Tanara Oliveira/Black Press Media
The Black Creators Edition Summer Premiere is a big part of its ongoing tribute to the greatness of black excellence on screen.
The project is supported by a $20,000 production grant through the Telus Storyhive program, as well as mentorship and custom advice.
“The Victoria I Know,” a cinematic trip about a Black photographer who lives in the city of Victoria, is at the centre of the premiere. The story develops as our main character’s path crosses with a mysterious riddle. This meeting has a deep and powerful message. The story’s central conflict is the protagonist’s internal struggle to define who she is as an artist and what Victoria means to her in the context of her disadvantage in today’s urban society.
As the story goes on, it takes an exciting turn when the ghost of a famous person from the past who has been forgotten for a long time shows up. Our main character and this ghostly person are linked by a complicated, almost spiritual bond. Through this clever interaction, the project digs into Victoria’s history in a way that is both new and thought-provoking, asking viewers to look at the city’s history from a completely different angle.
Joel H. Brewster, the mind behind “The Victoria I Know,” was inspired by the real-life story of James Douglas with a multicultural background, and his mother Martha, who was described as a “free woman of colour” who was born in Barbados.
“The connection to the small island and living here just felt like the story I had to tell, and I couldn’t have done that without the guidance and help of my cast and crew, especially Mik Narciso who brought this all together. And, of course, Telus who helped fund this story, and many other storytellers like me across western Canada,” Brewster said.
From the perspective of someone who is black and who relates with the context of the character in the film, Brewster wanted to bring the reality of daily microaggressions, but without turning the story into another sad narrative of racism.
“I wanted to tell a story without bogging everyone down with the depictions of racism we are used to, which are a lot more overt. This was a subtle story that reflected micro-aggressions which I think are more common for any minority group. Whether you’re being told ‘You’re one of the good ones’ or just handed a backhanded compliment,” Brewster said.
Ryan Logan, Telus Storyhive program manager, recognizes that we have many untold stories of Black Canadians.
“Our mission is to enhance inclusivity in filmmaking and shine a light on underrepresented communities and people,” Logan said. “We hope to honour and celebrate content creators from the Black and African diaspora and see fictional and non-fictional stories led and created by the community, for the community.”
This ground-breaking project is now available, along with a lot of other interesting works from the Black Creators Edition. Fans can enjoy this visual feast on a number of channels, such as the prestigious Telus Optik TV channel 9 and Storyhive YouTube channel.
