Calgary Black Film Festival opens with 42 films May 22
Sixth edition brings global cinema to Globe Cinema, plus panels and workshops at Central library. Red carpet gala kicks off Friday.
The Calgary Black Film Festival returns for its sixth edition this week, bringing 42 films from around the world to local screens—and opening with a red carpet gala that sets the tone for five days of cinema, conversation, and cultural reckoning.
The festival runs May 22 to 26, with most screenings at the Globe Cinema in downtown Calgary, plus panel discussions and workshops at the Calgary Memorial Park Library. Most films will also stream online across Canada, widening the reach beyond those who can attend in person.
Friday's red carpet gala begins at 6 p.m. at the Globe Cinema, opening with Kalu Oji's drama Pasa Fahu—a story about a struggling Nigerian-Australian shoe salesman whose 12-year-old estranged son moves in with him just as his business spirals into crisis. It's a tender, intimate opening that sets a human-centered tone for what follows.
Other standout films include Jean-Gabriel Leynaud's Of Mud and Blood, a documentary following inhabitants of a coltan mining village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Muganga, The One Who Treats, Marie-Helene Roux's drama inspired by the real work of Dr. Denis Mukwege, who treats survivors of wartime sexual violence in Eastern Congo. On May 23 and 24, the CBFF Black Market will host industry-focused panels and workshops at the library, creating space for filmmakers, creators, and cinephiles to connect and discuss.
This is a festival designed for serious film lovers and curious newcomers alike—five days to discover stories that rarely make it to mainstream multiplexes, and to sit with cinema that matters.
For full program details and tickets, visit calgaryblackfilm.com.