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. 1 2 3 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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