Join The Polygon for an evening screening of four short films by Black Canadian filmmakers—Camille Turner, Carmine Pierre Dufour + Emilie Mannering, Chris Strikes, and Sandra Mathieu—and a performance by Chipo Chipaziwa.

Awakening by Camille Turner Awakening, a film by Camille Turner presents a conversation that takes place in the future on a spaceship. Two Afronauts (African space travellers) encounter Gloria Smith, a Black woman from present day Canada who is an activist on a mission to travel back in time to stop the transatlantic trade in African people. Upon her arrival on the spaceship Gloria ruptures its security and bypasses the rules that govern space-time.

Mahalia Melts in the Rain by Carmine Pierre Dufour + Emilie Mannering
Mahalia, a timid 9-year-old black girl, feels different from the other girls in her ballet class. Hoping to boost her confidence, her mother brings her to the hair salon to get her hair straightened for the very first time.

Patty vs. Patty by Chris Strikes
Patty vs. Patty tells the story of Toronto’s bizarre 1985 “Patty Wars,” when Jamaican-Canadian bakers went head-to-head with the federal government over the name of their beloved beef patty. Patty vs. Patty was nominated for a 2023 Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary.

Une Rencontre Fortuite by Sandra Mathieu
Tamara and her family are on their way to an event. On the road, Tamara has a chance encounter that will change the course of her life.

Chipo Chipaziwa
Chipo Chipaziwa is a visual artist who predominantly works in the medium of performance art. Chipaziwa’s practice concerns itself with the fluidity of identity, the performativity of the Black body and Chipaziwa’s own investigation of disrupting the gaze of the other. Chipaziwa has previously worked with the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver, the City of Vancouver and Live Biennale. Chipaziwa currently resides on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Image: Chris Strikes, Patty Vs Patty, 2022, video still.