Mark Simms (born 1981) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, community activist and martial artist.

Life

Mark Simms was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and grew up in

Jane and Finch Jane and Finch is a neighbourhood located in the northwest end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the district of North York. Centred at the intersection of Jane Street and Finch Avenue West, the area is roughly bounded by Highway 400 to the wes ...

alongside childhood friend,

Paul Nguyen Paul Nguyen, (born February 23, 1980) is a Canadian filmmaker, politician and social activist. In 2012, he was among the first 60 Canadians to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at the inaugural presentation ceremony at Rideau ...

. Simms is the executive producer for the community website, Jane-Finch.com. He is a 2nd Dan black belt in

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and has competed and won multiple provincial tournaments. He frequently appears as a motivational speaker and guest lecturer for events aimed at children and youth. He is a recipient of the 2011 Ontario Volunteer Service AwardOntario Volunteer Service Awards
/ref> from the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade. In 2016, Simms appeared on CBC's

Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

to investigate racism in Canada.'Shopping while black'
/ref>

Media

Simms is an outspoken advocate for the Jane and Finch community. He comments on issues of gangs, drugs and crime. In 2006, Simms opposed the installation of police cameras in Jane and Finch on CBC's ''

Metro Morning Metro Morning is CBC Radio One's local morning program in Toronto, airing on CBLA-FM. The program airs from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. weekday mornings, and has frequently been Toronto's highest-rated radio program in its timeslot. The program is c ...

'' with Andy Barrie. In 2007, he spoke out on behalf of the Manners family during the 2007 murder of Jordan Manners.

Advocacy

Simms has commented on various topics and issues surrounding the

area. * December 28, 2005 - Simms appeared on

Global News Global News is the news and current affairs division of the Canadian Global Television Network. The network is owned by Corus Entertainment, which oversees all of the network's national news programming as well as local news on its 21 owned- ...

to talk about gang warfare. * November 9, 2005 - Simms appeared on CBC News: Today with Nancy Wilson to talk about the underground documentary, 'The Real Toronto'. * August 1, 2006 - Simms on

Radio Canada International Radio Canada International (RCI) is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Prior to 1970, RCI was known as the CBC International Service. The broadcasting service was also previously referred to as ...

to talk about street gangs in Toronto.Gangs de rue à Toronto
/ref> * May 24, 2007, Simms appeared on CBC News Morning with

Heather Hiscox Heather Hiscox (born 18 November 1965) is a Canadian news anchor who hosts '' CBC News Now'' from 6 to 10 a.m. on weekdays on CBC News Network. She was also the host of the CBC's former flagship morning television program '' CBC News: Morning' ...

to talk about the Jordan Manners shooting.School shooting
/ref> * May 24, 2007, Simms appeared on CTV's The Verdict with Paula Todd to discuss the Jordan Manners shooting.School shooting aftermath
/ref> * June 21, 2007 - Simms spoke to

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

host Nancy Wilson about gangs and the 'no-snitch' culture. * Summer 2007, Simms discusses his involvement with the fifth estate documentary Lost in the Struggle in the

Ryerson Review of Journalism The ''Review of Journalism'' (formerly the ''Ryerson Review of Journalism'') is a Canadian magazine, published annually by final-year journalism students at Toronto Metropolitan University. The magazine profiles personalities, issues and controv ...

.It's a Crime
/ref> * October 6, 2008 - Simms appeared on the CBC French Radio program Désautel to talk about gang crime in Jane and Finch. * January 12, 2010, Simms appeared on Sun TV to discuss Jane-Finch.com's impact to the Jane and Finch community. * May 20, 2011, Simms spoke to host Karen Horsman on CBC's ''

'' to express the community's feelings of the non-guilty verdict in the Jordan Manners' trial.We're always shafted
/ref> * February 26, 2016, Simms spoke to host Sheila Coles on CBC's Morning Edition talking about his experience with racism in Canada.

Broadcast

Simms spent 10 months as a cameraman and associate producer documenting the lives of gang-involved youth from

for CBC's the fifth estate in the Gemini Award-nominated Lost in the Struggle. The film featured

Vietnamese-Canadian Vietnamese Canadians ( vi, Người Canada gốc Việt; french: Canadiens vietnamiens) are Canadian citizens of Vietnamese ancestry. As of 2016, there are 240,615 Vietnamese Canadians, most of whom reside in the provinces of Ontario, British C ...

rapper,

Chuckie Akenz Chuckie Nguyen (January 21, 1986), better known by his stage name of C-A, and formerly as Chuckie Akenz, is a Canadian rapper of Vietnamese descent. He grew up in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Chuckie rose to n ...

. * Lost in the Struggle: The Next Chapter (associate producer) ( CBC Television, '' the fifth estate'', 2012)Lost in the Struggle: The Next Chapter
/ref> * If Justice Fails (actor) ( CBC Television, the fifth estate, 2007) * Ian Jones: Activist and Artist, How the Steelpan is Changing Lives (editor) (

Bravo! CTV Drama Channel (formerly known as Bravo) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel was founded as the Canadian version of the U.S. channel Bravo (which is now owned by NBCUniversal) on January 1, 1995 b ...

/ Leda Serene Films, 2007)EPISODE 9: Ian Jones: Activist and Artist, How the Steelpan is Changing Lives
/ref> * Lost in the Struggle (associate producer) ( CBC Television, the fifth estate, 2006)Lost in the Struggle
/ref>

Short films

* Uncle Bob and his Vietnamese Children (producer), Jane-Finch (2010) * Know Your Rights (cast), Jane-Finch.com (2010) * Hustle On by Blacus Ninjah (director), Jane-Finch.com (2005)

References

External links

* http://www.jane-finch.com * http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/lostinthestruggle/filmmaker.html * http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2011/05/20/were-always-shafted/ * http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2007/05/24/school-shooting-070524.html
CTV.ca
* https://nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=62c72629-98b1-4b3e-bbb9-1e77fade5d3a&p=2 * http://thevarsity.ca/articles/15811 * http://caribbeantales.ca/heartbeat/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=27 {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Mark 1981 births Activists from Toronto Canadian community activists Canadian television journalists Film directors from Toronto Living people Film producers from Ontario Canadian people of Jamaican descent Journalists from Toronto Black Canadian filmmakers