''Defund'' is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah and

Araya Mengesha Araya Mengesha(born July 23, 1987) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Kandae in '' Nurse.Fighter.Boy'', Michael in ''Cul de sac'' and Zoffi in ''Ruby Skye P.I.: The Maltese Puppy''. Biography Mengesha was born in Toronto to Ethio ...

and released in 2021. The film stars Roberts-Abdullah and Mengesha as a sister and brother who have been in isolation in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and must confront the complexities of political activism when they are motivated to get out into the streets during the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

protests of 2020. The film's cast also includes

Karen Robinson Karen Robinson (born February 29, 1968) is a British-Canadian film, television, and stage actress. She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance in a Guest Role in a Drama Series at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019 for her appearan ...

Vivien Endicott-Douglas Vivien Endicott-Douglas (born December 10, 1990) is a Canadian actress on stage and screen. Career Endicott-Douglas is best-known for her role as Marnie in the television series ''Shoebox Zoo'' (2004-2005), when she was 14 years old. Her works ...

, Getenesh Berhe, Nickeshia Garrick, Richard Lam and Anand Rajaram. The film premiered at the

2021 Toronto International Film Festival The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.Barry Hertz"TIFF planning ‘substantially bigger’ 2021 film festival compared to last year’ ...

, and was subsequently screened at the

2021 Vancouver International Film Festival The 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival, the 40th event in the history of the Vancouver International Film Festival, was held from October 1 to October 11, 2021.Dana Gee"VIFF back in theatres for 40th anniversary festival" ''The Province' ...

. The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2021.Norman Wilner
"TIFF announces Canada’s Top Ten films of 2021"
. '' Now'', December 6, 2021.

References

External links

* 2021 films 2021 short films Canadian drama short films Black Canadian films Films shot in Toronto Films set in Toronto 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films {{2020s-Canada-film-stub