The 17th MIBFF: A necessary Festival for our time!
Program also starring: Omar Sy, Colin Kaepernick, Quincy Jones, Aïssa Maïga, John Lewis, Megan Rapinoe, Jesse Williams, Tommie Smith, Catherine Frot, Jennifer Holness, Sol Guy, Danny Blanco Hall, and more!
Canada’s largest Black Film Festival, the Montreal International Black Film Festival returns with a meaningful 17th edition that promises to inspire through bold programming – online and in person – September 22 to October 3, 2021.
TRIBUTE & INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS
This year, in celebration of the Francophonie, the Festival is honored to present the MIBFF 2021 Career Achievement Award to Cesar winning actor Omar Sy (Lupin, The Untouchables); award winning Haitian-Canadian visual artist and filmmaker, Martine Chartrand (Black Soul, MacPherson); and Guadeloupean/French activist and actress, Firmine Richard (8 women, La première étoile). All three Honorary Guests will sit down with MIBFF President and Founder Fabienne Colas to discuss, in an intimate conversation, their respective career evolution, their journey to success and the importance of Diversity off and on screen today. #MIBFF21 will rebroadcast an intimate conversation with Academy Award nominated actress and Golden Globes award-winner Taraji P. Henson (Empire) where she talks about her path towards Hollywood fame as a Black actress – a discussion that initially premiered earlier this year at the Toronto Black Film Festival (TBFF).
The #MIBFF21 will present 17 World premieres, 9 International premieres, 40 Canadian premieres and 35 Quebec premieres.
Opening night will take place on September 22 at 7PM at the Imperial Theatre with Glenn Kaino & Afshin Shahidi’s With Drawn Arms, a feature documentary about track-and-field gold medalist Tommie Smith who famously raised a gloved fist at the ’68 Olympic games to protest racial inequality in America. Then at 9PM, 134 films will be available ONLINE until October 3. #MIBFF21 will close with Claus Drexel’s narrative feature, Under the Stars of Paris. The film tells the story of a homeless women in Paris who meets an orphaned 8-year-old Eritrean boy. Bound by their marginal conditions, they embark together on an emotional journey to find his mother in Paris.
Many of the MIBFF staples rare back such as industry events as part of MIBFF Black Market, which includes Panel Discussions and Intimate conversations; MIBFF in the Neighborhoods – presented by Desjardins – at Maison de la Culture Cotes-de-Neiges and Maison de la Culture Montreal Nord with free programming by members of the Black communities; the MIBFF Kids Film Festival with a variety of films; and the extremely popular The Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Being Black in Canada series.
Passes range from $69 to $119 and Tickets range from $8 to $25.
