The Toronto Black Film Festival (TBFF) has unveiled the official program and events lineup for its 12th annual edition, highlighted by celebrations of an acclaimed action hero and a late Canadian filmmaker.
This year's festival will see Pam Grier presented with TBFF's Career Achievement Award, honouring the impact of her trailblazing career. Grier will be celebrated with a screening of 1974's Foxy Brown at the Isabel Bader Theatre on February 15.
TBFF president and founder Fabienne Colas called welcoming Grier to this year’s event “a true privilege for us all and quite a coup for Toronto and the festival,” sharing in a release, “She has blazed a trail for so many Black women in cinema and has left an indelible mark not only on the Blaxploitation genre but on the film industry as a whole.”
The 2024 edition of TBFF will also pay tribute to late Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer, who passed away in December. Officer's life and artistic talents will be celebrated with a screening of his Saul Williams-led 2020 film Akilla's Escape at the Carlton Cinema on February 17.
Running from February 14 to 19, TBFF will showcase over 80 films from 20 countries including Canada, Switzerland, Portugal, Finland, Germany, Rwanda, Sudan, Ghana, Jamaica and more.
The complete slate of programming features films starring Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def), Shaggy, Sean Paul, Shabba Ranks, Galaletsang Koffma, Patricia Chin, Bobby Konders, Jacquel Knight, Leera Mthethwa, Marcus Mabusela, Lerato Makhetha, Lucindo Brito, Nunha Gomes, Evandro Pereira, Aline Amike, Daniel Gaga, Beatrice Mukandayishimiye and more.
All-access passes and individual tickets are available for purchase via the Toronto Black Film Festival's official website.