| Defund | |
| Director: | Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah Araya Mengesha |
| Producer: | Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah Araya Mengesha J Stevens |
| Starring: | Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah Araya Mengesha Karen Robinson |
| Music: | Denise De'ion |
| Cinematography: | J Stevens |
| Editing: | J Stevens |
| Runtime: | 14 minutes |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
Defund is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah and Araya Mengesha and released in 2021.[1] The film stars Roberts-Abdullah and Mengesha as a sister and brother who have been in isolation in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, and must confront the complexities of political activism when they are motivated to get out into the streets during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.[2]
The film's cast also includes Karen Robinson, Vivien Endicott-Douglas, Getenesh Berhe, Nickeshia Garrick, Richard Lam and Anand Rajaram.
The film premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival,[3] and was subsequently screened at the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival.
The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2021.[4]