– Produced by Zaza Production and broadcast on CBC
(Halifax, April 5, 2022) – BEING BLACK IN HALIFAX, part of Fabienne Colas Foundation’s BEING BLACK IN CANADA Series – Produced by Zaza production and broadcast on CBC – has won Best Direction in a Documentary Series at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards (CSA). The program, presented by NETFLIX in collaboration with National Bank, is also supported by Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), Telefilm Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and many other partners. The Being Black in Halifax 2020 episode (broadcast on CBC in 2021) is available for streaming on CBC GEM.
“This is a tremendous acknowledgment! Congratulations to our gifted emerging Black Haligonian filmmakers who have made history by winning Best Direction in a Documentary Series at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards for our Being Black in Halifax 2020/2021 (Part of FCF’s Being Black in Canada Series),” Said Fabienne Colas, Executive-Producer of the Series & Founder of the Black Film Festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver. “We are grateful to the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for recognizing that Black stories do matter and that Black filmmakers are talented. It also proves one more time that Black emerging Filmmakers don’t lack talent. They just lack opportunities. And this is exactly what the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Being Black in Canada program offers. We are so proud to be amplifying more Black voices through this program all over Canada with the support of our Partners.”
The BEING BLACK IN HALIFAX emerging filmmakers addressed the issue of social integration of people from Black communities in their city through film. The participants presented their films as World Premieres in 2021 at the Toronto Black Film Festival, followed by the Halifax Black Film Festival, the Ottawa Black Film Festival, the Calgary Black Film Festival, the Montreal International Black Film Festival, and the Vancouver International Black Film Festival. Being Black in Halifax is also supported by Arts Nova Scotia.
Here are the FCF’s Being Black in Canada: Being Black in Halifax CSA winners:
Best Direction in a Documentary Series:
- Lily Nottage: Farrin
- Dena Williams: A Passion Made New
- Kardeisha Provo: North Preston: The Untold Story
- Tyler Simmonds: The Search for Healing
This is the second prize for a BEING BLACK IN CANADA cohort. Last year, the BEING BLACK IN TORONTO filmmakers brought home the award for Best Direction in a Documentary Series at the 2021 CSA.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Fabienne Colas Foundation’s BEING BLACK IN CANADA represents Canada’s largest incubator dedicated to Black Filmmakers and creation program to be entirely dedicated to Black filmmakers. As part of the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Youth and Diversity Initiative, the FCF’s Being Black in Canada program was created to make up for the blatant lack of diversity and the lack of Black People in front and behind the camera in Canada. Founded in 2012, with the first cohort launched in 2014, the Program gives a voice and a platform to creators who would not otherwise be seen or heard. The Foundation actively promotes equal opportunities for Black Film professionals while fostering Diversity on our screens that unfortunately showcase content that is too white for a truly diverse society.
Get to know the 2021 BEING BLACK IN CANADA cohort here
Watch the FCF’S Being Black in Canada 2020 films online on CBC GEM (Broadcast in 2021)
About the Fabienne Colas Foundation
The Fabienne Colas Foundation (FCF) is a not-for-profit cultural organization dedicated to building bridges and advancing education through the arts as well as to support the creation, production, promotion and dissemination of cinema, the arts and culture in Canada and elsewhere. To fulfill its mission, the Foundation put together 12 festivals and programs to break barriers, celebrate diversity, foster togetherness, understanding and inclusion. Since its inception in 2005, its initiatives/festivals have showcased and supported over 5,000 artists and attracted over 2 million festivalgoers in Canada, the USA, Haiti and Brazil. The Foundation mostly promotes Black culture in Montréal, Toronto, Halifax, New York City et Salvador de Bahia (Brazil); and Quebec culture in Port-au-Prince. www.fondationfabiennecolas.org
For press inquiries contact:
Véronique Fecteau : veronique@festwave.com