"We don’t want to knock on anyone’s door anymore. We want to build our own door and our own building so we can create our own opportunities and be self-sufficient. This is not something that’s going to be around for a month or two; this is something that’s going to be around for a very long time." -Stephan James  "The idea of putting Black voices on a national stage has been a goal of Stephan and I. We used this past year to refine and polish B.L.A.C.K., form our board of directors, and launch the Black Academy." -Shamier Anderson

The creative arts sector has stepped in to play a supporting cast to the global discord of our times. People have steadily turned to the arts for a taste of much needed joy—whether it’s via home concerts online or at drive-ins to free showings of plays and events. Filmmaker, photographer and actor Howard J. Davis aka HAUI, understands how during isolation, creative art is one of the things that has kept us sane. The previous ByBlacks People’s Choice Award winner for best film director sees how his work can provide that release. Simultaneously, he gets us to think beyond the…

To continue to amplify the necessary conversation around sustainability, innovation, community activism Planet in Focus celebrates its 21st Annual International Environmental Film Festival from October 14-23rd. Planet in Focus is an environmental media arts organization with year-round programming. The mandate is to produce cultural events that showcase engaging and artistic films that question, explore and tell stories about the world in which we live.

“Over 2 million of the 12 million associated with the transatlantic slave trade died en route. In effect, what you’re looking at is a crime scene.” Kramer Wimberley

Teaming up to give a moment of decompression during this season of global health and social justice crises, the legendary Jamaican comedic actor Oliver Samuels and Toronto’s beloved entertainment mogul Jay Martin have been busy preparing a wholesome treat for their combined audiences.

It was all so simple. A group of friends, happily leaving the Airbnb they had rented in California on their way back home to Toronto, when the situation quickly got out of hand. While loading their suitcases into their rental cars, several police cars had encircled them, with a helicopter overhead, and were immediately detained and questioned.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to question how their lives will move forward and the process of adjusting to “the new norm”. Many people were hit hard, however, students have it especially difficult as they prepare to enter an ever-changing workforce due to the pandemic along with changes to their style of learning. Many programs have now transitioned to remote-only learning, introducing a new set of challenges.

Jillian Danford is a wife, mom, boss, and visionary who has harnessed the star power of her charismatic clan to produce a social media phenomenon. The self-made YouTube sensation has enamoured millions with the daily antics of a typical Caribbean family living in the Canadian suburbs.  The outspoken mom and laid-back dad are proud parents of millennial and Gen Z children. 

Louis Gossett Jr.’s film debut was in the 1961 classic movie "A Raisin in the Sun" with Academy Award-winning actor Sidney Poitier.

There’s an ambitious docu-series on YouTube titled ‘This Far’. The 30 episode project features successful Canadian immigrants and first-generation Canadians. Each episode runs about 10 minutes long and offers an in-depth- yet not overbearing- gaze into the subject’s trials, tribulations and triumphs of living and growing in Canada. It’s the exquisite, personal story told in 30 unique ways. The chilled background beat along with quick cuts and colloquial graphics perhaps offers a hint as to who’s behind the series.