True North

Set against the backdrop of 1960s Montreal, True North unearths two pivotal but underrecognized events, the Congress of Black Writers and the Sir George Williams Affair, positioning the city as a powerful nexus in the global Black liberation movement. Through never-before-seen archival footage and intimate first-person testimonies, the film revisits a charged era of resistance, where Black students and activists challenged institutional racism that sparked reverberations across the globe.

Taking a hemispheric view of Black resistance, True North connects threads from the Caribbean, Canada and the U.S., tracing the shared legacies of colonialism and state oppression. At the heart of the film are the voices of elders who lived through this period and whose contributions have largely gone unrecognized. Their stories ground the film’s narrative, offering a rare and poignant perspective on the era. Through their lens, True North becomes both an act of remembrance and a call to action for new generations.

Visually striking and emotionally resonant, True North is a love letter to 1960s Montreal and a radical reimagining of its place in history. With its bold artistic approach and commitment to truth-telling, it invites audiences into an immersive experience that is as relevant now as it was revolutionary then.

Thank you to our screening partners: Community Resource Hub and W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition & Reconstruction.