Montreal International Black Film Festival

The Montreal International Black Film Festival is an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[1] Held in September each year, the festival programs a selection of African, Caribbean, African American and Black Canadian films.[2]

The event was launched by Fabienne Colas in 2005 as the Haitian Film Festival, with a focus specifically on films from Haiti.[2] It was renamed to the Montreal International Black Film Festival in 2010, expanding its focus to include international films from the entire African diaspora.[2] In 2013, Colas also launched the sibling Toronto Black Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario,[3] and she has since launched the Halifax Black Film Festival and the Ottawa Black Film Festival.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the 2020 festival was presented entirely online.[4] It attracted over 300,000 viewers during the course of the event, approximately 20 times the normal attendance of the in-person festival.[5]

References

  1. Bill Brownstein, "Montreal's Black film fest will reach a worldwide audience". Montreal Gazette, September 1, 2020.
  2. John Griffin, "Black, proud and worldwide; Africa and the entire diaspora are now reflected in what was once the Haitian Film Festival". Montreal Gazette, September 21, 2010.
  3. "Popular Black Film Festival expands to Toronto". Canada NewsWire, December 5, 2012.
  4. Mary Teresa Bitti, "When the pandemic arrived". National Post, October 29, 2020.
  5. Chris Knight, "Across Canada, Black is the new fest". National Post, February 10, 2021.
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