It all started 15 years ago because people in Black communities had nowhere to tell their stories. That first year, the Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival screened about eight films. This year, they received over 100 submissions from all around the world.
“This year, about 50 per cent of the films are local, but we do get films from all over the world,” said Shelly Fashon, co-founder of Emerging Lens in a phone interview with The Coast. “When we first started, it was films just from the Black community, but we have since opened up to other communities that want to tell their cultural stories, like newcomers and Indigenous folks.”
The 2025 edition kicks off on Canadian Film Day—Aprl 16—at Pier 21. “On the first night, we always share a Canadian feature film and this year it is one called Welcome,” said Fashon. It’s a suspense film by Jevon Boreland that follows a young couple who, upon learning they are about to become parents, decide to celebrate with a weekend in the country. When they need assistance with the property, the all-too-helpful landlord arrives to fix the problem, deliberately overstaying his welcome.
On Thursday night, the action will move to the North End Public Library where the night will begin with a performance from a local emerging artist to set the tone, followed by screenings of a series of shorts created by 10 local filmmakers. There will be a discussion with the filmmakers following the screenings.
On Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the North End Public Library there will be a panel called The Future of Black Production in Nova Scotia.
The events for that evening—the final night of the festival—will take place at the Black Cultural Centre where there will be screenings of three short films created by students who took part in the festival’s “Black Above the Line” training initiative. The program—offered in partnership with NSCAD and I Move—offers Black students hands-on training in screenwriting, editing, directing, acting and production.
“Some of the students have received credits and are now working in the union, so it has been a huge success,” said Fashon. “This is all about people getting the opportunity to tell their stories the way they want in their own voice—and that’s the most important thing.”
The full lineup and schedule—as well as access to the streaming service— for the 2025 Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival is available HERE.
This article appears in Apr 1-30, 2025.