The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is set to host the North American premiere of ALAZAR, a captivating short film by celebrated Ethiopian filmmaker Beza Hailu Lemma. Known for his thought-provoking narratives and masterful cinematic style, Lemma's latest work offers a powerful exploration of faith, tradition, and the human spirit set against the backdrop of contemporary Ethiopia.
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At the height of the golden age of reggae, some of Jamaica’s brightest stars left their homeland behind to shine their light in an unlikely hub of Caribbean creativity: Toronto.
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Haitian-American filmmaker Monica Sorelle makes an impressive narrative feature debut with "Mountains," a soft yet poignant look into the lives of one immigrant family in Miami's Little Haiti. Premiering at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, the film unfolded its poetic narrative — inspired by Sorelle's own upbringing in Florida — and it mingled wonderfully with Atibon Nazaire's quietly searing performance as Xavier, a middle-aged Haitian demolition worker trapped within his insistent community-destroying cycle of gentrification.
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The fantasy genre, whether in literature or film, has been known to be severely lacking in cultural diversity representation on mainstream platforms. But Black and other diverse creative voices do exist. Hands down, my new favourite fantasy-themed film is Haitian-Canadian director Henri Pardo's feature Kanaval, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
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Thirty years after director Spike Lee's 1992 biopic Malcolm X, based on Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X, was released, the iconic African-American filmmaker returned to Saudi Arabia to screen the film publicly for the first time on the 30th anniversary of its release. History was made on December 3, 2022, during the second annual Red Sea International Film Festival.
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The opening scene of French Burkinabé film director Cédric Ido's film La Gravité (The Gravity) is a powerful flashback sequence that sets the scene for this captivating dystopian tale set in the Parisian banlieue of Seine-Saint-Denis—the infamous "93" heralded in some of the best French rap tracks. Speaking to AfroToronto on a recent phone interview while in Toronto during the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Ido discussed the many subtle and not-so-subtle references and homages to life on "la cité."
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The excitement was palpable last night during the red carpet event for the world premiere of The Woman King at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), starring veteran actress Viola Davis and a talented cast of majority fierce young Black female thespians who brought fire and acrobatic prowess to the screen.
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An interview with filmmaker Jennifer Holness about her debut feature documentary, Subjects of Desire. The film explores the destructive societal narratives that Black women and girls often face—while being acutely aware of the cultural appropriation underpinned by a shift in beauty standards towards embracing Black aesthetics.
Jamaican-born and Canadian-bred veteran filmmaker Jennifer Holness runs Hungry Eyes Film & Television, alongside her husband and business partner, fellow filmmaker Sudz Sutherland. We spoke to Jennifer about her debut feature documentary film, Subjects of Desire, which premiered earlier this month on TVO Original and is currently available for viewing on TVO.org, YouTube and TVO streaming channels.
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An interview about the new docu-concert on the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with the film's director Barry Avrich and Rosemary Sadlier, former president of the Ontario Black History Society.
The new Oscar Peterson documentary directed by Barry Avrich will have its world premiere today, September 12, 2021, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
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An interview with Maya Annik Bedward — a Toronto-based filmmaker of Jamaican and French Canadian origin — on how her film company, Third Culture Media, explores the intersection of different cultures on screen.
Born in Ottawa to a Jamaican father and French-Canadian mother, Maya Annik Bedward is a Toronto-based filmmaker, director, and producer. Her films have been screened at festivals across North America and Europe and sold to Air Canada and the CBC.
In 2015, Maya launched Third Culture Media, with support from the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, alongside her producing partner, Kate Fraser.
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