Defund (film)

Last updated
Defund
Directed byKhadijah Roberts-Abdullah
Araya Mengesha
Written byKhadijah Roberts-Abdullah
Araya Mengesha
Produced byKhadijah Roberts-Abdullah
Araya Mengesha
J. Stevens
StarringKhadijah Roberts-Abdullah
Araya Mengesha
Karen Robinson
CinematographyJ. Stevens
Edited byJ. Stevens
Music byDenise De'ion
Release date
  • September 10, 2021 (2021-09-10)(TIFF)
Running time
14 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Defund is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah and Araya Mengesha and released in 2021. [1] The film stars Roberts-Abdullah and Mengesha as a sister and brother who have been in isolation in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, and must confront the complexities of political activism when they are motivated to get out into the streets during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. [2]

The film's cast also includes Karen Robinson, Vivien Endicott-Douglas, Getenesh Berhe, Nickeshia Garrick, Richard Lam and Anand Rajaram.

The film premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, [3] and was subsequently screened at the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival.

The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2021. [4]

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References

  1. Heather Taylor, "DEFUND at TIFF21: Making Films That Matter When They Matter". Script, September 9, 2021.
  2. Courtney Small, "TIFF 2021: DEFUND Review". That Shelf, September 10, 2021.
  3. Joshua Freeman, "Toronto talent on display at TIFF 2021". CP24, September 10, 2021.
  4. Norman Wilner, "TIFF announces Canada’s Top Ten films of 2021". Now , December 6, 2021.