Andre Anderson can still recall the feeling of watching Ava DuVernay’s 13th for the first time. The Preston-raised African Nova Scotian actor—and now filmmaker—had been so moved by the 2016 documentary on the US prison-industrial complex that he screened it for his classmates at Saint Mary’s University. Then again at the Marquee Ballroom. Anderson says he “told everybody” he knew about the Emmy-winning film and felt so inspired by the stories he watched on-screen that he picked up a camera of his own.
“I felt that if somebody could really impact me that deeply that it caused me to take action,” he says, speaking by phone with The Coast, “then that’s the real impact that I could also make as a filmmaker.”
So began the Mr. D actor’s directorial debut—both as a documentarian and short filmmaker. He went on to tell the stories of Rocky Jones, a Black lawyer and social justice advocate from Truro who fought for desegregation and was stalked by the RCMP for more than a decade; and senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, one of the founders of the Association of Black Social Workers and the first Black Canadian to get a tenured position at Dalhousie University.
Under Pressure is Anderson’s latest film. The short documentary tells the story of Dennis Adams Jr., a social worker and executive director of LOVE Nova Scotia, a grassroots violence prevention and youth outreach program. The title comes from Adams’ insight into life as a Black man in Nova Scotia, where he says the societal pressures “can either crush you or make you into a diamond.” It was a feeling that felt “very relevant” to Anderson, a tenth-generation African Nova Scotian.
“I think as a director, one thing from my approach is that I really try to speak through the characters and the subjects of my pieces,” he says.
The documentary screens this weekend at the Halifax Black Film Festival, a five-day showcase of features by Black filmmakers from Nova Scotia and beyond. Anderson is one of three Halifax-based filmmakers featured in this year’s festival, alongside Habiba Diallo (Black in School) and Temitayo Sodunke (Relentless Hurdles, Resilient Hearts). All three of their films will screen this Saturday, March 1, at the Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane.
The HBFF appearance is a first for Anderson, whose short documentary just premiered at the Toronto Black Film Festival. He calls Halifax’s festival and others like it “impactful and necessary” as a platform for Black filmmakers, especially in a province where Black directors, producers and screenwriters are underrepresented. The result of that, he says, is that “when you’re emerging as a Black filmmaker from Halifax, you don’t have a lot of people to call up and say, ‘Hey, what do I do in this situation?’ Or ‘how do I handle the releases?’ Or ‘how do I really get the right person for my story?’”
Anderson dreams of connecting with DuVernay for a film project that would bring Viola Desmond’s story to the world.
“I know how powerful that story could be,” he says, “not on a provincial scale or even a national scale, but an international scale.”
Get to know the Halifax filmmakers’ documentaries
About Under Pressure
Director: Andre Anderson
Premiered: 2025
From the program: “Under Pressure examines the unique struggles of African Nova Scotian men through the perspective of Dennis Adams Jr., a bald, bearded Black man. With raw honesty, the film weaves themes of identity, mental health, and personal growth, offering an intimate look at life in modern-day New Scotland (Nova Scotia).”
About Black in School
Director: Habiba Diallo
Premiered: 2025
From the program: “A young Black girl navigates high school while dealing with the death of her father, moving to a new city, and adolescent pressures.”
About Relentless Hurdles, Resilient Hearts
Director: Temitayo Sodunke
Premiered: 2025
From the program: “A compassionate Black immigrant physician shares his personal experience of systemic barriers and resilience required to overcome racial disparities and address critical gaps. The documentary highlights the intersectional challenges of race, immigration, and inequities in Canada’s healthcare landscape and how this impacts his mental wellbeing.”
The Halifax Black Film Festival runs from Feb 28 until Mar 4. See the full schedule and get tickets here.
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This article appears in Feb 1-28, 2025.