Expert help was on hand from many of those driving African-Canadian filmmaking forward and we would like to extend special thanks to Jude Idada, Powys Dewhurst, David Sutherland, Tabby Johnson, Jani Lauzon, Louis Taylor and Nicole Brooks who either screened work or were incredibly supportive in participating in Q&A sessions.

The Tenant Cast and Producer Jude Idada at the CBFF Opening Night

As we look forward to launching 2010 activity, one of the key successes of the three days was the launch of the CBFF Youth on Camera program. This started on Saturday September 26th, bringing together groups from Schools Without Borders, Shoot With This and the Regent Park Focus Group for a screening day and discussion session.

The festival culminated in an emotional tribute to The Honourable Lincoln Alexander and the premiere screening of the documentary on his life – A Linc in Time – by Nicole Brooks, please make sure you see this film for yourself whenever you get the opportunity, truly a landmark in Canadian filmmaking!

Michael Pinball Clemons and Karen King pay tribute to Lincoln Alexander, pictured centre with cast from A Linc In Time

Our closing ceremony also saw the introduction of the ‘CBFF Linc Award’. This award (pictured below), was presented to Lincoln Alexander for his lifetime of achievements and contribution to Canadian society. This will also be the award handed out to filmmakers and category winners at all future festivals. We were delighted to have the opportunity to recognise The Honourable Lincoln Alexander in this way.

We would also like to pay a special thank you to our volunteers who helped to make our first year such a wonderful success. One of our volunteers, Stephanie Edwards, spent some time during a busy festival schedule writing reviews on some of the films shown, please read below for some quick reviews!

Drama, Drama, and a little too much Drama!

The Tenant kept us all on our toes in anticipation of how the story was going to unfold. Each opened door that provided key information always brought a new twist to the story. You could never predict what was going to happen next. Leaving the audience crying out exclamations of “oh my goodness” or “this is too much”, it really was a picture that seemed to connect with the audience.

A thoroughly engaging Q&A session with producers and members of the cast continued well into the night, which was a testament to the interest, intrigue and questions this award-winning Canadian feature has had at festivals around the world.

ATTENTION! – To all persons who have influence in allowing films to be shown in schools.  This should be one of them!!!

I highly recommend this film to be shown in schools and made easily accessible to people who would like to learn more about Kwanzaa or for people who would like to incorporate this celebration into their lives.

Kwanzaa is a holiday, yet many people are not informed about what Kwanzaa is, or what it means to some people in our community. This is an educational, informative and family oriented film that gives a sense of pride to all black communities worldwide and was a fitting way to open a Canadian Black Film Festival. Two thumbs up!

I was glad to see a film in the Canadian Black Film Festival that acknowledges Sickle Cell, which is a disease that mainly affects the black Community.

I didn’t feel as though this short film captured enough emotion from the parents, the stepmother or the child, about how they were really feeling going through this ordeal. Some may argue that the film was a bit toned down because the family was in a hospital. Regardless of this story being portrayed in a hospital setting, when someone you love or someone close to you is in need, hurt, sick or near death your emotions will tell a powerful story of how you feel, in addition to, how this sudden change will affect your daily life.

Due to the lack of honest emotion, I would find it hard for an audience to understand its true essence, however this was a powerful and brave first foray into filmmaking for the emerging young York graduate Brianna Brown.

A Linc In Time was amazing, inspirational and motivational!

I felt as though I was in the presence of a wise, down to earth and experienced individual, telling their story to allow another to step up and keep going even in the face of adversity and hardships. Lincoln Alexander never once gave the impression that everything in life came to him easy, but his compelling recollection of his own life story would certainly motivate anyone who sees this excellent documentary to give their very best at all times Both the number of changes he initiated, as well as the lives he touched are beautifully captured in a film that jumps seamlessly between the past and the present.

This testimony to someone who will in time be viewed as one of the forefathers of Canadian history will rest as timeless tribute to an incredible life and life-changing journey.

In what is sure to be an event attended by many celebrated film industry figures, dignitaries from the political and corporate world and also featuring a special appearance by The Honourable Lincoln Alexander, CBFF are pleased to announce that LIMITED tickets for this closing gala ceremony are on sale Friday! Please click below on the Box Office icon to reserve your tickets today for what is sure to be a sold out event.

Closing Night Program

In our closing day gala fittingly entitled ‘A Linc in Time’, the program events will build up to a tribute ceremony, including the premiere screening of Nicole Brooks’ film – A Linc in Time – as well as speeches, reflections and awards in recognition of the life and invaluable contributions made by Lincoln, to the tapestry of Canadian society.

The event will be presented by our special guest hosts, Michael ‘Pinball’Clemons and Karlyn Percil (The Karlyn Percil Show) and will also feature tribute speeches and award to Lincoln Alexander for his services to all Canadian communities.

The closing night program will also feature award-winning director Powys Dewhurst short film Delroy Kincaid which is rapidly gaining award after award at film festivals across the globe.

CBFF would also like to thank Ryerson University and the Students Association which are kindly sponsoring this tribute event.

Be sure you do not miss out on this very special event, only a limited amount of tickets will be available for purchase on the day. Book now to avoid disappointment!

CBFF are looking for a feature critic to write weekly reviews for our website, reviewing films shown at the CBFF Monthly Film Club as well as the latest films of black interest, classic or vintage titles, as well as the latest general mainstream movie releases. If you love watching movies and can regularly submit one review per week this could be the contest for you!

Entry Rules:

• Each participant can enter no more than 2 reviews for the purposes of the content.
• Each review must be no longer than 800 words
• Films to be reviewed will be the choice of those entering the contest.
• The top 5 reviews will be posted online and judged by the CBFF web community
• The CBFF executive team judge will select the top 5 for online voting. The decision of the CBFF executive team in this selection stands as final.

Deadline for entries: August 31, 2009.

Please submit entries by email, leaving your name, email address and telephone number to filmclub@cbff.ca .

The winner will be announced at the CBFF Monthly Film Club on 6th September 2009. An online announcement and review of the Film Club itself by our contest winner will be up on Monday 14th September.

*Any contest winners found to be plagiarizing from established critics, publications or copyright protected materials will be immediately removed from the post.

BFM International Film Festival has helped many new and emerging black and niche film festivals over the past 11 years to break onto the international festival landscape, by offering help to those needing assistance with curating, marketing and developing networks with all major global festivals across several continents.  Partnering with BFM will allow CBFF the opportunity to strengthen our offering to the Canadian public by ensuring:

• International programs and films are sourced globally and from the best possible avenues.
• Exchange opportunities can take place in terms of submissions to both monthly film clubs and annual festivals, enabling Canadian content to have a direct pipeline to the UK festival circuit.
• Attendance of key festival executives from the UK each year come to Canada to share in and showcase these works between two countries that are historically significantly aligned.

BFM is a media group that consists of an entertainment magazine, international film festival and a film review TV show. Founded by Menelik Shabazz, it was started in 1998 to break down barriers in the media industry for marginalised groups in the UK.

BFM International Film Festival is the largest and longest running platform for Black World Cinema in Europe.

Please visit our partner festival at www.bfmmedia.com.