibition which opened in May 2025 at the Small Arms Inspection Building. Arrive when doors open to take your time appreciating these evocative artworks.
We will then transition into a screening of the film 80 Faces of Liberation by Jason van Bruggen. The film covers over two and a half years of Jason's travels across the Netherlands and Canada to record firsthand accounts of people present during the liberation of the Netherlands. In total, Jason recorded 80 of these stories, one for each year of freedom since 1945; most are now in their nineties and many emigrated to Canada after the war. Jason wanted to document these survivors as both a tribute to his parents and an attempt to understand the trauma passed down through his own family. Each of these stories speaks of what the occupation took, what it left behind, what liberation meant, and ends with a thank-you to the Canadians who came. Following the screening there will be a short Q&A discussion.
We will then move outside for an inside look into the creation of public artworks created by Job Rutgers (creative direction), Brett Belcher (sculpture design) and featuring photography by Jason van Bruggen and archival photos courtesy of Faces to Graves. Located on the front, north lawn of the Small Arms Inspection Building, these sculptures are modeled after tank barriers (or “hedgehogs”) that were once obstacles of war. Each carries two faces: a Dutch civilian who was freed and a Canadian who helped free them. During the talk we will take a closer look at the process of creating the sculptures and how they are conduits for carrying stories into the future.
Where
Small Arms Inspection Building
1352 Lakeshore Road E, Mississauga
Mississauga, ON
