February is a month that’s recognized as Black History Month. It’s the time of the year where we celebrate Black films, thinker, activists and artists. It acknowledges a painful time in history where people were mistreated and abused because of the colour of their skin. Over the years, we as a society, have started to acknowledge the atrocities and actively make an effort to ensure that history does not repeat itself. The Vancouver International Film Festival is hosting a program to celebrate Black History Month. The program has two series that is entertaining and informative at the same time. The two series are called, “Icons” and “Dispatches.”
Icons is a series that showcases the accomplishments of well-renowned Black actors like Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman and others. It shows the works of these famous actors of colour and celebrates their accomplishments as well as celebrates their hard-earned success. Dispatches is a series that focuses on documentaries, ideas and social justice by showcasing the work of James Baldwin, Camille Billops and two recent Canadian films, Dear Jackie and Our Dance of Revolution. One of the documentaries that is going to be shown in this series is called Descendant. It’s a powerful and real documentary that investigates the last known slave ship transporting kidnapped Africans to USA.
Films have a unique ability to connect people with harsh truths about the world we live in. It also has the ability to inspire change. Watching these films is a chance to understand how different people’s lives are in other parts of the world. It can be emotional and thought provoking. Watching these films is a great way to teach children about the unfair living conditions of certain people and it can also teach them why it’s important to change the world for the better. Be sure to check out the events from Vancouver International Film Festival this month because it’s a chance to learn about our history and the importance of not letting atrocities in the past, happen again.