The Halifax Black Film Festival is celebrating a milestone this year, marking a decade of bringing Black stories from around the world to local audiences during African Heritage Month. Festival founder Fabienne Colas says the event has grown a lot since its first edition, which featured just one film screened on a single day. “Today we have 30 films from all over the world. It’s wild,” Colas said in an interview with CTV Atlantic’s Katie Kelly. The festival provides audiences with access to films and perspectives often missing from mainstream theatres and streaming platforms, while also serving as a launching pad for emerging filmmakers. One of those filmmakers is Halifax-based creator Chanice Lorde, whose short film “Crowned” premieres as part of the festival’s “Being Black in Halifax” program. The description for her short film says it shines a light on Black women, rewriting narratives formed in their earlier years. Through raw, intimate reflections, they reveal how shame targeted at Afro-textured hair has transformed into knowledge, pride, and radical self-love – encouraging audiences to unapologetically embrace themselves in their natural state. “I really wanted to tell that story to give young girls comfort, knowing that you are enough. Your hair is good enough,” Lorde said. Colas says the festival is meant for everyone and encourages people from all communities to attend, calling it an opportunity to learn about lived experiences often missing from history books. The Halifax Black Film Festival runs Feb. 20 to 24 in theatres and online.
