Celebrating global Black storytelling and creative excellence
through 40 films from around the world, both In-Person & Online!
#HIBFF26 shines a spotlight on bold, diverse, and innovative voices—stories that challenge perspectives, ignite conversations, and resonate across cultures.
#HIBFF26 Opens with Jean-Gabriel Leynaud’s OF MUD AND BLOOD
Full program, local events schedule, all-access passes and individual tickets available now at:HalifaxBlackFilm.com
(Halifax, NS) – Celebrating a decade of impact, the Halifax Black Film Festival returns for its 10th edition (#HBFF26), running February 20–24, 2026, in person and online – continuing to spotlight bold Black voices and powerful storytelling.
#HBFF26, created by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, presented by TD Bank Group (TD), in collaboration with Global News, will present 40 films virtually as well as in-person at Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane, along with special events at the John W. Lindsay YMCA (5640 Sackville Street) in Halifax.
“As the Halifax Black Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, we reflect with pride on a decade of amplifying Black voices, fostering inclusion, and creating meaningful opportunities for Black filmmakers and artists. HBFF has grown into a vital cultural platform during African Heritage Month, made possible by the unwavering support of TD Bank Group, Global News, all our partners and our dedicated community. This year’s anniversary program features powerful premieres that celebrate resilience, creativity, and excellence, and we warmly invite audiences to join us in this special celebration.” – says Fabienne Colas, President and Founder of the Black Film Festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver.
The 10th edition of the Halifax Black Film Festival showcases three international films that speak powerfully to the question of how work shapes identity: how labor is not merely something we do, but something that defines how we see ourselves, how we are seen by others, and how we survive within systems that weren't necessarily built to accommodate everyone.
The opening film is the Halifax premiere of documentary feature OF MUD AND BLOOD (2024), directed by Jean-Gabriel Leynaud. Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Of Mud and Blood revolves around the lives of diggers and miners in mineral-rich Numbi, a rural valley with mixed settlements and dirt roads beside an expanse of mountains. Its main character is Ujumbe Sabahutu Claude, a digger who faces significant financial struggles that are only partially alleviated by his work in the mines. Many of the diggers, like Ujumbe, grew up impoverished as child fighters or survivors of the genocide in Rwanda. Their lives are militarised by the conflict and violence of their region. The film will be screened at Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane on Friday, February 20, at 7 p.m.
Narrative feature film SNAKE (2024), directed by Meg Rickards and set in South Africa, is when a luminous stranger arrives on the farm, Stella's father stays sober, and her mother begins to laugh again. But the man with the silver cross has not come to save them. As Jerry slithers his way into their hearts, his own dark wounds begin to show. Stella must shut up and watch him strangle her family or use the truth to fight for their lives. The film will be screened at Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane on Saturday, February 21, at 3 p.m.
The closing film is Australia’s PASA FAHO (2025), directed by Kalu Oji. When Azubuike’s 12-year-old son moves in with him, the struggling shoe salesman finds himself balancing fatherhood and the slow collapse of his small shop. As the pair navigate their estrangement, the unspoken becomes a language of its own; one shaped by pride, duty, and the quiet weight of expectation. With the future of both the shop and their relationship hanging in the balance, father and son must find a way to bridge the distance between one another. The film will be screened at Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane on Saturday, February 21, at 7 p.m.
“All three of these films reflect the festival’s commitment to cinema that speaks directly to lived experience,” says Jean-François Méan, Senior Programmer, Black Film Festivals with the Fabienne Colas Foundation. “They honour labour not as an abstraction, but as a shaping force in people’s lives, connecting local realities to global stories, and reminding us that the work people do, or are denied, profoundly shapes who they are.”
FABIENNE COLAS FOUNDATION’S BEING BLACK IN CANADA, presented by NETFLIX, in collaboration with the National Bank, and supported by Telefilm Canada
Cineplex Parklane – Saturday, February 21, 5 p.m. IN PERSON & ONLINE
Thirty emerging Black filmmakers from Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver – from the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Being Black in Canada program – will present their WORLD PREMIERE short films in-person, thanks to the support of Netflix, National Bank, Telefilm Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Creates and various local partners.
HBFF26 highlights two Being Black in Halifax filmmakers:
Chanice Lorde and her film CROWNED, which shines a light on Black women rewriting narratives formed in their earlier years. Through raw, intimate reflections, they reveal how shame targeted at Afro-textured hair has transformed into knowledge, pride, and radical self-love – encouraging audiences to unapologetically embrace themselves in their natural state.
Damini and her film HYPHENATED, which examines identity among Canadians with hyphenated cultural identities. It explores tensions between heritage and home, language and belonging, pride and pressure. Centring young people’s experiences through interviews, Hyphenated asks: what does it mean to be Canadian, and what does home mean; capturing the quiet reality of existing in the-between.
"TD is proud to support the Halifax Black Film Festival this African Heritage Month as we celebrate Black culture, history, and creativity. These moments help bring people together and shine a light on the many voices, talents, and experiences that shape our communities."
– TD Bank Group
"Global News is proud to once again be a partner with the Halifax Black Film Festival. We want to congratulate the Festival for continuing to elevate the work of Black filmmakers and helping to share these important stories. Thank you for inspiring so many people.”
– Philip Croucher/Global Maritimes News Manager
CANADIAN SPOTLIGHT
Extending a commitment to strong and diverse storytelling, Canadian Spotlight is a special program created by the Montreal International Black Film Festival to showcase landmark works that explore Black experiences from a Canadian perspective. The Halifax Black Film Festival is proud to be able to bring this important program to Nova Scotia in collaboration with other Black film festivals across the country, including Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver; made possible thanks to the generous support of the Fabienne Colas Foundation.
Through this shared national initiative, #HBFF26 is able to curate and present impactful Canadian films to our local audiences, creating space for reflection, dialogue, and connection.
This year’s line-up offers remarkable stories across a wide range of themes, from family, history and traditions, and murder and mystery, to mental health, social issues, racism and discrimination, climate change, politics and resistance, women’s issues and empowerment, music, dance, and art, LGBTQ experiences, Black representation, comedy, migration and displacement, sci-fi and Afrofuturism, and identity. For the full line-up, visit: HalifaxBlackFilm.com
Additional programming includes:
THE HBFF BLACK MARKET, presented by Telefilm Canada
The HBFF Black Market space is dedicated to the cinema industry and to raising awareness of today’s social climate with powerful and free panel discussions. The in-person panels will take place at the John W. Lindsay YMCA on Saturday, February 20, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
FREE panels include:
In-Person Events
- Welcome to the Atlantic Federation of Documentary Filmmakers (AFCOOP)
- 10 years of Advocating for Black Voices in the film industry: The Evolution of Black Cinema: Past, Present, and Future
- Spotlight Stories: Film Industry Q&A Series
Online Event
- Mastering Grant Writing: A Practice Workshop
TICKETS & PASSES:
The #HBFF26 online All-Access Pass is available for $45, and the In-Person All-Access Pass is $39. Individual in-person tickets are $12 for regular film screenings, $20 for the Opening Night film, and $15 for the Closing Night film with Q&A.
The full program, All-Access Passes, and individual tickets are available now at: HalifaxBlackFilm.com
Get Social #HBFF26
About the Halifax Black Film Festival
Created in 2017 by the Fabienne Colas Foundation (FCF), the Halifax Film Festival (HBFF) is part of a solid affiliated Black Film Festivals’ Network in Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver. Independently incorporated, the Halifax Black Film Festival is dedicated to celebrating the very best in cinematic work dealing with the varied experiences of black people from diverse communities. Its mandate is to provide an opportunity for filmmakers to shine the spotlight on authentic stories that reflect the realities of black experiences. To learn more, visit:HalifaxBlackFilm.com
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