Kamloops, B.C., to host inaugural Black Film Festival

Kamloops is getting its own Black Film Festival.

The Kamloops Black Film Festival will feature six well-known films, including Cool Runnings, Sarafina! and King Richard. The event was organized by the Kamloops Caribbean Cultural Society alongside the Kamloops Film Society and Valid Dreams Foundation.

Kamloops joins communities like Toronto, Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver in hosting events that aim to highlight Black stories in film. 

Committee member and filmmaker Daniel Akinshola said the idea came about after the Kamloops Film Society hosted events such as Indigenous and Francophone film festivals.

"We thought about being more inclusive, involving more people, having more representation and that's what led to the first Kamloops Black Film Festival," Akinshola said.

He sees films as a way to connect people with the past.

"The films were chosen based on the knowledge of history… people cannot really become dreamers if they have no origin."

Kamloops Film Society general manager Radhika Tabrez said the organizing committee aimed to choose films that would connect with audiences.

"You could never watch Cool Runnings too many times or you could never watch Sarafina! too many times and not be impacted by it," Tabrez said.

 Tabrez said the event fit perfectly with the society's mandate.

"Our endeavour is to bring the best of cinema to town, but also to make our cinema and our offering as diverse as possible to be able to cater to everybody's needs, every different demographic, every different genre, every different interest group."

Event to coincide with Black History Month

Akinshola said the committee timed the event as part of a larger movement.

"Black history celebrates Black achievements from the past, you know, hopefully to generate more achievements in the present, to wake people up and give more hope and inspiration as to possibilities," he said.

He said the committee plans to create more opportunities for local filmmakers to show their work in next year's festival.

They plan on offering training for people from filmmakers to producers to makeup artists.

"I know the joy in making films. I've seen a few people in Kamloops that have that same passion, but they don't know where to start … so I want to create a platform for anyone who wants to get into film to attend some workshops."

Akinshola said the focus for the inaugural festival will be getting people out to see the lineup of films and engage in the events surrounding them, and then grow from there.

"It's going to take a little bit of work, but I'm 100 per cent sure we'll get there."

The first annual Kamloops Black Film Festival runs from Feb. 15 to 17 at the Paramount Theatre.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.