The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival is right around the corner, and this year there are several films from the Black diaspora that will be screened at the festival. As always, here at BGN we shed a light on those films. A select few will be reviewed here on the publication, so be on the lookout for more information on those titles. The ensuing list includes films with a Black ensemble cast, Black experiences, and/or Black filmmakers.
While the films may not be exclusively Black or African American, they each have one or more of those categories included on this list.
FILMS
40 Acres
(Director RT Thorne)
In a post-apocalyptic future where food is scarce, the last descendants of a Black family of farmers who settled in Canada after the American Civil War must protect their homestead from an organized militia hell-bent on taking their land.
The Fire Inside
(Director Rachel Morrison)
Renowned cinematographer Rachel Morrison makes her feature directorial debut with this film about boxer Claressa Shields’ true-life ascent to the Olympics. It’s a unique sports story that goes beyond the triumph of the underdog to ask what comes after.
Unstoppable
(Director William Goldenberg)
Moonlight’s Jharrel Jerome gives another outstanding performance amid a star-studded cast (including Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lopez) in this heartfelt sports drama about a college wrestler who dreams of going pro.
Piece By Piece
(Director Morgan Neville)
The life of singer and producer Pharrell Williams is told through LEGO pieces in this animated feature debut from Morgan Neville, featuring the voices of Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z.
Anywhere Anytime
(Director Milad Tangshir)
Reminding us that for many, something as simple as a bike can guarantee or raze someone’s survival, Milad Tangshir’s fiction feature debut is a bold nod to Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 classic Bicycle Thieves and heralds a courageous and striking cinematic voice.
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
(Director Raoul Peck)
Drawing upon a trove of unpublished images, this moving portrait of South African photographer Ernest Cole from director Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) offers a harrowing history of Apartheid and chronicles the life of an artist in exile.
Dahomey
(Director Mati Diop)
The Golden Bear winner at this year’s Berlinale, Mati Diop’s Dahomey traces the historic repatriation of 26 royal treasures from France to Benin, at the same time forging a speculative and political reflection on cultural heritage, collective memory, and the implications of restitution.
Freedom Way
(Director Afolabi Olalekan)
A start-up faces unfavorable government laws and police harassment, causing a ripple effect in the lives of nine individuals, setting them on a collision course.
Hard Truths
(Director Mike Leigh)
In his 23rd film, British director Mike Leigh reunites with Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Secrets & Lies) to create a challenging but ultimately compassionate look at modern family life.
Mother Mother
(Director K’naan Warsame)
United by tragedy in rural Somalia, a widowed camel farmer and a young American must find common ground in this drama from Somali Canadian recording artist K’naan Warsame.
On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
(Director Rungano Nyoni)
Seven years after her widely acclaimed BAFTA-winning debut I Am Not a Witch (TIFF ’17), celebrated Zambian Welsh writer-director Rungano Nyoni returns with her gripping second feature, a surrealist drama about the secrets families keep.
When The Monsters Come Out
(Director James Amuta)
A night at sea leaves pregnant Tangelo traumatized, after a pirate attack. She retreats to a remote island to protect her only child – but 18 years later, she is forced the monsters that tore her world apart.
(This screening is for industry only and not available for public screenings)
Patrice: The Movie
(Director Ted Passon)
Patrice: The Movie shines a light on a remarkable crusader for disability rights, confronting systemic failures while foregrounding joy through the energy of Patrice Jetter and her friends.
Souleymane’s Story L’Histoire de Souleymane
(Director Boris Lojkine)
An undocumented Guinean immigrant (Abou Sangare, whose work here won the Un Certain Regard Best Actor prize at Cannes) in Paris tries to juggle his responsibilities as a food delivery bike courier with the preparations needed for his asylum review hearing.
The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire
(Director Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich)
Inspired by the life of the eponymous Martinican writer and activist, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich’s feature debut, The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire, is a sumptuous, critical reflection on art, love, and politics — employing the spells of cinema to contend with an elusive legacy.
The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos
(Directors The Agbajowo Collective: James Tayler, Ogungbamila Temitope, Okechukwu Samuel, Mathew Cerf, Tina Edukpo, Bisola Akinmuyiwa, A.S. Elijah)
Anchored by a stunning performance from Temi Ami-Williams (Eyimofe), the debut from Nigeria’s Agbajowo Collective, part thriller, part magical realism, is a riveting indictment of the unchecked development and forced evictions besetting Africa’s largest city.
The Party’s Over
(Director Elena Manrique)
In southern Spain, a wealthy divorcée’s life is upended when a young Senegalese immigrant takes refuge in her tool shed. Though it explores harsh realities, Elena Manrique’s directorial debut blends humour and vulnerability to create a poignant story.
The Piano Lesson
(Director Malcolm Washington)
Malcolm Washington makes his feature directorial debut with this adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize–winning August Wilson play, featuring an incredible cast that includes Danielle Deadwyler, John David Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson in a story about a family haunted by the legacy of an heirloom.
The Village Next to Paradise
(Director Mo Harawe)
One of the breakout debuts from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, writer-director Mo Harawe’s sensitive and empathetic The Village Next to Paradise announces a bold new voice in art house and a new era for Somali cinema.
Village Keeper
(Director Karen Chapman)
After a massive loss, an overwhelmed Toronto mother discovers a very unusual way to process her grief.
Skeleton Coast
(Director Robert O Peters)
A group of all black African scientists arrive on the Skeleton Coast in search of Blunamite, a never-before-seen gem, rumored to be on the Namibian coastline. When dead bodies start showing up, they are not sure whether one of them is the culprit or if the coast, locally known as the ‘land God made in Anger’ is sending them an ominous message.
(This screening is for buyers only and not available for public screenings)
TV
The Listeners
(Director Janicza Bravo)
Rebecca Hall (Resurrection, Christine) stars as Claire, a schoolteacher who begins to hear a sound that no one else around her seems to, in this enigmatic adaptation of author Jordan Tannahill’s novel of the same name, directed by Janicza Bravo (Zola).
SHORT FILMS
On Sunday At Eleven
(Director Alicia K. Harris)
Facing the pressures to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, a young Black ballerina finds a powerful source of pride and confidence, in Alicia K. Harris’ inspiring and visually stunning short.
After Sunday
(Director Omolola Ajao)
In Omolola Ajao’s enthralling story of the ghosts of migration, a young woman takes a hard look into her family’s past and exposes difficult truths beneath the surface of her African Canadian church community.
FILMS FEATURING BLACK TALENT IN KEY ROLES
The Order – Jurnee Smollett
The Luckiest Man Alive – Shamier Anderson
The End – Moses Ingram
Megalopolis – Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fishburne
The Wild Robot – Lupita Nyong’o
Dead Mail – Sterling Macer Jr.
The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival runs Sep 5 – Sep 15, 2024. Happy watching!
