Presented in conjunction with MOA’s new feature exhibition Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots (on display until March 27, 2022), this mini film festival features a series of short documentaries about the African diaspora in the Americas.

Through these films, engage with the hidden histories of Canadian urban planning projects and their impacts on historic Black Canadian communities, and celebrate Africa’s rich cultural heritage that has survived through centuries.

Remember Africville (at 11:05 am)
Shelagh Mackenzie| 1991 | 35 min | English | Canada

This film, produced by the National Film Board, explores the history of Africville, a small Black settlement within the city limits of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Former residents, their descendants, and some urban planners speak out about the decision to demolish the settlement in the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal and integration.

Hogan’s Alley (at 11:45 am)
Cornelia Wyngaarden and Andrea Fatona | 1994 | 32 min | Canada | English

This short documentary tells the unrecorded history of Vancouver’s Black community, specifically Hogan’s Alley, between 1930 and the late 1960s, examining the lives of three Black women.

Secret Vancouver: Return to Hogan’s Alley (at 12:20 pm)
Melinda Friedman| 2016 | 16 min | English | Canada

This short documentary features rich archival materials as well as interviews with academics and community members to tell the story of how this former hotbed of jazz was destroyed due to gentrification and urban renewal.

They Are We (at 1:30 pm)
Emma Christopher| 2014 | 1 h 17 min | English | Cuba

They Are We shows the reunion of a family separated by the Transatlantic slave trade, joined by their ancestral songs and dances. The film digs deeper into the Afro-Cuban songs and dances brought by an ancestor during the slave trade to Perico, Cuba, tracing back the origins to a remote village in Sierra Leone. Christopher’s film is a colorful celebration of Afro-Cuban culture and the cultural heritage that has survived through centuries.

Proof of vaccination

As per provincial orders, all special event participants 12 and older will be required to provide proof of vaccination (eg. BC Vaccine Card). MOA reserves the right to deny entry or participation to anyone who doesn’t comply with MOA’s stated policies, procedures and visitor code of conduct.