CURRENT PROJECTS
FLOW
FEATURE FILM
directed and produced by Frances-Anne Solomon
In 1988, hip hop packed live venues and radio programs in the US. Up north in Toronto, Black Canadians had to create contraptions to connect with their own artists, who had opportunities in the US but could not afford rent in their own country. Successful businessman Denham Jolly saw the clear financial, cultural and social opportunity of having a Black-owned and Black-centric radio station in Canada’s largest and most multicultural city. The Canadian establishment disagreed. It took Jolly twelve years -- through personal, financial and social hurdles -- and three expensive license applications to get a radio station license for FLOW 93.5. Our documentary Flow explores racism, music, Garveyism, and activism, utilizing one man's point of view to express the cost and increasing burnout of living in a society built on systemic racism. We take this journey guided by Denham’s own words, lifted from his memoir IN THE BLACK. Flow weaves archival footage, interviews and dynamic locations that explore Toronto’s neighbourhoods and vibrant music scene. Interviews will be held with artists, activists, politicians and academics as they look back on the significance of Denham Jolly’s journey.
In Development
HOW TO BE BROWN
COMEDY SERIES
created by Maya Bastian
HOW TO BE BROWN is a fish-out-of-water story -- seen through the eyes of Leilani, a first-generation Indo-Canadian, who leaves the sheltered enclave of white suburbia to search for her identity on the big city streets of Toronto.
In Development
A TRIP TO OTTAWA
FEATURE FILM
directed and produced by Frances-Anne Solomon
Violet, a relentless, spirited Black domestic worker from the Caribbean and her activist friends, fight for justice to save a community and a woman's life against Canada's unfair immigration laws of the 1950's.
In Development
THE WARD
DRAMA SERIES
Set in Toronto in the early 20th century, THE WARD is the story of Toronto’s most notorious “slum” – home to a vibrant and diverse community of immigrants fighting to maintain its existence while facing threats for demolition by city officials.
In Development
BETTER THAN SILVER AND GOLD
10 Episode x 30 min Drama TV Series
produced by Frances-Anne Solomon, Dahlia Fernandes, and Kristen Lambie
When her estranged rap star sister gets in trouble with the law in Canada, Jamaican criminal justice student, Elle (25), decides to go to Toronto to prove her sister's innocence. While going undercover to investigate, she reconnects to her lost passion for music in the heart of the underground Hip Hop industry.
In Development
IN THE BLACK
FEATURE FILM
directed by Frances-Anne Solomon
Based on the book, In The Black - My Life by B. Denham Jolly, the film tells the story of the Jamaican born businessman's twelve-year battle to create and license FLOW 93.5 - Canada's first Black radio station, that helped to launch the careers of Drake, Michie Mee and many other breakout Canadian stars.
Pre-Production
CLAUDIA
FEATURE FILM
directed by Frances-Anne Solomon
London 1958: As violent race riots ravage the country, Claudia Jones, a Trinidad-born communist, and deportee from the US, comes up with an ingenious plan to unite Black and white: a fancy dress party that will become the largest street festival in the world.
In Development
Denham, Miss Vi and the Ghost of Garvey
DRAMA SERIES
directed by Frances-Anne Solomon
In the midst of the Canadian Black struggle of the 50s, Dehnam Jolly arrives in Toronto, bright eyed and optimistic. He rents a room from UNIA Vice President, Violet Williams who is struggling to keep the organization afloat and maintain the legacy of her idol, famed Black leader and saucy duppy, Marcus Garvey. Format: 6 episodes x 10-15 min digital comedy series Inspired by Denham Jolly's Award-winning memoir "In the Black".
In Development
MOYA'S LOVE
FEATURE FILM
directed by Mary Wells
A woman caught between love for a man & his friends’ actions to destroy a marine reserve may risk everything for love, or risk losing love, for a cause.
In Development
SIPARIA
FEATURE FILM
directed by Frances-Anne Solomon
In 1942, ANNE-MARIE, 6, moves to the rural community of Siparia on the island colony of Trinidad, West Indies, when her father, a medical doctor, is posted there. Isolated and imaginative, she absorbs the colourful -- and often brutal -- post-slavery/colonial working-class environment. She develops a fascination for PUGGLI, an old East Indian woman who lives across the street. Locals call her “Soucouyant” -- they say at night she sheds her skin to fly and suck the blood of her sleeping victims.
In Development