An eclectic group of Torontonians mark the final days before the redevelopment of Ontario Place in Your Tomorrow. We talk with filmmaker Ali Weinstein about her new TVO Originals documentary.
A mix of interwoven vignettes and archival footage, Your Tomorrow explores the final days of Toronto’s iconic Ontario Place waterfront park prior to its controversial redevelopment into a private spa.
Along the way, the feature documentary offers a look into the eccentric community of urban explorers, environmentalists and caretakers who continued to inhabit the site long after its heyday as an amusement park and exhibition venue.
As director Ali Weinstein explains, the film serves as a meditation on public spaces, how we use them, and why they are important.
“It captures this very specific moment at Ontario Place before it got redeveloped. It’s a snapshot of this time where people who were going there were actively defining what the space was, because it was no longer being programmed by the government,” Weinstein says. “All of the attractions, rides and buildings had all been shuttered for quite a while. It was open and accessible to the public, and people were able to use it as they pleased.”
Inspired by the optimism surrounding the Canadian Centennial and Expo 67, Ontario Place first opened in the early-1970s, operating for four decades as a showcase of the province’s potential for the future before being largely shuttered in 2011.
Weinstein says she rediscovered the space while seeking escape during the early days of the COVID pandemic and immediately fell in love with the wonder, nostalgia and community she found there.
“One day, I was on the beach, looking around me, and I noticed all these people saying ‘Hi’ to each other. They came from different backgrounds, but they all seemed to know each other,” Weinstein recalls. “It hit me that they probably hung out there a lot, and this place had brought them together. I thought maybe this was a film, just observing how people were coming together there.”
“I thought maybe this was a film, just observing how people were coming together there.”
That thought set Weinstein off on a nearly two-year journey to document a fleeting moment in Toronto’s history and the changes brought by oncoming development and the forward movement of time.
“It’s a film about a very large place, 155 acres, so it was challenging to try to represent that whole space. I wanted to show how many different people were using it, and just the sheer number of days that I had to be there just to faithfully represent it was pretty astounding,” she says. “If I had predicted how many hours I needed to spend in this space, I don’t know that I would have made it, but I’m grateful that I did it naively.”
By her own admission, Weinstein didn’t set out to make a redevelopment film. Nevertheless, she adds, both shifting sands and the rise of grassroots activism against the spa largely benefited the project.
“As I was filming, stuff was happening faster than I anticipated, cranes were coming on site, scaffolding was going up. Part of the park was shut down. I didn’t anticipate that they would close the marina,” Weinstein says. “At the same time, some of the people I was filming, they were becoming more active in the fight to save Ontario Place.”
“I wanted to ask, what do we want our tomorrow to be?”
Ultimately, she says, the experience has left her with a deeper appreciation of what was a unique space and community and a feeling of being part of something special.
“I want it to be a bit of a mirror to show, here’s what this place could be, how it’s being used right now, and how your tomorrow is what is presented to you on the news,” Weinstein says. “And, I wanted to ask, what do we want our tomorrow to be? This is what we have in front of us.”
After premiering earlier this year at the Toronto International Film Festival, Your Tomorrow is set to return to theaters on December 6, 7 and 8 as part of the re-opening of the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. Of the upcoming screenings, Weinstein says she is excited to get Torontonians together to experience Ontario Place again one more time.
“A lot of people have been grateful that there is this document that exists, especially now that so much has been lost in that space,” she says. “Everyone has expressed a lot of happiness that this moment existed in a place they loved, where they spent so much time, and that there is now this time capsule of it.”
Ultimately, she says she hopes those who see the film will take away a greater appreciation of the value of Ontario Place and other public spaces like it.
“I hope that people think about what is important to them in the cities or towns where they live, what makes up a healthy city, and feel what it is that we need as citizens to live good lives,” Weinstein says. “If someone is watching and has a place that’s special to them, I hope they think about the importance of it and how to protect it and create more spaces like it.”
Follow Your Tomorrow on Instagram here (@yourtomorrowdoc).
