Making movies on justice

What do the Ontario Human Rights Code, cellphones and young filmmakers have in common? Under normal circumstances, probably not much. But through the Reel Justice program, these unlikely pieces came together as young people explored discrimination – not just by talking about it, but by turning their experiences and ideas into short films. 

Thanks to funding from the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, OJEN is turning high school law classrooms into film production studios and the students into budding filmmakers. 

Reel Justice is a hands-on justice education and filmmaking program designed to help students understand the most common grounds for discrimination under Ontario’s human rights framework while developing storytelling, production, teamwork and leadership skills. Over 10 classes, students work in teams to develop, produce and edit original short films that demonstrate a discrimination scenario. 

OJEN piloted the program in schools in Hamilton and Brampton in the spring of 2026 and continues with a third school this fall.  

The program begins with students meeting with a human rights professional to learn the foundations of discrimination law in Ontario. The next step involves turning legal concepts into compelling stories. From there, students form teams, each with the task of taking a story concept through to a complete short film of up to 5 minutes in length. They are guided through the process with instruction on the technical elements of filmmaking, including script development, shot composition, lighting, performance, editing, and maintaining legal and story clarity. Students use their own phones for filming, sound recording, and editing. 

At the completion of the program, students participate in an “Oscar” ceremony with awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and more. 

Results have surpassed expectations! According to Program Manager Crystal Simmonds, there has been 100% engagement among the students. Not only have they put class time into creating their movies, but they also spent their personal time working on them. So far, students have completed 15 films on topics ranging from discrimination based on gender, race, age, and sexual orientation.  Look for the videos on our website when the program ends later this year.