Did you know that Barack and Michelle Obama are behind one of the most anticipated films opening the Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF)? The Eyes of Ghana was produced by Ghanaian-Canadian Nana Adwoa Frimpong and directed by Oscar-winning Canadian filmmaker Ben Proudfoot. As for Barack and Michelle, they are among t executive producers.
The film takes us to Ghana at the time of its independence, through the eyes and footage of Chris Hesse, now 93, who served as cinematographer to Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president. His remarkable collection of more than 1,000 films offers a unique record of the country’s early years of independence. The Eyes of Ghana had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025 and will open the 22nd edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival on September 23.
Founded by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, the Festival will boast a lineup of 70 films from 21 countries, including one North American premiere, eight Canadian premieres, 35 Quebec premieres, two Montreal premieres, and three world premieres.
For more than 22 years, the MIBFF has been committed to amplifying Black voices on screen and providing a vital platform for filmmakers whose works raise awareness, foster dialogue, and inspire social change. As Canada’s largest Black film festival and the only bilingual (French-English) festival of its kind in North America, the MIBFF continues to highlight a new generation of cinema that moves audiences, challenges perspectives, and celebrates the diversity of Black experiences around the world.
“Each edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival is an affirmation: our stories matter, our voices matter, and our cinema has a place at the heart of the cultural landscape,” says Colas. “In 2026, as the world undergoes profound transformations, MIBFF remains an essential space for bringing stories to light that challenge, unite, and move things forward. We want to continue giving a platform to filmmakers who dare to tell stories differently, shedding light on realities that are too often overlooked, building bridges between cultures and generations, and opening new pathways for the next generation. Cinema does more than reflect the world: it can help transform it. That is why we will continue, with boldness and conviction, to celebrate the richness of Black voices from here and around the world, to champion free, independent, and diverse cinema, and to make MIBFF a place where stories become memories, where encounters become opportunities, and where dreams become reality. Wishing everyone a wonderful festival!”
The screening of The Eyes of Ghana will be preceded by a tribute to award-winning Quebec producer Éric Idriss-Kanago, who will be presented with the MIBFF Avant-Garde Award.
The #MIBFF26 will close with the Quebec premiere of DIYA, directed by Achille Ronaimou. The screening will take place on Sunday, September 28 , at 5 p.m. at the Cinéma du Musée. Tickets: $25, available on the festival website.
Through a deeply human and intimate narrative, DIYA explores the themes of resilience, identity, and personal transformation, offering a powerful reflection on contemporary realities and the complexity of human relationships.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Dates: September 23 to 27, 2026
Main venues:
Théâtre Outremont (1248 Bernard Street W, Outremont)
Cinéma du Musée (1379-A Sherbrooke Street W.)
Cinéma du Parc (3575 du Parc Avenue)
Cinéma Public (505 Jean-Talon Street E.)
Maison de la culture Côte-des-Neiges (5290 Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges)
Maison culturelle et communautaire de Montréal-Nord (12004 Bd Rolland Local 202H, Montreal-Nord)
Colas Theatre (3990 Notre Dame Street W, Montreal)
Concordia Theatre – Concordia University SGWU Alumni Auditorium (1455 de Maisonneuve Street W.
For ticket information, log on to https://montrealblackfilm.com/en/tickets-and-passes/
ROCK ON: Three time Juno award winner Tom Wilson OC and Juno nominated vocalist Leela Baum of The Damn Truth will join guitar great Frank Marino, Montreal rock/blues/soul/funk favourite Shane Murphy and several other ace Montreal musicians to salute the 60th anniversary of the historic collaborations between Bob Dylan and The Band on Friday November 6 (7:30 pm) at The Beanfield Theatre. Wilson is preparing for the opening of his play ‘Beautiful Scars’ – based on the National best-seller he wrote about his late-in-life discovery of his Mohawk roots in Kahnawake. Wilson will be joined by his son Thompson, who has been a frequent collaborator on the road and in the studio. Tom Wilson was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2023. Baum is the dynamic vocalist of Montreal rockers The Damn Truth who are about to return to England after spending most of the summer in Europe in support of their self-titled Juno nominated album that was produced by Bob Rock. Baum will be joined by her husband and the band’s guitarist extraordinaire Tom Shemer.
The Million Dollar Bash one night music fest will focus on the signature moments that Bob Dylan & The Band created from the frantic first plugged in tour in 1966 through the peace and quiet of Woodstock where they invented the Americana movement while recording The Basement Tapes and Music From Big Pink, all the way through the first half of the seventies before saying goodbye at The Last Waltz in San Fransisco 50 years ago this November.
Frank Marino has fronted Mahogany Rush since he was a teenager in the late 1960s. His upcoming appearance is the latest in a series of shows he’s done since coming out of retirement at a benefit concert at Le 9e in late 2025. His recent free outdoor show in Little Italy to kick of Italfest was his first full length concert in 16 years. When Marino made his return to the stage in December 2025 he was flanked by another Monreal guitar slinger Shane Murphy who returns from the recording studio where he is prepping his follow up album to 2024’s Easy Street which got regular play on Canadian rock stations. Murphy also contributed the main theme to the Crave docuseries Kings of Coke. Murphy, Marino, Baum, Wilson and others will be supported by two house bands including the return of Crawdaddy featuring Rob MacDonald (guitar), Santo Romano (vocals & harmonica),
Alec McElcheran (bass & vocals) and Dan Legault (drums). MacDonald has been a frequent band leader for many of the major events produced by Billy Bob Productions. Howard Bilerman of the famed hotel2tango recording studio in Mile End has also assembled an impressive group of indie artists who will perform as Big Pink. They too have supported everal
Billy Bob Productions is behind the program, having previously presented events including the 40th Anniversary of The Last Waltz in 2016, the Southern Soul and Rock and Roll Revue in 2018 and the 2025 benefit concert Carry On: The Songs of Laurel Canyon. They also perform together in several Montreal bands including The Firemen, El Coyote and the Key-Lites: Mike O’Brien (guitar & vocals), Josh Toal (bass & vocals), Simon Nakonechny (organ, accordion) and Bilerman (drums). They’ll be joined by singer-songwriters Chris Velan and Campbell Woods and Plants & Animals drummer Woody Woodley. For tickets Theatrebeanfield.ca or call 1-877-668-8269.
THE MASK AND THE MIRROR: Canadian singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt will be commemorating the anniversary of her album ‘The Mask and Mirror’ with a tour in Eastern Canada. This marks the second leg of the anniversary tour, first performed for European festival audiences in the summer of 2024. October 26 and 27 and November 2 will mark her first-ever performances at Montreal’s magnificent Maison Symphonique. Six other concerts in the region include Ottawa (Oct. 20), Québec (Oct. 21-22), Saguenay (Oct. 23-24) and Sherbrooke (Oct. 25). The 1994 studio album – her fifth – was described by Billboard magazine that same year as “timeless and transcendent”. Celebrated for its ‘cross-cultural fertilization’, it weaves together Celtic, Spanish and Moroccan influences. The album has been called “one of the most celebrated albums by the artist” and “a turning point in Loreena’s music”. It has sold more than two million copies worldwide.
McKennitt proclaims she followed “paths of inspiration” and that the album “examines the questions that echo down the centuries – Who was God? What is religion, what spirituality? What was revealed and what was concealed and what was the mask and what the mirror?” The first set each evening will feature ‘fan favourites’, while the second set will include every song on the album. Loreena will be accompanied by musical companions Caroline Lavelle on cello, Brian Hughes on guitar, Hugh Marsh on violin, Dudley Phillips on bass and Robert Brian on drums. “This album was a historical and musical pilgrimage for me and I’m thrilled to bring this concert home,” McKennitt states. “This is a milestone anniversary in my career and I look forward to celebrating it with Canadian audiences, including Atlantic Canada where we have not performed in a decade.”
McKennitt’s eclectic Celtic blend of pop, folk and world music has sold more than 14 million albums worldwide. Her recordings have achieved Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum status in 15 countries on four continents. She has twice been nominated for a GRAMMY® Award and has won two Juno Awards, as well as a Billboard International Achievement Award. McKennitt was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in March 2023 and The Canadian Music Hall of Fame in May 2025.
For more information: loreenamckennitt.com
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