The 6th annual Ottawa Black Film Festival is back from March 20-24, 2026
- Ottawa Festival Network
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Creative Excellence with 40 films from around the
globe! #OBFF26 celebrates Black creativity with powerful, diverse, and innovative programming–an inspiring showcase of stories that push boundaries and spark dialogue.
After five successful editions, the Ottawa Black Film Festival (#OBFF26) returns in person & online to amplify Black voices with an exciting and impactful 6th edition.
Founded by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, OBFF is pleased to announce its official
hybrid program and events lineup, running March 20 to 24, 2026. The in-person screenings
and events will take place at La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins. As of 9 p.m. EST on
Friday, March 20, all films will be accessible online.
Marking its sixth edition, the Ottawa Black Film Festival features 40 films, insightful panels,
creative workshops, and community events that promote connection and dialogue. It
celebrates the vision and resilience of creators from diverse backgrounds, providing a
powerful space for their voices and stories to be heard.
This sixth edition highlights the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s award-winning BEING BLACK
IN CANADA short film series, the OBFF Black Market, special in-person screenings of:
L’été de Jahia, The fisherman, Of Mud and Blood, a series of 7 short films, as well as a
Special Canadian Spotlight of 8 feature films.
“The Ottawa Black Film Festival has become an essential platform for diverse voices and
powerful storytelling. Seeing our audience grow year after year is incredibly inspiring and
confirms how much these stories matter. We are deeply grateful to our partners, filmmakers
and festivalgoers whose support makes this celebration possible. I invite everyone to join us
from March 20 to 24, 2026, to experience outstanding films and discover extraordinary
talent, both in-person and online.” – said Fabienne Colas, President and Founder of the
Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver Black Film Festivals.
OPENING EVENING RED CARPET GALA
The opening night promises to be a star-studded, red-carpet event, taking place on Friday,
March 20 at 6 p.m. EST, and it opens with Olivier Meys’s L’été de Jahia, available only
in-person.
In a Belgian asylum center, Jahia lives a quiet, guarded life with her traumatized mother.
Everything shifts when spirited Mila arrives. Drawn together, the two young girls form a
fragile bond that brings warmth and resilience into an environment marked by fear and
uncertainty. Jahia begins cooking to comfort her mother, while Mila faces the looming verdict that will decide her asylum claim. Their friendship becomes a refuge, a space where hope can breathe despite the shadows of exile. With sensitivity and restraint, Olivier Meys shapes a tender, Dardenne-like tale about belonging, childhood solidarity, and the fragile balance between safety and loss.
CENTRAL PIECES
As part of this year’s feature film selections, The Fisherman, directed by Zoey Martinson, is
a narrative feature from Ghana. A traditional Ghanaian fisherman forced into retirement
teams up with a sarcastic talking fish and his GenZ associates on a whimsical adventure to
Accra, chasing their dream of owning a boat while learning to navigate the modern world.
Filled with laughter, magic, and the vibrant culture of Ghana, The Fisherman made history as
Ghana’s first official selection at the 81st Venice Film Festival, winning the Fellini Medal from
UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Prize.
Also, the festival will present the documentary feature Of Mud and Blood, directed by
Jean-Gabriel Leynaud. Numbi, a small village hidden in the heart of the mountains of the
Congo DRC. Here, with bare hands, miners extract coltan, which will find its way - legally or
not - to our industrialized world. For decades, this grey gold, essential for the manufacture of
modern technological devices, has been the source of conflicts and ruthless exploitation. By
sharing their lives and intimacy, Of Blood and Mud documents the daily existence of the
inhabitants of Numbi. Revealing their ordeals and their illusory hope of escaping their fate
and one day benefiting from the riches of Congo.
CANADIAN SPOTLIGHT (ONLINE ONLY)
A key pillar of this year’s festival is the Canadian Spotlight, presented online. This special program was created to highlight landmark works that explore Black experiences from a Canadian perspective.
Rather than focusing on a single theme or genre, the Spotlight brings together films that
reflect regional voices, diasporic experiences, and experimental approaches within Canada -
and that engage it as a social, political, and cultural space. Presented online, the Canadian
Spotlight extends the festival’s reach beyond Ottawa and makes these important works
accessible to audiences nationwide.
Subjects of Desire — 2021 by Jennifer Holness — online only March 20 – 24
Someone Like Me (Une Personne Comme Moi) — 2021 by Sean Horlor & Steve J. Adams — online only March 20 – 24
Il n’y a pas de faux métier (There are no false undertakings) — 2020 by Olivier Godin — online only March 20 – 24
Rumba Rules, Nouvelles Généalogies (Rumba Rules, New Genealogies) — 2020 by David N. Bernatchez et Sammy Baloji — online only March 20 – 24
Zo Reken — 2021 by Emanuel Licha — online only March 20 – 24
Kite Zo A: Leave the Bones — 2022 by Kaveh Nabatian — online only March 20 – 24
Stateless — 2023 by Michèle Stephenson — online only March 20 – 24
Dope is Death — 2021 by Mia Donovan — online only March 20 - 24
The #OBFF26 All Access Online Pass gives access to the entire ONLINE film
programming and can be purchased on the Festival’s website for $49 (+ tx/fees). IN-PERSON, single tickets for films are available for $12, and $20 for the Opening Night film.
SPECIAL EVENTS
FABIENNE COLAS FOUNDATION’S BEING BLACK IN CANADA
Part of Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Festwave Institute, presented by NETFLIX, in
collaboration with the National Bank, supported by Telefilm Canada and the Canada
Council for the Arts.
March 21 | Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins | 5 p.m. and Online (Ottawa, Calgary, and
Montreal cohorts. Vancouver, Halifax, and Toronto cohorts’ films are available only
online).
The FCF’s Being Black in Canada supported 30 Black Canadian Filmmakers, aged 18 to 30,
in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver, in the creation of their first
documentary short films (8 to 10 minutes). The filmmakers received professional coaching
for each stage of the audiovisual production process and then made a short documentary
film under the tutelage of industry professionals. A unique project that inspires emerging
artists from culturally diverse backgrounds.
This year’s line-up consists of remarkable films highlighting important topics such as
women’s issues/empowerment, murder/mystery, social issues, politics/resistance,
migration/displacement, and family.
THE OBFF BLACK MARKET
Presented by Festwave Institute | March 21, 2026 | La Nouvelle Scène Gilles
Desjardins & Free on Facebook
The OBFF Black Market is a dedicated space for the cinema industry, bringing together
filmmakers and industry leaders for free workshops, panels, and Q&A sessions that explore
the craft of filmmaking while raising awareness of social issues affecting Black creatives.
In-Person Discussions: March 21, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
At the Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins – 333, King Edward Ave, Ottawa
1 p.m - Workshop - The OBFF BIPOC Producer’s Lab: A candid workshop empowering BIPOC filmmakers to overcome systemic barriers and own their creative vision.
2:15 p.m - Young, Gifted and Black in Today’s Society: Join us for an in-depth
discussion with filmmakers from the Ottawa cohort of Fabienne Colas's Being Black in Canada 2025 program.
3 p.m - Q&A Spotlight Series: Behind-the-scenes with directors, writers, and producers shaping today’s film industry.
ONLINE DISCUSSIONS
March 22 (will be live on the Festival’s Facebook Page)
3 p.m - Redefining the Scene: Black Artists Transforming Ottawa: Explore the creative evolution of Ottawa’s dynamic Black artists. (Bilingual panel)
About the Ottawa Black Film Festival – #OBFF26
The Ottawa Black Film Festival (OBFF) is about discovery and Inclusion. A not-for-profit
organization created by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, OBFF wants to amplify more Black
voices and showcase the most relevant Black films from here and abroad while creating a
space to debate major cultural, social, and socio-economic issues.
About the Fabienne Colas Foundation
The Fabienne Colas Foundation (FCF) is Canada’s largest Black cultural organization.
Created in 2005, the FCF is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting
Diversity and Inclusion in Cinema, Art and Culture in Canada and abroad. Along with Zaza
production, the Fabienne Colas Foundation is also the creator of 12 Festivals, including the
highly successful Montreal Black Film Festival, the hugely popular Toronto Black Film
Festival, the Halifax Black Film Festival as well as several other successful Festivals in
Canada, the USA, Haiti and Brazil. These initiatives/festivals have showcased and
supported over 10,000 artists and attracted over 2 million festivalgoers. The Foundation is
also the creator of the FCF’s Being Black in Canada program, Canada’s largest incubator
dedicated to Black Filmmakers and Festwave Institute, created to empower the next
generation of Black & underrepresented film & TV professionals.
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