Presented in partnership with the Animation Festival of Halifax

This 42-minute collection of short films by Black animators imagines new worlds and reflects creatively on this one. These artists bring us a richness of approaches and voices.

In classics and in new work by emerging artists, we see handmade and computer-generated images, Afrofuturistic visions and animations deeply grounded in archival research, abstract meditations and trenchant critiques.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with ASL interpretation.

Special Guests attending post-screening panel discussion via video-link: Sydnie Baynes (African American Express, City Shock, Unity in the Early Morning); Magalie Boutin (Head of Media Relations, National Film Board).

Sydnie Baynes Artist Bio:

Sydnie Baynes is a visual artist and animator with a Film Animation degree from Concordia University, blending traditional and digital mediums to explore Black history and femininity. Through her animated films, she celebrates identity and heritage, inspiring viewers to embrace their narratives and the richness of Black culture. More info: sydniebaynes.com

This event is co-presented by Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax and the Animation Festival of Halifax. With thanks to the Prismatic Arts Festival.

FILMS

T.V. Tango (1992, dir. Martine Chartrand) – 4 min
Four children who have picked up all sorts of annoying behaviour from watching television decide instead to create their own games. This animated film for five- to eight-year-olds is intended to awaken children’s critical sense regarding the media messages aimed at them.

Black Soul (Âme noire) (2000, dir. Martine Chartrand) – 9 min
Martine Chartrand’s animated short dives into the heart of Black culture with an exhilarating trip though history. Watch as a young boy traces his roots through the stories his grandmother shares with him about the events that shaped their cultural heritage.

MacPherson (2013, dir. Martine Chartrand) – 11 min
This animated film by Martine Chartrand (Black Soul) recounts the friendship between a young Félix Leclerc and Frank Randolph Macpherson, a Jamaican chemical engineer and university graduate who worked for a pulp and paper company. An inveterate jazz fan, Macpherson inspired Leclerc, who wrote a song about the log drives and entitled it “MacPherson” in honour of his friend. Paint-on-glass animation shot with a 35mm camera.

By Winds and Tides (2022, dir. Bogdan Anifrani Fedach) – 3 min
Exploring the conscious, the unconscious and the self, By Winds and Tides takes a deep experimental dive into the birth of an idea—how it takes shape, how it is released. An allegorical quest, the film combines images and words into a singular sigh.

Breakthrough ( 2024, dir. Mide Kadiri) – 4 min
A 2D hand drawn short leading us on an abstract journey through spacetime.

100 Ghosts (2022, dir. Noncedo Khumalo) – 1 min
A woman awakes to mysterious sounds—and confronts an astonishing surreal world summoned forth by her innermost fears.

City Shock (2024, dir. Sydnie Baynes) – 1 min
Inspired by the energetic German film, Run Lola Run, City Shocks delves into the chaos of urban life through a series of interconnected vignettes, while following a character navigating the bustling streets of a sprawling metropolis.

African American Express (2024, dir. Sydnie Baynes) – 3 min
African American Express is an abstract animation exploring the impact of consumerism in the Black community. Told in the style of Soviet Propaganda, this animated short dissects the pattern of excessive materialism and consumption prevalent within the Black population.

Governance (2020, dir. Ho Che Anderson) – 3 min
Criminologist and community activist Munira Abukar believes justice and equity begin in your own home and heart. Embracing the uncomfortable awakening that 2020 has brought about, she debunks the cozy narrative of social equality and puts her finger on the key issues needing change.

Unity In the Early Morning (2017, dir. Sydnie Baynes) – 2 min
The interaction between two individuals is often forgotten. With the displays of soothing cultural sounds, one can easily be reminded of the original state and meaning within a conversation based on likeness and emotion. This piece is a stop-motion cut-out animation made for the Distorted Storytelling exhibition project for S.P.A.C.E. (Sciences Participating with Arts and Culture in Education), presented at Dawson College in Montréal.

Closed captions will be provided for each film.

 ASL interpretation will be provided for this event.

        Childcare will be provided for this event. Please use this REGISTRATION FORM.

Banner image: Still image from African American Express (Sydnie Baynes, 2024)