21 Black Futures is a Canadian film and theatre project, broadcast by CBC Gem in 2021.[1] Created in conjunction with the Black Canadian theatre company Obsidian Theatre to mark both Black History Month and the 21st anniversary of Obsidian,[2] the project commissioned 21 short film adaptations of theatrical monologues on the theme of "the future of Blackness" by Black Canadian writers,[3] each performed by a Black actor on the stage of Meridian Hall in Toronto.[1]
The project was commissioned in part because the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada had prevented the staging of a traditional theatre festival.[1]
The project aired over three weeks in February 2021, with seven films premiering each week on February 12, 19 and 26.[4]
| Film | Director | Writer | Actor | Synopsis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Death News | Charles Officer | Amanda Parris | Lovell Adams-Gray | A man performs and records his own obituary on The Death News, a television show which airs testimonials by the recently deceased, to be broadcast in the event of his future death. | |
| The Sender | Leah-Simone Bowen | Cheryl Foggo | Amanda Cordner | Cil Brown is a Sender with a project that exiles racists to their own island society. | |
| 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 has moved with her mother to an all-Black town, but finds that although she fits in with her classmates at school she misses the feeling of being special and different. | |
| Umoja Corp. | Leighton Alexander Williams | Jacob Sampson | Pablo Ogunlesi | A corporation that works to amass and defend Black knowledge and strength steps in to help Adrian after he runs into trouble with the law. | |
| Notice | Ngozi Paul | Luke Reece | Lisa Berry | Inspired by the global anti-racism protests that took place during her childhood in 2020, the now-adult Crystal Hinds rises into a position to make a powerful difference in 2045. | |
| Blackberries | Alicia K. Harris | Miali-Elise Coley-Sudlovenick | Adeline Bird | Effie, a woman of mixed African and Inuk heritage, travels to Nunavut for her grandmother's funeral. | |
| Emmett | Tanisha Taitt | Syrus Marcus Ware | Prince Amponsah | Medgar, one of the few survivors of a catastrophe that largely wiped out human civilization seven years earlier, talks about his life and recalls his relationship with his lover Emmett. | |
| Georgeena | Weyni Mengesha | Djanet Sears | Virgilia Griffith | After fleeing her wedding when she realized she was marrying into an all-white world, Georgeena believes she is going to die because her car is being followed. | |
| Rebirth of the Afronauts: A Black Space Odyssey | Jerome Kruin | Wendy Motion Brathwaite | Chelsea Russell | In 2059, Chariott receives a mysterious call that leads her on an exploration of whole new vistas of experience. | |
| 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 |
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Web Program or Series, Fiction | Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Lucius Dechausay, Fatuma Adar, Michael Sinclair, Myekah Payne, Grazyna Krupa | [5] | |||
| Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series | |||||
| [6] | |||||
| Best Supporting Performance, Web Program or Series | Chelsea Russell | ||||
| Best Direction, Web Program or Series | Lucius Dechausay | ||||
| Best Writing, Web Program or Series | |||||