Presented in collaboration with F-O-R-M (Festival of Recorded Movement), Present Revolutions is a collection of films that respond to social issues of our time. Reflecting young peoples’ experiences growing up in a politically dynamic and polarized society, these works crystallise moments in time where we question our current reality.

A movement can begin within an individual, garnering momentum until it exists beyond oneself. Through its sheer urgency this action accumulates to a point when it cannot be ignored. When we create films that creatively interrogate our social reality, we liberate ourselves and our communities. It is in this way that filmmaking is an act of everyday resistance.

Ahead of this screening, The Montreal Steppers will host a beginner-friendly, high-energy Stepping workshop and demo accompanying The Steppers Visit South Africa! Stepping or step is the art form of creating music with one's body through claps and stomps. Participants will explore the basics of step choreography—claps, stomps, and chants—and discover the origins of step as a black art form.

5:30pm - Doors open
6:00pm - 1, 2 Step Workshop with The Montreal Steppers
7:00pm - Screening
8:00pm - Talkback facilitated by Brandon Wint

Admission is by a suggested donation of $10-$20, courtesy of BMO Financial Group

RSVPs are helpful

Films

When The Blues Goes Marching In
Beny Kristia (Indonesia) | 12:40 | Vancouver Premiere
Content warning: violence

A young man narrated the details of his dream from last night to his father about the celebration of demonstration, anger, and graduation.

African American Express
Sydnie Baynes (Canada) | 2:41 | Vancouver Premiere
Content warning: coarse language, use of the N word, flashing lights

Black Consumerism 100% Guaranteed Or Your Money Back! African American Express serves as an evocative abstract animation delving into the intricate theme of materiality within Black consumerism, critiquing the implications of consumer culture within the Black community.

The Steppers Visit South Africa
Hugh Durnford-Dionne & The Montreal Steppers (Canada) | 10:05 | Canadian Premiere

Back in May, the Montreal Steppers visited South Africa for an artistic exchange, connecting to the roots of Gumboots, Pantsula, and Stepping. It fuelled a deeper commitment to honouring the “ancestral inheritance” that paved the way for resistance, power, and legacy.

Autistic Joy
Maddi Crease & Aaron Shrimpton (England) | 3:48 | Vancouver Premiere

Autistic Joy is a powerful celebration of our autistic lives and the joy that we hold. Autistic Joy was co-produced with autistic peers and a primarily neurodivergent cast and crew.

Pendulum
Priyanka Tope (Canada) | 12:03 | Vancouver Premiere
Content warning: coarse language, mention of violence and genocide

History repeats itself in a cyclical nature, like a pendulum endlessly swinging back and forth, never able to reach a state of equilibrium. We continue on this path because we choose to not learn from the past. Is there any hope in sight to break these cycles? Is there any light on the horizon?

STITCHING CHANGE
Kaili Che (Canada) | 10:25 | Vancouver Premiere

STITCHING CHANGE is a dance short film that unravels the intricate systems of overconsumption and environmental impact within the textile industry.

Resistance Meditation
Sara Wylie (Canada) | 4:58
Content warning: discussion of illness and disability

A meditation on crip time and resistance by a chronically ill filmmaker, shot on Super 8 and eco-processed by hand.

About the Facilitators

Montreal Steppers is a performance collective and non-profit organization committed to the art form of step – a black diasporic dance that uses the body as an instrument to create rhythms and beats, through stomps, claps, and chants. The collective’s praxis centers the lives and aspirations of those most marginalized and to create space and initiatives and foster collaboration across communities to support each other and thrive together. Founded in 2019, the collective has used stepping to influence dialogue around the importance of black art, black lives, and black history in Canada, by way of workshops and performances. Montreal Steppers have offered educational workshops to over 20,000 participants in over 50 institutions and organizations across the province of Quebec.

Brandon Wint is an Ontario-born poet, spoken word artist, educator and filmmaker based in western Canada. For more than a decade, Brandon has been a sought-after touring performance poet, having shared his work all over Canada, and internationally at festivals and showcases in the United States, Australia, Jamaica, Latvia and Lithuania. Brandon is ever-grateful for the power of poetry as a spiritual technology and social force. He is devoted to using poetry as a tool for refining his sense of justice, love, and intimacy. Brandon Wint's poems and essays have been published in The Ex Puritan, Event Magazine, Arc Poetry Magazine, and Black Writers Matter, among other places. Divine Animal (Write Bloody North, 2020) is his debut collection of poetry. In recent years, his films have screened at  DOXA documentary film festival and Reelworld Film Festival and Vancouver International Film Festival Centre.

Banner Image: The Montreal Steppers