Massimadi is a festival that wears several hats at the same time. The Montreal Afro-Caribbean LGBT film festival is at once a representation of the black-gay community on the big screen, an educational opportunity and an umbrella for all the issues that the community has to face.
This raises the dilemma of how to do all these things &- how to represent a community as vibrant and as diverse – when you have only 10 movies and a week to do it.
The festival is still a young venture. Its 2010 edition featured one film a week for a month. Needless to say, it has since grown considerably. Now in its third year, it is organized by local non-profit Arc en Ciel D’Afrique. Part of their mission is to combat homophobia in Quebec. Steve François, one of four festival coordinators, joined the organization last year. He came in with the hopes of improving what the festival had to offer. “[Last year] we didn’t feature a lot of the issues that the black community also has, about AIDS, about coming out when you’re black and in your community,” he explained.
The film selection is varied. The festival features movies from countries as far-flung as Uganda, the United States and the Bahamas. The topics broached, however, still resonate here. “The struggle is the same because you have to fight in your own community to be able to be accepted as gay,” François said. At their root, the issues are the same, but come in varying degrees. As François highlighted, gay rights are not progressing at the same pace in every part of the world.
The festival is dedicated to the memory of David Kato Kisule, a Ugandan activist murdered at the beginning of January. He’s also featured in The Kuchus of Uganda, which is being screened Thursday.
Ultimately, François hopes Massimadi will be a starting point. “We want to make sure that people know there are gays and lesbians in the black community – that we’re here, we’re in movies, we’re not just some statistic, we are people.” For him, the festival has to be an exchange &- with the people at the movie, with the community, and with Montreal.
STEVE’S PICKS (note to prod: small box for this if possible)
Here are three movies that festival coordinator Steve François says are must-sees.
Children of God
Three individuals set off to the island of Eleuthera to escape their problems.
Friday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the ONF, 1564 St-Denis St.
Black Aura on an Angel
A burgeoning love affair between two women is hurt by mental illness.
Friday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at the ONF.
The Kuchus of Uganda
A documentary about radical Ugandan LGBT activists risk their lives in order to obtain gay rights.
Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. at the ONF.
Massimadi runs until Feb. 12. All screenings are free, but there is a suggested donation of $5. For the complete festival schedule, visit www.arcencieldafrique.org/massimadi/le-festival.
Massimadi is a festival that wears several hats at the same time. The Montreal Afro-Caribbean LGBT film festival is at once a representation of the black-gay community on the big screen, an educational opportunity and an umbrella for all the issues that the community has to face.
