Calgary Black Film Festival 2021

May 26-30, 2021
ONLINE
$8 Single Screening | $49 All Access Pass

Founded by the Fabienne Colas Foundation and supported by Ministry of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women, Calgary Arts Development and Calgary Economic Development.

The Fabienne Colas Foundation – creator of Canada’s largest Black Film Festival: the Montreal Black Film Festival, the hugely popular Toronto Black Film Festival as well as the Halifax Black Film Festival and Ottawa Black Film Festival – is proud and thrilled to announce that the Black Film Festival movement will be expanding to Calgary, the first of its kind in Western Canada.

The Calgary Black Film Festival (CBFF) aims to connect authentic Black stories with viewers of all colours and ethnic origins in Alberta, the province that holds Canada’s third largest Black population after Ontario and Quebec.

The inaugural CBFF will run entirely online – May 26 – 30, 2021. The #CBFF21 All Access Passes are on pre-sale for only $49 and can be purchased on the festival’s Website. The Festival’s program will be announced in early May.

“We are beyond excited and humbled to be launching the Calgary Black Film Festival. CBFF, is more than just about films, it’s a movement! At this pivotal moment in our history, it is vital for us to spread our message of inclusion and diversity off and on camera from coast to coast.” stated Fabienne Colas, President and Founder of the Black Film Festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa and Calgary.” The people of Calgary have really stepped up as a BLM ally and have shown tremendous support towards their Black communities. As such, we are seizing on this opportunity to help bring even more awareness through concrete actions.”

The Festival will open on Wednesday, May 26 at 7pm MDT with Christiaan Olwagen’s POPPIE NONGENA, the true story of a mother’s desperate fight to protect her family during the bitter years of Apartheid in South Africa. Then, as of 10pm MDT, all the films will be accessible online.

CBFF will close with Calgary filmmaker Cheryl Foggo’s feature documentary, JOHN WARE RECLAIMED, about the complex story of a Black cowboy and rancher who settled in Alberta prior to the turn of the 20th century.

This first edition’s highlights include the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s BEING BLACK IN CANADA short film series as well as documentary film BARBARA LEE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER, featuring an all-star cast including Senator Cory Booker, Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Van Jones.

The CBFF Black Market – an industry series where renowned industry professionals share real-world experience on today’s most critical filmmaking and social issues – will present an exciting blend of cutting-edge thinking panel discussion.

About the Calgary Black Film Festival – #CBFF21

The Calgary Black Film Festival (CBFF), a not-for-profit organization created by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, is about discovery and Inclusion. CBFF wants to amplify more Black voices and showcase the most relevant Black films from here and abroad while creating a space to debate major cultural, social, and socio-economic issues. The Calgary Black Film Festival is dedicated to giving unique voices in cinema the opportunity to present audiences with new ways of looking at the world. CBFF’s ambition is to encourage the development of the independent film industry and to promote more films on the reality of Black people from around the Globe.

About the Fabienne Colas Foundation

The Fabienne Colas Foundation is Canada’s largest Black cultural organization. Created in 2005, the FCF is a not-for-profit artistic organization dedicated to promoting Diversity and inclusion in Cinema, Art and Culture in Canada and abroad. Along with Zaza production, the Fabienne Colas Foundation is also the creator of 11 Festivals, including the highly successful Montreal Black Film Festival, the hugely popular Toronto Black Film Festival, the Halifax Black Film Festival as well as the several other successful Festivals in Canada, the USA, Haiti and Brazil. These initiatives/festivals have showcased and supported over 5,000 artists and attracted over 2 million festivalgoers. The Foundation is also the creator of the FCF’s Being Black in Canada program, Canada’s largest incubator dedicated to Black Filmmakers.

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