Filmmaker Statement

I had been tracking Lil Berete's rise early on in his career. A musician friend showed me his music videos and we both couldn't believe how young these kids from Regent Park were, how good the music was — and how charismatic Berete was. When I created the Rising series, I always had Berete at the top of my list for candidates. When a friend of mine joined his management team, the stars aligned and we were able to make it happen. Berete's story centers in Toronto's most violent and notorious neighborhood, Regent Park. Located in the downtown core, Regent Park was built in the late 1940s as one of the first public housing projects in North America. After many decades of violence, crime and drug-use, it is widely considered one of Toronto's most notorious neighborhoods. But also a breeding ground for some of the city's most talented artists, musicians and activists — Lil Berete is one of them.