PLUS: Tribute to Award-Winning Director & Producer STANLEY NELSON

The 14th Annual Toronto Black Film Festival Celebrates 30 Years of Black History Month
with Bold, Diverse, Innovative and Meaningful Programming
February 11–16, 2026

TORONTO, ON (January 26, 2026) — The Toronto Black Film Festival (TBFF), presented by TD Bank Group (TD)in collaboration with Global News, has announced the official program and event lineup for its 14th annual edition, taking place February 11–16, 2026. Founded by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, TBFF will once again offer a diversified, impactful, and captivating program to Toronto audiences both in person and online.

Canada’s largest Black History Month cultural event, TBFF engages thousands of attendees across generations and cultures. Through bold, unique, and inclusive programming, the Festival has become Toronto’s must-attend annual gathering for film lovers and an essential catalyst for Black artists and creatives from across the diaspora, amplifying world-class stories and fostering learning across communities.

At its core, TBFF is more than an event – it is a movement. #TBFF26 Opening Night will feature a power-packed film premiere alongside special tributes and career achievement honours.

OPENING NIGHT GALA: FILM & TRIBUTES

 

Presented by TD Bank Group
Isabel Bader Theatre
February 11, 2026 | 8 PM

Preceding the Opening Night film, actors and producers Shamier Anderson and Stephan James will receive the Toronto Black Film Festival’s 2026 Career Achievement Award, honouring their exceptional contributions to film and television and their global impact as Canadian artists. The Festival is honoured to present iconic award-winning director and filmmaker Stanley Nelson with the Toronto Black Film Festival’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Shamier Anderson

Shamier Anderson is an actor and producer who starred opposite Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4 and leads Simon Kinberg’s cinematic Apple TV+ series Invasion across three seasons. His film credits include Bruised (with Halle Berry), Netflix’s Stowaway, and The Luckiest Man in America, among others.

He co-created and co-hosts The Legacy Lounge, a series honouring Canadian trailblazers of colour, debuting on CBC Gem and CBC, and stars in and executive produced Hate The Player: The Ben Johnson Story, releasing across Canada soon.

Shamier is a co-founder of The Black Academy, alongside his brother Stephan, and a creator of The Legacy Awards on CBC, Canada’s first nationally broadcast award show celebrating Black Canadians. A Canadian Screen Award winner, his accolades include being named a TIFF Rising Star, induction into Canada’s Scarborough Walk of Fame for Arts & Entertainment, and receiving the Key to the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles.

 

Stephan James

Stephan James is a film and television actor and producer who earned a Golden Globe nomination opposite Julia Roberts in Prime Video’s Homecoming and starred in Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award–nominated If Beale Street Could Talk. His credits include Selma, Race, 21 Bridges, #FreeRayShawn, Beacon 23, and Night Always Comes.

He will next be seen in Netflix’s War Machine (global release March 6, 2026) and starring as the title character in Ricky, opening March 20 in the U.S. Stephan also co-created and co-hosts The Legacy Lounge, premiering on CBC Gem and CBC in 2026.

A Canadian Screen Award winner and nominee for the Golden Globe, Emmy, and NAACP Image Awards, and a Variety Power of Young Hollywood Honoree, Stephan was also inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame for his contributions to Arts & Entertainment.

 

Stanley Nelson  

Widely regarded as the foremost chronicler of the African American experience in nonfiction film, Nelson is the recipient of the 2013 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama. Past TBFF Lifetime Achievement Award recipients honoured in person include Pam Grier and Spike Lee.

A MacArthur Fellow, Nelson’s acclaimed body of work includes Freedom Riders (2010), The Murder of Emmett Till(2003), Freedom Summer (2014), The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015), Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of HBCUs (2018), and Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019), which marked his tenth premiere at the Sundance Film Festival—the most of any documentary filmmaker. His film Attica (2021) earned a Directors Guild of America Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

His latest film, WE WANT THE FUNK! (2025) explores the history and cultural impact of funk music, from its African and jazz roots to its influence on hip-hop and new wave. Since 1998, Nelson has helped lead Firelight Media, the New York–based nonprofit he co-founded to support emerging documentary filmmakers of colour.

TBFF OPENING NIGHT FILM

TBFF kicks off with the Toronto Premiere of Of Mud and Blood, directed by Jean-Gabriel Leynaud. Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the film follows diggers in the mineral-rich region of Numbi. Centered on Ujumbe Sabahutu Claude, the story portrays lives shaped by poverty, conflict, and survival, where mining becomes both livelihood and last hope.

For full programming details, tickets, and events, visit:
TorontoBlackFilm.com

The Fabienne Colas Foundation is Canada’s largest Black cultural organization. Created in 2005, the FCF is a not-for-profit artistic 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 Festwave Institute and 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.

MEDIA CONTACT

Dalton Higgins
daltonhigginspr@gmail.com
437-256-2576