Reel Black: Our Film Stories debuts on CBC Gem & CBC TV, July 8 & 9
Toronto, June 28, 2022 – Reel Black: Our Film Stories, the latest documentary produced by OYA Media Group’s award winning creative team, premieres on CBC Gem on Friday, July 8, 2022, followed by a debut on CBC Television’s Absolutely Canadian, province wide in Ontario on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 8pm EST.
Reel Black: Our Film Stories highlights the exigency of Black Canadian stories, and critically examines the barriers unique to Black filmmakers in Canada’s film and entertainment industry, while exploring the power of Black narratives. Reel Black: Our Film Stories also addresses the common and prohibitive challenges that Black Canadian filmmakers contend with in Canada’s film scene. Due to systemic barriers and inequities surrounding what stories get disseminated in mainstream media, Black narratives have been marginalized, deemed less appealing for Canadian audiences, or are under-marketed once produced.
“As Black filmmakers in Canada, we are met with many obstacles in telling our own stories. We want to demystify the notion that Black stories are separate from Canadian stories, and authentically share our lived experiences through our lens. Our stories shape the history and reality of Canadian society, they are meaningful and nuanced, deserving of the same platform to have our voices heard,” Alison Duke, co-founder, OYA Media Group.
Reel Black: Our Film Stories follows 2 burgeoning, contemporary Black Canadian filmmakers, Ahjanis Charley and Christian Anderson who are mentees in OYA’s Emerging Filmmaker Program. Their journeys are juxtaposed alongside key Black forerunners in Black Canadian film, including Claire Prieto-Fuller, producer of Some Black Women (1977), one of the first Canadian films to be produced by a Black filmmaker, Clement Virgo and Karen King (producers of Rude, 1995 featured in Cannes film festival), Christene Browne, director of Another Planet (1999) the first feature film created by a Black woman, Karen Chapman, director of Measure (2019) and Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, director, Black Bodies (2020).
OYA aims to create space through their non-profit organization, OYA Black Arts Coalition (OBAC), which promotes more diverse stories and uplifts emerging Black Canadian creators through mentorship, training programs, and other key resources to empower and equip the next generation of filmmakers and increase visibility on screen and behind the scenes. This film project was created by participants from OYA’s Emerging Filmmaker Program, they are: Tristen Sutherland, Alexx Bryant, Ayan Tani, Émeraude Domingos Mbuku, Leilah Dhoré, and Enni Balo.
“Reel Black: Our Film Stories acknowledges some legendary Black Canadian filmmakers who have contributed seminal Black stories to the Canadian film landscape. Kudos to their work while navigating systemics and other barriers. As OYA alumni, we recognize the importance of Black filmmakers having capacity to share Black stories, and are grateful to Alison, Ngardy and team for the opportunity to learn inside this very special industry ecosystem,” Tristen Sutherland, Director/Producer, Reel Black.
SOURCE Konvo Media
