History of the festival
The Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF) was created in 2005 by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, a not-for-profit, professional arts organization dedicated to education in the arts and to supporting the creation, promotion and showcase of Canadian and international cinema, art and culture.
During its ten-year history, the MIBFF has screened hundreds of _ lms from over 50 countries; has welcomed several thousands of moviegoers; has attracted international media coverage and has paid tribute to such celebrities as: Harry Belafonte, Souleymane Cissé, Stedman Graham, Kim Nguyen, Danny Glover, Dany Laferrière, Spike Lee…
Formerly the Montreal Haitian Film Festival, whose first edition included three films in three days, the MIBFF is now the largest festival of its kind in Canada thanks to its bilingualism (the only official bilingual festival of that nature – French and English – in North America), its international press coverage, its growing movie-goer base, the number of countries represented (around 40 each year), as well as the large number of films and premieres presented each year (around one hundred).
In 2009, the organizers announced that the festival would be transitioning from the “Montreal Haitian Film Festival” to the “Montreal International Black Film Festival” in 2010.
The Fabienne Colas Foundation has also created the following major events: Toronto Black Film Festival (February); Festival Haiti en Folie in Montreal (July); Quebecois Film Festival in Haiti (March); Dansomania – Dances from around the World among others. www.fondationfabiennecolas.org