MAKING WAVES AND SHAPING CHANGE - SPOTLIGHT ON BLACK CREATIVITY IN CALGARY

Join us for an enriching and illuminating discussion as we reconnect with some of Calgary's most dynamic Black creatives who have previously graced our festival stage. In this special event, we invite you to embark on a journey through their creative evolution, exploring the captivating projects, bold visions, and inspiring endeavors that have shaped their artistic trajectories since their initial appearance on our discussion panel.

Moderator:

Randy Quansah, Host & Founder, Kujo's Kid Zone

I am a Canadian-raised bilingual (English/French) black man and YouTube show host/founder, set out to create a series of episodes aimed at teaching young children and their parents about the wonders of the world at a child's level--using science, stories, music, social awareness, and conversation to learn about how to grow up kind, brave, curious and be proud of who you are. The show’s approach is based on early childhood education principles mixed with exploring social causes and issues such as racism, culture, diversity, and biases. The new iteration of our show is set in a community centre with BIPOC representation, music, experiments, anthropology, creativity and silliness.

Speakers:

Cherryl Foggo - Award-winning Author, Playwright & Filmmaker

Cheryl Foggo whose work over the last 30 years has focused on the lives of Western Canadians of African descent. Her full-length National Film Board documentary John Ware Reclaimed will have its World Premiere at CIFF on September 24th. The 30th-anniversary edition of her book Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West, has just been released by Brush Education Press. She also recently directed the short film Kicking Up a Fuss: The Charles Daniels Story. Her play, John Ware Reimagined, won the 2015 Writers Guild of Alberta Award for Drama and was produced most recently at Workshop West Theatre Company in November 2017. Also in 2017, she was recognized by the YWCA as one of 150 outstanding Calgary women. She is a past recipient of the Sondra Kelly Screenplay Award from the Writers Guild of Canada. In 2014 she co-produced Alberta’s first Black Canadian Theatre Series with Ellipsis Tree Collective Theatre Company.

Misha Maseka - Founder of Village Girls

Misha Maseka (she/her) is an award-winning Zambian director, producer, writer and founder of Village Girls -- a female-led production company focussed on cinema featuring women of the global majority behind and in front of the camera. Living in four different countries by the age of twelve set Misha up for a trajectory of global citizenship and cultural adaptability reflected in her style and choice of creative pursuits. This notion is apparent in her debut film, Not That Deep” (Best Short and Audience Choice Award winner at Berlin Short Film Festival) and her passion in researching the intersections of the framing of history, modernity and storytelling practice in various central African cultures. With music as her longest practice (which has taken her to the stages of Germany and all over Canada), she makes time to write and perform music under the stage name, Lemba and frequently sings with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

Faith Louissaint - Actress/Model/Musician

Faith Louissaint is an award-winning Canadian actress, stunt driver, model, and musician. In addition to those roles, she’s also an independent software developer, wife and mother or two young girls. Faith was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. And she enjoys the city of Calgary where she calls home.

Sarah Uwadiae - Filmmaker and Multidisciplinary Artist

Sarah is a Nigerian filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist based in Calgary. She also designs production sets and costumes for stage and film all around Canada. Her short film Trapped (in her head) won a Merit Award at the 2020 Canada Shorts - Canadian & International Film Festival. More recently, her film To Belong was an official selection at the Toronto Documentary Feature and Short Film Festival 2023, and it was also recognized as the Best Human Interest film at the festival. She was a member of the Being Black in Canada 2021 film program by Netflix. Her short documentary Home premiered at the Calgary Black Film Festival in 2022. Sarah is also the Creator and Host of the podcast “Afros in the Diaspora” where African and Black immigrants from the Caribbean can share their experiences as immigrants in the diaspora. Sarah is the 2022 winner of the RBC Emerging Artist Award, an honour presented by the Mayor of Calgary.