Chief Deryn Rizzi is the first woman to be appointed fire chief in an urban setting of Ontario. While she has made history, she has also accomplished an extensive education and is pursuing her PhD. 

 By Moboluwajidide Joseph

The Ontario Council for Agencies Serving Immigrants’ takes on the battle against gender violence through the graphic novel, Telling Our Stories: Immigrant Women's Resilience. Written by immigrant and refugee women, for immigrant and refugee women, the work recounts their experiences as inspirational stories of resilience. The book also has multilingual editions and can be ordered in Urdu, Punjabi, Dari, Arabic, Tamil, Armenian, Somali, Chinese, and Spanish, as well as the official languages: English and French.

​“That is it’s own [oddly] radical act,” Joe Talbot –  Director, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, explains when reflecting on the effect his movie has acclaimed by gathering people in a movie theatre to “be present”.

​With the movie finally having released (in Canada) at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, its important and relatable message can now be shared with moviegoers and people alike who are curious about what Joe and lead actor, Jimmie Fails, have to say about their hometown. Both make it clear what their debut movie is and is not.

By Laura-Leah McNeil

The 14th annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival (CTFF) media launch was colourful, and the vibe at The Royal Cinema was exciting. Everyone was eagerly anticipating the special preview of Yardie, which actually released last year, but did not make it to the film festival previously due to unforeseen circumstances.

By  Benjamin Akpan

​As teenagers, best friends Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fails thought of making a movie based on their personal experiences, particularly that of Fails’. In 2015, they began to actively raise funds to produce their film. Four years later, following a successful kickstarter, an acclaimed short film, as well as backing from production companies A24 and Brad Pitt’s Plan B, they finally brought their film The Last Black Man in San Francisco to life. The film is a slow burning and poetic, yet earnest love story to the city they both grew up in, which they have watched slowly disintegrate before their very eyes as a result of gentrification.

Based on the Kevin Kwan fictional novel, Crazy Rich Asians was the sleeper comedy/drama hit of 2018.  The journey follows Rachel Chu and Nick, as they travel to his best friend's wedding in Singapore.  She's shocked to find out that Nick's family is much wealthier than he originally let on.  The film is helmed by Asian-American director John M. Cho, and features a predominately Asian-cast.  The narrative is a modern tale of love, jealousy, family history, and cultural identity.  Although the film has garnered much praise and awards for its casting choices and brilliant storytelling, it sheds light on the consistent misrepresentation and whitewashing of Asian characters in Western based cinema.