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Black History Month Film Festival - Festival de films pour le mois de l'histoire des noirs

Blach History Month webcard with geometric print in red, black, green, and yellow

Cumberland branch is thrilled to screen a selection of films from the National Film Board of Canada to highlight Black History Month. Take a seat and check out our film selection for February!

La succursale Cumberland est ravi de vous offrir une sélection de films grâce à l'Office National du film du Canada, afin de souligner le mois de l'histoire des noirs. Prenez place et découvrez notre sélection de films du mois de février !

Thursday, February 1, 6 pm - 7:30 pm | jeudi, 1 février, 18h - 19h30
Ninth Floor, by Mina Shum 2015, 81 min, English with French subtitles, Not Rated
Director Mina Shum makes her foray into feature documentary by reopening the file on a watershed moment in Canadian race relations – the infamous Sir George Williams Riot. Over four decades after a group of Caribbean students accused their professor of racism, triggering an explosive student uprising, Shum locates the protagonists and listens as they set the record straight, trying to make peace with the past.

Saturday, February 3, 1 pm - 2:30 pm | samedi, 3 février, 13h - 14h30
True North: Inside the Rise of Toronto Basketball, by Ryan Sidhoo
 2019, 89 min, English with French subtitles, Not Rated
On the heels of the Toronto Raptors’ historic NBA Championship and the record-setting number of Canadian draft picks, the Toronto hoop dream is more alive than ever. In this feature-length doc, director Ryan Sidhoo shines the spotlight on 12-year-old Elijah Fisher, 15-year-old Keone Davis and 18-year-old Cordell Veira as they navigate today’s youth basketball machine in pursuit of their own NBA dreams.

Saturday, February 10, 11 AM - 12 PM | samedi, 10 février, 11h - 12h
Step by Step
 47 min, English with French subtitles, Youth
Join us for an exciting program of animated short films for youth! Black Soul dives into the heart of Black culture with an exhilarating trip though history. In Mind Me Good Now! Tina and Dalby disobey their mama with almost tragic consequences. Joe tells the story of Seraphim "Joe" Fortes, one of Vancouver's most beloved citizens. In The Magic Lion, a Kenyan boy goes on a quest to save the life of his sick grandfather. In The Cora Player, two young Africans from different social backgrounds want to defy tradition and be free to love each other. In Christopher Changes His Name, a young boy decided to try on a new name when his Aunty Gail from Trinidad tells him a story.

Saturday, February 17, 1 pm - 2:45 pm | samedi, 17 février, 13h - 14h45
Stateless, by Michèle Stephenson
 2020, 95 min, French and Creole with either English or French subtitles, Not Rated
In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013: the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows the grassroots campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris, as she challenges electoral corruption and fights to protect the right to citizenship for all people.

Saturday, February 24, 1 pm - 2:30 pm | samedi, 24 février, 13h - 14h30
Unarmed Verses, by Charles Officer
 2016, 85 min, English with French subtitles, Not Rated
This feature documentary presents a thoughtful and vivid portrait of a community facing imposed relocation. At the centre of the story is a remarkably astute and luminous 12-year-old black girl whose poignant observations about life, the soul, and the power of art give voice to those rarely heard in society. Unarmed Verses is a cinematic rendering of our universal need for self-expression and belonging.