Skip to content
Accessibility
Atlantic Region (10)
-
Black Mother Black DaughterSylvia Hamilton & Claire Prieto 1989 28 minBlack Mother Black Daughter explores the lives and experiences of black women in Nova Scotia, their contributions to the home, the church and the community and the strengths they pass on to their daughters. -
BalakrishnaColin MacKenzie & Aparna Kapur 2019 15 minWhen an extraordinary new resident – Balakrishna, an Indian elephant – arrived in the town of East River, Nova Scotia, in 1967, no one was more in awe of the creature than young Winton Cook, who became inseparable from his mammoth new friend. Using painterly animation, photographs and home-movie treasures, Balakrishna transmits the wistfulness of childhood memories, while evoking themes of friendship and loss, and issues of immigration and elephant conservation.
-
Encounter at Kwacha House - HalifaxRex Tasker 1967 17 minThis short film presents a lively discussion between black and white youths at the interracial club in Halifax, touching on racial discrimination in employment, housing, education and interpersonal relations.
-
Ice BreakersSandamini Rankaduwa 2019 15 minJosh 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.
-
Remember AfricvilleShelagh Mackenzie 1991 35 minAfricville, a small black settlement, lay within the city limits of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the 1960s, the families who lived there were uprooted and their homes demolished in the name of urban renewal and integration. Now, more than twenty years later, the site of the community of Africville is a stark, under-utilized park. Former residents, their descendants and some of the decision-makers, speak out and, with the help of archival photographs and films, tell the story of that painful relocation.
-
Race Is a Four-Letter WordSobaz Benjamin 2006 55 minIn this personal documentary, director Sobaz Benjamin introduces us to an interesting group of people: a black woman who wants to be considered iconically Canadian, a white man who is culturally and psychologically black, and a black woman who decides to leave “Canada’s racial cold war.” He also exposes himself, a black man who grew up trying to bleach his skin. In the end, Race Is a Four-Letter Word teaches us that the soul has no colour. Yet, we also learn that race is a marathon we are all forced to run.
-
Songs of Nova ScotiaGrant Crabtree 1958 11 minDr. Helen Creighton explores her native Nova Scotia, finding singers and songs in order to document the fast-receding folklore of the early pioneers on her tape recorder.
-
Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova ScotiaSylvia Hamilton 1992 28 minIn their predominantly white high school in Halifax, a group of black students face daily reminders of racism, ranging from abuse (racist graffiti on washroom walls), to exclusion (the omission of black history from textbooks). They work to establish a Cultural Awareness Youth Group, a vehicle for building pride and self-esteem through educational and cultural programs. With help from mentors, they discover the richness of their heritage and learn some of the ways they can begin to effect change.
-
The Secret OrderPhil Comeau 2022 1 h 24 minPhil Comeau shines a spotlight on the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier, a powerful secret society that operated from 1926 to 1965, infiltrating every sector of Canadian society and forging the fate of French-language communities. Through never-before-heard testimony from former members of the Order, along with historically accurate dramatic reconstructions, this film paints a gripping portrait of the social and political struggles of Canadian francophone-minority communities.
-
Seven Shades of PaleLes Rose 1975 28 minFrom a quiet, neglected corner of Nova Scotia, a meeting with the Black community that shows both the traditional attitudes of the older generation and the more alert, resolved stance of the young. The old still pin their hopes on the church and the preacher, while the young look more towards the Black United Front and its roving director. For both generations change is a challenge. The common hope is for a fuller life.
