Shelley Niro’s narrative film Café Daughter (Freddie Films, Circle Blue Entertainment) has won the Audience Choice Feature Award at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

Based on the play of the same name by Kenneth T. Williams and inspired by true events, the coming-of-age story focuses on a young Chinese-Cree girl in 1960s Saskatchewan who explores and embraces her Cree identity after the passing of her mother. Niro wrote, directed and produced the film alongside producers Floyd Kane and Amos Adetuyi.

The festival’s Audience Choice Short Award was The Roof by Alexander Bocchieri, about a Northern Cheyenne teen who goes on a soul-stirring journey because of a leaky roof, revealing an unexpected truth and a profound bond with family and community.

Black Screen Office adds two to board of directors

The Black Screen Office (BSO) has introduced two new additions to its board of directors: Alicia Petrusa and Laetitia Angba.

Petrusa is a seasoned media professional with experience in producing, business affairs and financial management, specializing in budgeting, interim financing and contracting. Meanwhile, Angba brings a wealth of experience in governance from diverse organizational roles and is committed to raising governance standards. She also works with Montreal’s Black on Black Films.

The new appointments are intended to help fortify the BSO’s strategic objectives around finance, resource development, and governance, according to a news release.

Finality of Dusk to open Red Nation Film Festival

Post-apocalyptic drama Finality of Dusk from director Madison Thomas will have its world premiere as the opening night film at the Red Nation Film Festival. The film will debut Friday (Nov. 3) at the Beverly Hills, Calif. festival.

Finality of Dusk is produced by Winnipeg-based Eagle Vision. Lisa Meeches is executive producer, with Kyle Irving, Rebecca Gibson and Darcy Waite serving as producers. It is co-produced by Cynthia Murdock and Hannah Johnson.

The film was co-written by Thomas and award-winning Deaf screenwriter Katarina Ziervogel, and was created to offer a full theatrical experience for all audiences, including Deaf and hard of hearing audiences, according to a news release.

Starring Marika Sila (The Twilight Zone), Cherrel Holder (Burden of Truth) and Deaf performing artist and advocate Chris Dodd, the film is set in the year 2045 after worldwide environmental devastation has pushed the remaining humans left into the wild spaces, and follows an Ojibwe woman (Sila) who meets a Nigerian climate refugee (Holder) searching for her sister in Northern Manitoba. It will have its Canadian premiere at the Whistler Film Festival, where it will be part of the Borsos Competition.