Many in Toronto knew what they were losing before it was gone, and Ali Weinstein’s observational documentary Your Tomorrow proves this fact without breaking much of a sweat or having to dig too deep to do it. Before huge swaths of the West Island were closed off and long before the whole thing became a no-go-zone for all but construction and security workers, Toronto’s waterfront park Ontario Place had fallen into disrepair. It didn’t have to be this way, of course, as the popular destination for families, picnickers, dog walkers, joggers, swimmers, sunbathers, artists, and concert goers was in frequent enough use to warrant more touch ups than it got over time. Weinstein looks at the park during its final full year of use before undergoing a massive (and as it turns out – to the shock of ab-so-fucking-lutely no one, problematic) development of the land in Your Tomorrow, and what she uncovers is the systematic dismantling of a place that, yes, was decrepit in many ways, but still a mainstay in the lives of tens of thousands of Torontonians.
Beginning at the start of 2023, when development plans began in earnest and polar bear dippers and hearty joggers still braved the elements through to capturing the dismantling of infrastructure and felling of trees following the end of the summer CNE and concert season, Your Tomorrow quietly and patiently observes the day to day existence of a park that some find obsolete and others as a thing of beauty. Although Weinstein rewinds the clock at some points to discuss the most beloved elements of the park (the towering IMAX cinesphere, low key beaches, the crumbling remains of the log ride), most of Your Tomorrow is spent in the moment, capturing quintessentially Toronto moments.
A lot of Your Tomorrow is seen through the perspectives of its return visitors and workers. Weinstein embeds herself with veteran security guard and jack-of-all-trades Sherman Lam and his team of much younger volunteer workers as they navigate the busy season. A retired couple reminisce about their past and future. Advocates repeatedly assemble to try and reverse the course of a provincial mandate that has run amok without adequate public consultation, some of whom are iconoclastic eccentrics. Tourists and recent immigrants marvel at things they could only see on the island. A sad dog is crestfallen that their favourite part of the park has been fenced off for good. Corporate land leasers Therme try their darndest to get locals on board with a sparsely attended VR experience at the yearly CNE.
The observational nature of Weinstein’s work suggests something apolitical on the surface, but even without hearing Dougie Ford’s nasally “it’s a done deal, folks” refrain at any point, Your Tomorrow calmly illustrates what it’s like to live in a city that has lost control of its own direction and destiny. Granted, Ontario Place always had an identity crisis; not quite cutting it as a green space, a centre of interesting design, or as an amusement park at various points in its history. But it was always a useable and malleable space that could’ve been made better if the province and city hadn’t deliberately let it fall into disrepair in a bid to attract developers.
By letting things play as they are, Weinstein gives thanks for the memories so many Torontonians of a certain vintage have for Ontario Place, while openly questioning if opening a mega-spa, enormous parking lot, new Science Centre, and outdoor concert venue is the best use of an area that didn’t need much to really spruce things up. This isn’t an angry film or even a eulogy, but rather an open ended question about the divide between cities and the rest of the province that’s built around them.
Your Tomorrow screens at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto on December 6, 7, & 8, 2024, with a special panel discussion featuring Weinstein, producer Geoff Morrison, politician/activist Norm Di Pasquale, and some of the film’s subjects – moderated by Hot Docs’ director of programming Heather Haynes – following the 7pm showing on the 6th.
