21 Black Futures facts for kids
21 Black Futures is a special Canadian film and theatre project. It was shown on CBC Gem in 2021. This project was created with a Black Canadian theatre group called Obsidian Theatre. It celebrated both Black History Month and Obsidian's 21st birthday!
The project asked 21 Black Canadian writers to create short plays, called monologues. These monologues were all about "the future of Blackness." Each one was performed by a Black actor on the stage of Meridian Hall in Toronto. These performances were then turned into short films.
This project was especially important because the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada made it impossible to have a regular theatre festival. So, this was a creative way to still share these amazing stories. The films were shown over three weeks in February 2021, with seven new films each week.
About the Films
The project featured 21 unique short films. Each film explored different ideas about the future through the eyes of Black characters. Here are some of the films and what they were about:
| Film | Director | Writer | Actor | What it's about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Death News | Charles Officer | Amanda Parris | Lovell Adams-Gray | A man records his own obituary for a TV show called The Death News. This show broadcasts messages from people who have recently passed away. |
| The Sender | Leah-Simone Bowen | Cheryl Foggo | Amanda Cordner | Cil Brown works on a project that sends people who are racist to their own special island. |
| Jah in the Ever Expanding Song | d’bi.young anitafrika | Kaie Kellough | Ravyn Wngz | |
| Beyere | Lisa Karen Cox | Shauntay Grant | Natasha Courage Bacchus | |
| Madness with Rocks | Jamie Robinson | Peace Akintade | Dion Johnstone | |
| Witness Shift | Sarah Waisvisz | Donna-Michelle St. Bernard | Uche Ama | |
| Sensitivity | Mike Payette | Lawrence Hill | Sabryn Rock | |
| Special | Jay Northcott | Keshia Cheesman | Avery Grant | Eight-year-old Zari moves to an all-Black town. She fits in at school, but misses feeling special and different. |
| Umoja Corp. | Leighton Alexander Williams | Jacob Sampson | Pablo Ogunlesi | A company that protects Black knowledge and strength helps Adrian when he gets into trouble. |
| Notice | Ngozi Paul | Luke Reece | Lisa Berry | Crystal Hinds, inspired by anti-racism protests from her childhood, becomes a powerful leader in 2045. |
| Blackberries | Alicia K. Harris | Miali-Elise Coley-Sudlovenick | Adeline Bird | Effie, who is part African and part Inuk, travels to Nunavut for her grandmother's funeral. |
| Emmett | Tanisha Taitt | Syrus Marcus Ware | Prince Amponsah | Medgar, one of the few people left after a big disaster, talks about his life and remembers his friend Emmett. |
| Georgeena | Weyni Mengesha | Djanet Sears | Virgilia Griffith | Georgeena runs away from her wedding and thinks she is going to die because a car is following her. |
| Rebirth of the Afronauts: A Black Space Odyssey | Jerome Kruin | Wendy Motion Brathwaite | Chelsea Russell | In 2059, Chariott gets a mysterious call that leads her on an amazing journey. |
| Cavities | Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu | K. T. Dennis | Alison Sealy-Smith | |
| 40 Parsecs and Some Fuel | Lucius Dechausay | Omari Newton | Daniel Faraldo | |
| The Prescription | Alison Duke | Lisa Codrington | Akosua Amo-Adem | |
| Chronologie | Mike Payette, Katia Café-Fébrissy | Stephie Mazunya | Sheila Ingabire-Isaro | |
| Y&N Ara Asaase Ni (This Is Our Own Native Land) | Dorothy A. Atabong | Tawiah M'carthy | Peter Fernandes | |
| Builders of Nations | Kimberley Rampersad | Joseph Jomo Pierre | Philip Akin | |
| Omega Child | Ahdri Zhina Mandiela | Cherissa Richards | Emerjade Simms |
Awards Won
21 Black Futures received several important awards, showing how much people appreciated the project.
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Winner(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Web Program or Series, Fiction | Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Lucius Dechausay, Fatuma Adar, Michael Sinclair, Myekah Payne, Grazyna Krupa | Won | |
| Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series | Lovell Adams-Gray | Won | |||
| Lisa Berry | Nominated | ||||
| Best Supporting Performance, Web Program or Series | Chelsea Russell | Nominated | |||
| Best Direction, Web Program or Series | Lucius Dechausay | Nominated | |||
| Charles Officer | Won | ||||
| Best Writing, Web Program or Series | Lawrence Hill | Nominated | |||
| Amanda Parris | Won |
