Events

Mission Statement

“Create, Display, Celebrate”

The CBFF is the main Canada-wide festival dedicated to celebrating film and media works of African-Canadians and those works of African-Diaspora contact, with registered offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. The CBFF’s mission is to increase opportunities for film display, review and content creation across Canada and as such its mission can be defined by the tagline ‘Create, Display, Celebrate’.
The festival itself was set up to address a gap in display opportunities in Canada for theatrical display of works of black origin or culture and defines itself as a ‘celebration event for ALL Canadians to explore, share in and celebrate the many select works that often do not get seen or screened in Canadian theatres.
The following programs have been developed under the three areas of the mandate.

Create

Production
A youth and adult film production program has been developed with the intention of generating film content and developing new talent in the Canadian film industry. These programs run for two months 4 times per year. Each program led by award winning Canadian filmmakers selected by the board, sees the development of a short production from initial conception to post production and marketing.
The product of each session will be featured at a film club and the following annual film festival.

Display

Film Club
CBFF first began with the launch of the film club in April 2009. The CBFF Film Club is a forum for the general public to view independent films and videos showcasing black actors, writers, directors, producers and films of African diasporic content. The purpose of film club is not only to show films, but also have a panel of cast members, directors and specialists on the subjects presented in each film in attendance at the screening to share with the guests, their experiences and appreciation of the film.

Film Festival
The Canadian Black Film Festival is an Annual Film Festival aimed at raising the profile of global films and filmmakers of African descent, with special emphasis on Canadian, culture and content and filmmakers. The CBFF is held in Canada’s largest City, Toronto, towards the last week of September.

Canadian Premiere
One of CBFF’s goals for the near future is to establish strong relationships with global distributors, and become their first choice to host Canadian premieres of culturally diverse feature films.

Celebrate

Cinema Noir
CBFF has established an annual launch party to the CBFF Film Festival which takes place one week prior to the actual festival, and is strategically timed during the largest Canadian Film Festival, TIFF. This reception is a celebration of Canada’s lively, diverse and vibrant film industry. Having Cinema Noir during TIFF provides us with access to the international stars that are in town for TIFF festivities. This reception serves as an opportunity for local and international filmmakers, actors and all industry personnel to network and enjoy themselves in a comfortable, classy setting produced by CBFF.