This propulsive cinematic confrontation of Canada’s anti-Black racism explores the pivotal, yet often overlooked, Canadian civil rights movement. Filmmaker Michèle Stephenson artfully weaves a haunting soundscape with dynamic archival footage and intimate new interviews, immersing us in Black life in 1960s Montreal. The film culminates in the 1969 Sir George Williams Affair, where 200 students, many of them Haitian immigrants fleeing the Duvalier regime, occupied a ninth-floor computer lab at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia) to protest blatant institutional bigotry. This rare footage feels hauntingly prescient against the backdrop of recent student protests, serving as a stark reminder that these cycles of resistance are deeply etched in our collective history. By shining a light on these unsung stories, Stephenson reframes the 1960s civil rights movement not as a strictly American phenomenon, but as a continent-wide, ongoing struggle for survival, justice, and dignity. PB

Q&A following screening