Schitt’s Creek star joins NWT team behind documentary

A documentary that explores food activism across North America will screen in Toronto next month as a familiar NWT face joins the northern team behind the film. 

Yellowknife-born actor Dustin Milligan, known for his role as Ted Mullens on award-winning series Schitt’s Creek, is joining Food for the Rest of Us as an executive producer.

The documentary, directed by Caroline Cox and produced by Tiffany Ayalik and Jerri Thrasher, explores the stories of four BIPOC and LGBTQ+ food growers in Hawaii, Kansas City, Colorado, and Tuktoyaktuk. 

Ayalik, also an actor and musician, said she contacted Milligan to see if he would put his voice and platform behind Food for the Rest of Us.

“The film really resonated with him,” she said. 

“It’s just a really great fit and a really good person to have believe in the vision of the film, and the work that we want to be doing through the film.” 

Ayalik said she has known Milligan since they both attended Yellowknife’s Sir John Franklin high school as teenagers.

“We both had a penchant for drama, we were both really involved in the theatre,” she said. 

Food for the Rest of Us will screen at Toronto’s downtown Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on World Food Day, October 6, with a portion of the proceeds going to Foodshare Toronto. 

Ayalik hopes the film will encourage people to change the way they think about food, food security, and the connection between food and colonization, homophobia, and systemic racism.

She also hopes the documentary leads to policy change and that viewers ask themselves: “How can I be more connected to my food? How can I be more supportive to grassroots and community-run organizations in my own community?”

Anyone interested can request to host a community screening of Food for the Rest of Us.