Mr. Jane & Finch Premieres at Toronto Black Film Festival
The last four months I’ve had the pleasure of editing the Mr. Jane and Finch documentary about community activist Winston LaRose. Like your typical “life mirroring art”-ish, the story behind making this film is almost as dramatic as the documentary itself.
What an unforgettable journey it has been. Imagine being in an edit with three Black women who are indie doc makers, who’ve all made films before and who all have a perspective on how to tell this story. Far from a recipe for disaster, this collaboration process was really Black girl magic. From day one when I stepped into the edit with Ngardy Conteh George at the helm of the creative vision, Alison Duke asking all the important discerning questions and me bringing it all together—not only was there was mutual trust and respect for each other’s point of view but there was also a clear understanding of each other’s roles, strengths and areas for growth. I learned so much from these two about leadership—knowing when to lead, to follow, how to trust and most importantly how to LISTEN. Filmmaking a hugely collaborative experiment. So when it goes right it’s imperative you honour it!!! With that and it being women crush Wednesday, I wanna salute, dap, and big up Ngardy and Alison. Not only are they two incredible filmmakers and bosses, they are just really dope people!
World premieres screening this Sunday, Feb 17, 5:00pm at Toronto Black Film Festival.
I’ve also been nominated for a Canadian Cinema Editors award for this documentary!
I can’t wait for you to see this!
Cover photo: Me and my editing team, Lu Asfaha (left) and Nathan Allen (right) at the Toronto Black Film Festival world premiere screening. ©Roy Virtue
