''Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia'' is a 1992

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

Sylvia Hamilton Sylvia D. Hamilton is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, poet, and artist. Based in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, her work explores the lives and experiences of people of African descent. Her special focus is on African Nova Scotians, and especially women ...

, focusing on a group of

Black Nova Scotian Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians, Afro-Nova Scotians, and Africadians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada dur ...

students in a predominantly white high school, St. Patrick's in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, who face daily reminders of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

. These students work to build pride and self-esteem through educational and cultural programs, discovering their heritage and learning ways to effect change. Produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

, this 28-minute documentary received the

Canada Award The Diversity Award was a special award presented by Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to honour excellence in English-language television programming that reflects the racial and cultural diversity of Canada". It was introduced in 1988 as t ...

at the 1994 Gemini Awards from the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

, as well as the 1994 Maeda Prize from

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

References

External links

Watch ''Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia'' at NFB.ca
* 1992 short documentary films 1992 films Black Canadian culture in Halifax, Nova Scotia Documentary films about Black Canadians National Film Board of Canada documentaries Canadian short documentary films Films set in Nova Scotia Documentary films about racism in Canada Canada Award–winning shows History of Black people in Canada Anti-black racism in Canada Films shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia National Film Board of Canada short films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films English-language short documentary films {{short-documentary-film-stub