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Local artists on the black history moment they’d like to see on screen
“I’ve always been interested in the Harlem Renaissance in the 20s and 30s. But what I’ve recently discovered is there was a group of artists and intellectuals who actually instigated this happening. They literally sat down and made the decision to start a black arts movement where painters, poets, writers, intellectuals and creative people could come together. Harlem was a black mecca.”
IAN KAMAU, emcee, spoken word artist, program coordinator, Schools Without Borders, faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s community school
“I would like to see a movie that utilizes African descendants as actors and depicts Biblical history and ancient Egyptian history looking at the civilizations and realities of African life pre-slavery. Also, a good film on the rise of Marcus Garvey. That’s a history that needs to be preserved and told so we can see the impact of his movement on subsequent movements in the 20th century for human rights, civil rights and spirituality.”
MOTION, dub poet
“The moment the first black NHL player, Willie O’Ree, stepped on the ice. It was January 18, 1958, when O’Ree played for the Boston Bruins against Montreal at the Forum. There wouldn’t be another black hockey player in the NHL until 1974. O’Ree survived on the ice alone for more than 15 years.”
BEAU DIXON, theatre actor
“I would make a film about the lives of people living in this city who were thrown off welfare. I would film the working poor whose children are kicked out of school and choose violence because they feel alienated from society. I would film the faces of the mothers and fathers who have lost their children to gun violence. And then I would lock the mayor, the premier and the prime minister in a room and force them to watch the film over and over and over again until all levels of government follow through on their promises for affordable housing and eliminating child poverty.”
ANDREW MOODIE, playwright, director
“I’ve always been fascinated by Bob Marley. Whenever I travel around the world, I see his image everywhere. I just came from Turkey, and I’m walking through this little village and there is his photograph. He’s a symbol of freedom for the downtrodden and the oppressed, the first Third World superstar in a way. The film could trace the journey that started when he was 16 years old and formed a band with his best friends, got stranded in London with no money, walked into Island Records and said, ‘We’re from Jamaica and we’re superstars and we think we can make music for you,’ and it would end with his death at 36 from cancer.”
CLEMENT VIRGO, filmmaker, whose latest film, Poor Boy’s Game, will be released on DVD in February
Audio Clips
Ian Kamau speaks about what inspiring in history he would want to make into film
Addresses what gaps she sees with blacks and film
Clement Virgo talks about the black icon he he would love to make a movie about
Clement Virgo details how he would tell the Bob Marley story
