Bunk Haus Supervisor Elizabeth Malatestinic and her dogs Mabel and Athena (Elizabeth MacLeod)
Bunk Haus Hostel in uptown Saint John is creating a special video in honour of International Women’s Day, March 8th.
“Video footage is a really, really effective way to get a story across and with doing a video we can make an event out of it.” said Elizabeth Malatestinic, the Bunk Haus Hostel and Uptowner Café’s Supervisor. “I think a video makes it more of like a conversation and more interactive.”
The video is filmed at the hostel, which at one point was one of a row of businesses female owned and operated on Water Street.
“Now we are able to put more faith in ourselves and be more proud of what we do, especially for women in business,” Malatestinic said. “It means more now to have conquered something like that as a woman, looking back and seeing all the stories that have come out where women have faced those difficulties and not been overcome by them.”
Malatestinic said the number of female-led business owners in Saint John was the most prominent thing in her mind when considering a video and working with Bunk Haus and Uptowner owner, Ingrid Woodhouse.
“Being a mostly female staff, I thought it would be so good to have and I know a lot of really empowered women that could contribute,” she added. “I really just want people to say what makes them empowered, even if it’s in five words.”
Malatestinic is also working with other local women’s groups such as SJ Women in Business, online multicultural marketplace, Sankara and networking group Fusion After 5 for the video’s reveal. So far, seven people have participated, five women and two men, all prominent faces in the Uptown area.
She believes when both men and women come and watch the video, they will be encouraged and empowered to share their stories and talk about the issues they face.
“Everybody has something to say something to contribute, but a very few amount of people are comfortable to do that and I hope in seeing other people share their stories of when they didn’t feel empowered, or what they would like to see done with empowerment,” she explained. “Just seeing other people have the courage to say that, and not only say it, but share it with everybody else that will encourage other people to do the same.”
She’s also noticed an upswing in involvement and awareness about the issues and abuse women face from both men, (and women) in the aftermath of the MeToo movement.
“I think that there’s less of a fear in sharing those stories, seeing as it’s become more relatable — people are just more eager to get their stories out and fight more now than ever. ”
“There are so many things in the world that could be like solved just by talking about them and it’s the worst things that we talk about the least.”
The completed video will be unveiled at the Bunk Haus on March 15th. Further information will be posted on the Bunk Haus’ Facebook page and Instagram closer to the event.
