Vancouver International Black Film Festival launches hybrid program for 2022, December 16 to 20

The second annual fest highlights diversity on and off the camera

Vancouver International Black Film Festival runs from December 16 to 20 in person at VIFF Vancity Theatre and Studio Theatre and online

NOW IN ITS second year, Vancouver International Black Film Festival is presenting a hybrid version for 2022. Following its successful virtual launch last year, the fest is now adding in-person programming.

It opens with Kenyan filmmaker Jennifer Njeri Gatero's Nairobby at a red-carpet event on December 16 at Vancity Theatre. In Kiswahili with English subtitles, the suspenseful film about friendship and loyalty focuses on six university students who pull off a daring heist at a fundraising event at their school.

Nathan Rice’s The Road Less Cycled is VIBFF22’s closing film. It takes place in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands of South Africa, where a young aspiring cyclist desperate to make something of himself steals his soon-to-be stepfather’s bicycle and embarks on a 300-kilometre journey to what could be a career-making race.

Other titles include American Girl, Color Blind, and Nobody Was Here.

The fest also features the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s award-winning Being Black in Canada short film series, which supported 35 Black Canadian filmmakers, aged 18 to 30, in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver in the creation of their first documentary (eight to 10 minutes). The filmmakers received professional coaching for each stage of the audiovisual production process then made a short film under the tutelage of industry professionals.

The VIBFF Black Market consists of panel discussions where film and television professionals share insights into critical current filmmaking issues.

“What a thrill to be back in the Hollywood of the North with the 2nd annual Vancouver Intl Black Film Festival,” Fabienne Colas, president and founder of the Black Film Festival in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver, in a release. “It’s a true privilege to be able to showcase exceptional work and authentic Black stories that do not always make it to the silver screen. We invite everyone to join us in spreading diversity off and on camera from coast to coast in order to celebrate the differences that make us unique and the shared values that bring us together.”

“At the Fabienne Colas Foundation, we’re proud to continue to bring our unparalleled expertise, our strong eco-system and network, and our savoir-faire along with our 18 years of experience to Vancouver, a beautiful city that is waiting to implement inclusion, diversity and change in the film industry,” Colas adds.

All-access passes, single tickets, and more details are at VancouverBlackFilmFest.com

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