Invisible Man was narrated in the first person by an unnamed African-American man who considers himself socially invisible. We can draw a parallel between this novel and the reality of the kids at Regent Park, who are dealing with invisibility in a figurative sense. The metaphor of invisibility is used to depict the struggles of growing up in an inner city housing project, where issues of race and crime, success and failure, and family and manhood can affect the outcomes. Likewise, in Ralph Ellison’s novel, the boys at Regent Park are looking for their identities and their places in society. The title Invisible City depicts the lives of those young people in a candid way.
During the interview, Hubert Davis shared how he wishes Invisible City will impact the youth: “I hope young viewers, whatever their background, will be able to see some of themselves or people they know in the film”. Invisible City premiered at the Royal Theatre in Toronto and was shown on TVO in February 2010. The French version of the film La Cité Invisible was also presented during Black History Month 2010 at the ONF (The French sector of NFB in Quebec). Invisible City ends with a very powerful quote. It will be up to the future viewers to discover it when they will see a screening.
During the interview, Mr. Davis was asked what advice he wished he had been given when he was in the process of becoming a filmmaker. Thus, Hubert Davis gave us some advice for young people who want to follow his path: “Figure out what kind of stories you want to tell and be persistent. Never, ever give up”. He added: “I think it’s important for young people to understand it’s very hard to break into filmmaking. So, you have to be prepared to get a lot of rejection. You need to have a thick skin”.
To sum up, Hubert Davis is a brilliant filmmaker with a great capacity to evoke powerful emotions in his documentaries and to illuminate hidden issues with unequivocal messages. As aforementioned, Hardwood and Invisible City are about the power of redemption and the healing of the bonds between one another. Davis knows how to bring layers of emotions and nuance into his films. His documentaries are notches above other films of its genre. His remarkable works should be translated into numerous languages.
At the end of the interview, the filmmaker concluded by letting us know about his future plans: “ I am currently working on a couple of dramatic feature projects.” Based on Davis’s past body of work, we are anticipating his next productions.
Invisible City will be available on DVD next June at:
www.nfb.ca/boutique and our public centres, the Mediatheque here in Toronto and the Cinérobothèque in Montreal.
Interview conducted by the reporter Patricia Turnier in March 2010 (
Nominations for Hardwood:
- Oscar nomination in 2005
- Emmy nomination in 2006
Additional awards:
- Golden Sheaf Award of Excellence, Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival, 2004
- World Wide Short Film Festival Best Documentary, 2004
- Hardwood was also selected for the InFact Film Series in LA, 2004
- Big Sky Documentary Film & Video Festival Best Documentary Short Award, 2005
- Black Maria Film & Video Festival (a Jury’s Choice), 2005
Award for Aruba: Palm Springs Panavision Grand Jury Award 2006 Award for Invisible City: Hot Docs Film Festival Best Canadian Feature 2009
