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Free Admission | Wednesday, February 17 - 1:30 PM CST | Canada | Various | 79min | STC
A selection of Black History films from the NFB Collection:
Joe
2002 | 8 min
Directed by Jill Haras
This animated short tells the story of Seraphim "Joe" Fortes, one of Vancouver's most beloved citizens. Born in the West Indies, Joe Fortes swam in English Bay for over than 30 years. A self-appointed lifeguard at first, he became so famous that the city of Vancouver finally rewarded him with a salary for doing what he loved best. He taught thousands of people to swim and saved over a hundred lives. Yet there were some who did not respect him because of his skin colour. Through his determination, kindness and love for children, Joe helped shift attitudes.
Black Soul:
2000 | 9min
Directed by Martine Chatrand
Martine Chartrand’s animated short dives into the heart of Black culture with an exhilarating trip though history. Watch as a young boy traces his roots through the stories his grandmother shares with him about the events that shaped their cultural heritage.
Ice Breakers:
2019 | 15 mins
Directed by Sandamini Rankaduwa
Josh Crooks is a promising teen hockey star in a sport where Black players like him are chronically underrepresented. Ice Breakers reveals the buried history of a pioneering Black hockey league in Atlantic Canada, as Crooks discovers that his unshakable passion is tied to a rich and remarkable heritage.
Journey to Justice:
2000 | 47 mins
Directed by Roger McTair
This documentary pays tribute to a group of Canadians who took racism to court. They are Canada's unsung heroes in the fight for Black civil rights. Focusing on the 1930s to the 1950s, this film documents the struggle of 6 people who refused to accept inequality. Featured here, among others, are Viola Desmond, a woman who insisted on keeping her seat at the Roseland movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946 rather than moving to the section normally reserved for the city's Black population, and Fred Christie, who took his case to the Supreme Court after being denied service at a Montreal tavern in 1936. These brave pioneers helped secure justice for all Canadians. Their stories deserve to be told.
The RPL Film Theatre screens the best of world cinema – up to 15 films a month. The Film Theatre has “something for everyone” and is the only cinema in the city to consistently present critically-acclaimed contemporary and alternative cinema: Canadian, foreign and independent films and documentaries.
For more than 50 years, Regina Public Library (RPL) has played a pivotal role in the cultural life of the city of Regina and surrounding areas. In the mid-60s, interest in a permanent venue for film enthusiasts grew into a program at the Library – a co-operative effort between the local Film Council and the National Film Board of Canada. A landmark year for the cultural, multi-cultural and surrounding business communities was 1975, the year the RPL Film Theatre was officially launched.
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