# 21 Black Futures

21 Black Futures is a Canadian film and theatre project, broadcast by CBC Gem in 2021. Created in conjunction with the Black Canadian theatre company Obsidian Theatre to mark both Black History Month and the 21st anniversary of Obsidian, the project commissioned 21 short film adaptations of theatrical monologues on the theme of "the future of Blackness" by Black Canadian writers, each performed by a Black actor on the stage of Meridian Hall in Toronto.
The project was commissioned in part because the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada had prevented the staging of a traditional theatre festival.
The project aired over three weeks in February 2021, with seven films premiering each week on February 12, 19 and 26.

## Films

| Film | Director | Writer | Actor | Synopsis |
| The Death News | Charles Officer | Amanda Parris | Lovell Adams-Gray | A man performs and records his own obituary on The Death News, a television show which airs testimonials by the recently deceased, to be broadcast in the event of his future death. |
| The Sender | Leah-Simone Bowen | Cheryl Foggo | Amanda Cordner | Cil Brown is a Sender with a project that exiles racists to their own island society. |
| Jah in the Ever Expanding Song | d’bi.young anitafrika | Kaie Kellough | Ravyn Wngz | |
| Beyere | Lisa Karen Cox | Shauntay Grant | Natasha Courage Bacchus | |
| Madness with Rocks | Jamie Robinson | Peace Akintade | Dion Johnstone | |
| Witness Shift | Sarah Waisvisz | Donna-Michelle St. Bernard | Uche Ama | |
| Sensitivity | Mike Payette | Lawrence Hill | Sabryn Rock | |
| Special | Jay Northcott | Keshia Cheesman | Avery Grant | Eight-year-old Zari has moved with her mother to an all-Black town, but finds that although she fits in with her classmates at school she misses the feeling of being special and different. |
| Umoja Corp. | Leighton Alexander Williams | Jacob Sampson | Pablo Ogunlesi | A corporation that works to amass and defend Black knowledge and strength steps in to help Adrian after he runs into trouble with the law. |
| Notice | Ngozi Paul | Luke Reece | Lisa Berry | Inspired by the global anti-racism protests that took place during her childhood in 2020, the now-adult Crystal Hinds rises into a position to make a powerful difference in 2045. |
| Blackberries | Alicia K. Harris | Miali-Elise Coley-Sudlovenick | Adeline Bird | Effie, a woman of mixed African and Inuk heritage, travels to Nunavut for her grandmother's funeral. |
| Emmett | Tanisha Taitt | Syrus Marcus Ware | Prince Amponsah | Medgar, one of the few survivors of a catastrophe that largely wiped out human civilization seven years earlier, talks about his life and recalls his relationship with his lover Emmett. |
| Georgeena | Weyni Mengesha | Djanet Sears | Virgilia Griffith | After fleeing her wedding when she realized she was marrying into an all-white world, Georgeena believes she is going to die because her car is being followed. |
| Rebirth of the Afronauts: A Black Space Odyssey | Jerome Kruin | Wendy Motion Brathwaite | Chelsea Russell | In 2059, Chariott receives a mysterious call that leads her on an exploration of whole new vistas of experience. |
| Cavities | Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu | K. T. Dennis | Alison Sealy-Smith | |
| 40 Parsecs and Some Fuel | Lucius Dechausay | Omari Newton | Daniel Faraldo | |
| The Prescription | Alison Duke | Lisa Codrington | Akosua Amo-Adem | |
| Chronologie | Mike Payette, Katia Café-Fébrissy | Stephie Mazunya | Sheila Ingabire-Isaro | |
| Y&N Ara Asaase Ni (This Is Our Own Native Land) | Dorothy A. Atabong | Tawiah M'carthy | Peter Fernandes | |
| Builders of Nations | Kimberley Rampersad | Joseph Jomo Pierre | Philip Akin | |
| Omega Child | Ahdri Zhina Mandiela | Cherissa Richards | Emerjade Simms | |

## Awards

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Web Program or Series, Fiction | Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Lucius Dechausay, Fatuma Adar, Michael Sinclair, Myekah Payne, Grazyna Krupa | Won |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series | Lovell Adams-Gray | Won |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series | Lisa Berry | Nominated |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Performance, Web Program or Series | Chelsea Russell | Nominated |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Direction, Web Program or Series | Lucius Dechausay | Nominated |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Direction, Web Program or Series | Charles Officer | Won |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Writing, Web Program or Series | Lawrence Hill | Nominated |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Writing, Web Program or Series | Amanda Parris | Won |