Spike Lee is coming to the Montreal International Black Film Festival on Sept. 25

Spike Lee is returning to Montreal as the honorary President of the 20th edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF). In an intimate conversation taking place on Sept. 25 at l’Olympia, with festival founder Fabienne Colas, MIBFF celebrates its emerald anniversary with a look back at over 40 years of one of America’s greatest working filmmakers. This reflection on the past gives way to a festival and programming effort that looks both at the present and toward the future.

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More than just a festival, MIBFF (which runs from Sept. 25 to 29 this year) continues to engage with community outreach and celebration. The Black Market is an industry series that promotes networking through panels and events that blend the practical and the theoretical as a means of fostering entrepreneurship in filmmaking. With in-person and online events, the MIBFF remains committed to accessibility in creating an environment for innovation and community within the Black filmmaking community. 

This year’s edition also includes a number of connected events, from red carpet screenings to the Pop-Up Market on Sept. 28 at the Afromusée, featuring a wide range of artisans and artists showcasing their work. The festival will similarly feature screenings at venues across the city as part of their Neighbourhood series, as a means of inviting people from all over Montreal to experience their programming. 

As for their films, this year’s program balances (as always) a strong selection of short, medium and feature films from across the world. Expect screenings of Quebec cinema as well as movies from Italy, the United States, France, Haïti, Martinique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Belgium (among others), highlighting the diversity of the Black experience. 

As MIBFF offers a wide variety of films to choose from, we’ve selected five recommended titles to see at the festival’s 2024 edition.

Fight Like a Girl

Based on a true story, Fight Like a Girl is about a young Congolese woman who’s forced to work in an illegal mineral mine, and escapes her captors to finds a new life for herself after joining a renowned all-women boxing club in the border city of Goma. The filmmakers cast local street kids, militia members and boxers from the real club in supporting roles to add authenticity to the story. This is a unique and inspiring sports film with an unconventional but gripping style. 

Fight Like a Girl screens at Cinéma du Quartier Latin (350 Émery) on Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. 

Luther: Never Too Much

A documentary portrait on the legendary Luther Vandross, Luther: Never Too Much chronicles the story of a vocal virtuoso. Using a wealth of rarely seen archives, Luther tells his own story with assistance from his closest friends and musical collaborators, including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack. The film relives the many stunning moments of Vandross’s Grammy award-winning musical career, while exploring his personal life, health struggles and a lifelong battle to earn the respect his music deserved.

Luther: Never Too Much screens at Cinéma du Musée (1379A Sherbrooke W.) on Sept. 27 at 9 p.m.

The Last Meal

Reynold is dying of stomach cancer. He uses the occasion of his last meals to share them with his daughter Vanessa, whom he hasn’t seen in 20 years. Hesitant at first, Vanessa agrees to see her father again. As the meal progresses, a ritual begins to take hold, with traditional dishes acting as reminders of the past. Vanessa discovers who her father really is: a loving man whose heart was hardened by the dictatorship he lived through. This is a tender and powerful local film about freedom and family. 

The Last Meal screens at Cinéma du Musée (1379A Sherbrooke W.) on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.

Sway

A Black community leader who has it all sees his life spiral out of control within hours after his brother goes missing. After he’s blackmailed by a strange woman, a murder tests how far he will go to protect the ones he loves. A profound exploration of Black identity, masculinity and trauma, Sway is a Canadian film that packs an incredible punch. 

Sway screens at Cinéma du Musée (1379A Sherbrooke W.) on Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. It is also available on the MIBFF’s online platform from Sept. 25 to 30. 

Kidnapping Inc.

Kidnapping Inc. recently premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival, where it won the Gold Prize in the Audience Awards for Best Quebec Feature. Bruno Mourral directs this comedy thriller about two hapless kidnappers in Haïti who end up in the middle of a political conspiracy. A laugh-out-loud and occasionally harrowing film about misunderstanding, corruption and family, Kidnapping Inc. is one of this year’s very best. 

Kidnapping Inc. screens at Concordia University (1455 de Maisonneuve W.) on Sept. 27. at 8:30 p.m. 

For more on the Montreal International Black Film Festival, please visit their website.

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