Harper this, Trudeau that. May over here, Mulcair over there. We are in the midst of another Canadian Federal Election and the question always goes back to this; will Canadians finally step up to the plate? The four candidates certainly hopes so [dropcap size=”5″] A[/dropcap]s a population, we care more about whether Canada wins the Gold Medal in Hockey than if our Prime Ministers are able to represent the interests of the 35 754 482 million people that call this great country home.

The year is now more than half over, but in terms of the film industry, things are still just getting started. Whether that means catching up on movies into the first few months of the next year or the gluttony of high-calibre releases in the last few months of the year, it’s difficult to properly establish the actual midpoint.

As someone who has worked background on a film that you will never see, I am in love with the magic the professionals create on a daily basis. I had a fun time doing it, but the time I had can’t compare to playing a body double for one of the best characters on television today.

Photography by Jake Pitre We all want to be noticed. We want to create and share, and receive recognition for our creations, if we can. When Rupi Kaur uploaded a picture on Instagram in January depicting a woman lying in bed with blood staining her pants, it didn’t seem likely that it would become the moment when the whole world noticed her.

At 19-years-old, Sydney Delong is like many people her age. She’s tired of school after her freshman year studying psychology at Ryerson University, she works part time at The Body Shop, and she is trying to find individuality on her own path. What sets her apart is her voice, which allowed her to preform in internationally recognized music festivals Canadian Music Week and NXNE.

Peter Shmelzer and his art have been called provocative, disturbing and immoral. He’s not bothered. “I’m not trying to shock anybody,” he says. “I’m not hateful. There’s a lot of things that I’m not. Look again.” In the era of Pussy Riot and Brett Bailey, the censorship of art is as big of an issue as it was when Gustave Courbet painted “The Origin of the World” in 1866.