Being Black in Canada - Toronto - Montreal - Halifax

BEING BLACK IN CANADA FILM SERIES

OBFF21 is thrilled to be presenting the 20 films from 20 emerging Black Filmmakers from Montreal, Toronto and Halifax – who participated in the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Being Black in Canada program.

THE 2020 FABIENNE COLAS FOUNDATION’S BEING BLACK IN CANADA PROGRAM’S PARTICIPANTS

BEING BLACK IN MONTREAL – FRANCOPHONE PROGRAM
Aïcha Morin-Baldé, Cassandre Grégoire, Kimberley Ann Surin, Nitsé Mathelier, Tania Doumbe Fines

BEING BLACK IN MONTREAL – ANGLOPHONE PROGRAM
Amelya Hempstead, Dee Edouard Williams, Devantie Johnson, Melannie Jonas, Steve Deku

BEING BLACK IN TORONTO
Bethlehem Tsegaye, David Peddie, Selina McCallum, Shani McKenzie, Uranranebi Agbeyegbe

BEING BLACK IN HALIFAX
Kardeisha Provo, Lily Nottage, Tyler Simmonds

The Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Being Black in Canada represents Canada’s largest mentorship, training, and creation program to be entirely dedicated to Black filmmakers. This important initiative, created by the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Youth and Diversity Program, aims to train, mentor and empower the next generation of Black Filmmakers in Cinema and Television.

Being Black in Canada 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. It gives a voice and a platform to creators who would not otherwise be seen or heard. The Foundation actively promotes equal opportunities for Black Filmmakers while fostering Diversity on our screens that unfortunately showcase content that is too white for a truly diverse society.

In 2020, the Program allowed 20 underserved emerging Black Filmmakers in Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax to create their first short documentaries. And in 2021, the program will also open in Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver to welcome and support 35 new Black artists each year. The program provides FREE training, mentorship, professional equipment, editing studios, professional crews to assist them from beginning to the end of their filmmaking process. Then, we will premiere their films at the Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax Black Film Festivals, as well as elsewhere. The 2019 BBIC films were also broadcast on CBC (Toronto & Halifax), Tele-Quebec (Montreal), TFO (Toronto).