Human Rights on Screen: What We Dreamed of Then

Amid an ongoing housing crisis, stories from the perspective of individuals experiencing housing precarity are central to our understanding of the complex challenges facing Canadians, including circumstance, stigma and the systems involved in providing support and access to safe, attainable and sustainable housing solutions.

What We Dreamed of Then (2025) is the story of a passionate swim coach and dedicated father who is forced by circumstance to navigate the turbulent reality of invisible homelessness. Filmmaker and lead actor Taylor Olson’s What We Dreamed of Then (WWDOT) sensitively examines the isolation and delirium of hidden homelessness while exploring the compounding effects of small acts of kindness.

WWDOT is making its world premiere during the 2025 edition of the Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF), and in partnership with AIFF, the Human Rights Commission is pleased to be making this important story available for viewing online for free from September 17-21 via AIFF’s online screening platform. This screening is the latest in the Human Rights on Screen series.

Free Online Screening

Nova Scotians are invited to register for a free ticket and enjoy this special screening as a unique opportunity to examine an important human rights issue, and to take advantage of an accompanying panel discussion delving further into the subject.

You can “pre-order” your ticket now to view What We Dreamed of Then online for free between September 17-21 by using the following code: WHATWEDREAMEDOFTHENONLINE25

In Person Premier at AIFF

An in-person world premier screening of What We Dreamed of Then will take place during the Atlantic International Film Festival on September 12 at 5:30 pm at Park Lane Cinemas downstairs at Park Lane Mall at 5657 Spring Garden Road, Halifax. Commission CEO Joeseph Fraser will be among those bringing remarks ahead of the screening which will feature a Q&A with filmmaker Taylor Olson and others involved in bringing this story to the screen

Buy tickets to attend the in-person screening.

Virtual Panel Discussion

Join filmmaker Taylor Olson (What We Dreamed of Then), Canada’s Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle, and Tanya Ellsworth of Dominion, Cape Breton, in a discussion about the film What We Dreamed of Then, and the issues impacting the lives and experiences of the unhoused.

Date: Tuesday, September 16
Time: 3:00-4:30 pm (Atlantic)
Register via Zoom