Fresh Milk is pleased to welcome our next artists-in-residence Saada Branker and Powys Dewhurst who will be joining us from June 1 to June 26. The two will spend their time collecting sights of the island and stories from locals about Hurricane Janet which hit Barbados on September 22, 1955. What they gather will be part of a multi-media project and short film presenting an exchange of Bajan and Bajan-Canadian memories about Janet and recovery.

Saada and Powys at Centre island, Toronto. Photo Credit: Kara Springer

About Saada Branker

Saada Branker is a writer and copy editor born in Montreal. There she grew up hearing stories from her Barbadian parents about their childhood years in St. George. Now living in Toronto, she has worked on various media projects. Saada is a Ryerson University journalism graduate with a BA in Political Science from Concordia University. Her passion for writing and journalism led to opportunities in broadcast news (CBC Newsworld), newsprint (Globe and Mail, Eye Weekly, Toronto Sun), magazines (Sway Magazine, AMOI, Numb, Word). Through Saada STYLO, her home-based copyediting business, she works with emerging writers.

Her recent copyediting projects include, BYOB: The Unapologetic Guide to Being Your Own Boss by Gloria Roheim (2013) and Game Face: The Art of Giving Interviews by Bodine Williams (Fall 2015).

About Powys Dewhurst

Powys Dewhurst is a filmmaker and content producer based in Canada who also holds British and Caribbean citizenship. He was born in Dominica and grew up in Barbados from age 7 to 16 in Fontabelle, Clapham Heights and Chelsea Road. His passion for film and media began in Barbados as a preteen. As a child he spent inordinate amounts of time at Roodals Drive In and Accra Beach, and after hours would liberate old comic strips from the offices of both the Nation and The Advocate newspapers.

He has filmed in East Africa which took him beneath the plains of Mount Kilimanjaro and in 2010 he was chosen by the Canadian Government, Cirque du Soleil and Canadian Heritage to have his work as one to represent Canada at World Expo 2010 in China, which saw 73 million international visitors. His work has screened at film festivals in Chicago, Toronto, Durban South Africa, Trinidad, Texas, Kenya, Brazil, England and elsewhere. He is currently producing and developing several works including Storm, Crazy Dies and Larger Than Life.

Powys recently wrapped up as a content producer at a Bell Media presented media summit in Canada bringing in notable speakers and media companies like Vice Media, Chris Hadfield, Superchannel, CBC, TIFF, eONE, Globe and Mail, and the biggest hit Canadian TV shows.