An Alberta-based film company says they were shocked when a Winnipeg screening for one of their films was cancelled suddenly.
The documentary ‘Hush’ is billed as a film about the health impacts of abortion and miscarriages.
The film was scheduled to be shown at the University of Winnipeg campus Tuesday night, followed by a panel discussion.
But the university cancelled, for reasons they said were unrelated to the film’s subject matter.
In an email statement to CTV News, the university said the event was cancelled due to the students not being able to accommodate the demands of hosting the event.
The statement reads, "That snowballing of requests started to make our students uncomfortable. They did not feel they could or should be official sponsors for this film."
However, the organizers of the event said they received another email citing the content of the film was the reason the university cancelled the event.
“We received an email saying that due to the content of the film they did not feel comfortable hosting Hush at this time,” said Tasha Deschambault, one of the tour coordinators for Hush.
University of Winnipeg student Thamer Linklater had planned to attend the on-campus screening of Hush. She feels university is the best place to discuss controversial topics, no matter what views you have.
“We're here to get an education, and part of that is learning about different sides of a topic or an argument and deciding which sides to go with,” said Linklater.
Organizers say a screening at the University of Manitoba just days earlier received a positive reaction from students.
They added that while they understand abortion can be a controversial topic, it’s unfortunate the film couldn’t be screened and discussed on University of Winnipeg’s campus.
However, Elim Chapel stepped up and offered to host the event the following day, directly across the street from the university campus.
