Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival Pre-Gala Opening Film
Date: Sunday, April 13th 2025
Time: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Location: In-person event
Language: Presented in English
Cost: FREE
Register to attend this event →
About the film
We Will Be Brave talks about men's mental health in a way that is honest, vulnerable, timely and very rarely seen on screen. Explorations around what masculinity is, and re-evaluations of what it could be are intertwined with revelations about the unique mental health challenges faced by men of colour, who are often sidelined or exclusively villainized in these conversations.
About the Film Festival
This documentary film screening for the Film Festival Pre-Gala will include an audience talkback with Toronto guests and local experts, and will feature a live musical performance.
The Panelists that will be present:
CHRISANN HESSING - Writer, Director, Producer
Chrisann Hessing is a documentary filmmaker and impact producer based in Toronto. She has produced award-winning short films that have screened at Hot Docs, RIDM, Global Impact Film Festival and the London Asian Film Festival. Her work has been supported by the Ontario Arts Council, Inspirit Foundation, and BravoFACT! Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent and Telefilm Canada. Chrisann’s latest film, Turning Tables, won Best Short Documentary at the 43rd American Indian Film Festival, and has screened in over 30 film festivals internationally. In 2020, Chrisann was selected as one of Reelworld's Emerging 20 and named Talent to Watch by Telefilm Canada.
MOBÓLÚWAJÍDÌDE (BO) JOSEPH - film protagonist, writer
Bo (he/him) is a Nigerian writer who lives and works in the diaspora and on the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. His work is animated broadly by questions of abolition, care, and spirituality. Bo is currently working on his first play — an exploration of the stakes of grief and longing by children of immigrants. As a part of the Good Guise, a collective of activists, artists, and scholars, Bo worked on a number of zines, workshops, and art exhibits that focused on tackling gender based violence amongst racialized men from an anti-oppressive and abolitionist framework. Their work is covered in the recent documentary, We Will Be Brave.
In partnership with Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival, Story Money Impact, Roots of Hope and Nurturing Strong African Nova Scotian Families / Strengthening Black Fathers.
About Canada’s Storytellers:
Canada’s Storytellers is an ongoing series of programs that connects visitors with cultural works, and their creators, to explore themes of immigration, migration, multiculturalism, (in) equality and Canadian identity. Canada’s Storytellers has welcomed renowned authors such as Lawrence Hill, Madeleine Thien, Mark Sakamoto, Blaise Ndala, Kim Thuy; screened films like Kayak to Klemtu, Bagages, I Am Rohingya, and more.