Toronto, February 1st - TFO honors Black History Month to highlight the importance of celebrating and valuing the stories and voices of Black communities. As Ontario’s French public broadcaster, it's important for TFO to reflect the diversity of Francophone communities in Ontario and  across Canada. Presenting content that honours the richness and diversity of Afro-descendant communities allows us to recognize and share this heritage with as many people as possible. The 2024 theme for Black History Month is: “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build” and TFO is highlighting this excellence in February and all year-long on the TFO channel and on TFO.org.

Black Franco-Ontarian Excellence 
TFO is committed to represent the diversity of Canada's French-speaking communities by broadcasting content conceived and produced by Afro-descendant creators. Over the next year, audiences will discover five new TFO productions created in collaboration with Afro-descendant artists from Franco-Ontarian communities, showcasing Black excellence : 

• Josiane Blanc, director and co-producer of the series “Ainsi va Manu” and co-producer of “Johanne”, a documentary created and directed by Nadine Valcin. The second season of “Ainsi va Manu” is airing on TFO in the spring of 2024 and accompanies Manu and her family as they are affected by a housing crisis. The documentary “Johanne” tells the story of Johanne Harrelle (1930-1994), one of Canada's first Black models and actresses, a pioneer who to this day remains unknown in North America’s cultural scene. The documentary will debut on TFO in the winter of 2025.
• David Baeta, producer of the series “Héritage africain”, introduces us to a magical cave where an incredible collection of artifacts and objects of African origin are hidden before being discovered by two kids. The series airs on TFO in the spring of 2025.
• Sabine Daniel, producer of "La quête de Lumie" (a French version of Sunny’s Quest), a series airing this fall and featuring portraits of Afro-descendant children from across the province.
• Habibata Ouarme, director and producer of the documentary "1001 couronnes pour ma tête", a historical and cultural exploration of African and Afro-descendant hairstyles that will also make its debut on television in the  winter of 2025 on TFO.

Year-round programming honouring diversity

Discover TFO’s  series that are already available year-round on TFO.org such as “Vivre”, “Y'Africa”, “Photographes voyageurs”, “Les 100 merveilles du monde”, the short films “Fanmi”, “Cherche femme forte”, and the movie “Knock”.

Special programming
In February, discover a collection of films and series celebrating Black culture on TFO.org/voix-noires and take advantage of our rendez-vous ciné on the TFO channel every Saturday at 9 p.m. for a variety of tribute films, documentaries and fiction commemorating the African diaspora:

Saturday, February 3rd : “Cher Jackie”(Dear Jackie) by Henri Pardot. 
A documentary paying tribute to Jackie Robinson, the first Black athlete to play in Major League Baseball.
Genre : Documentary
Year : 2021

Saturday, February 10th : “Le grand débat” (The Great Debaters) by Denzel Washington. 
A movie set in the 1930s and inspired by the true story of Professor Melvin B. Tolson who created a debate team for young African-Americans 
Genre : Drama
Year : 2007

Saturday, February 17th : “Ghofrane et les promesses du printemps” by Raja Amari. 
A documentary that paints a portrait of Ghofrane Binous, a young black woman fighting racism by running for the Tunisian legislative elections in October 2019.
Genre : Documentary
Year : 2020

Saturday, February 24th : “Oscar Micheaux - Le Héros du cinéma Afro-Américain” (Oscar Micheaux - The Superhero of Black Filmmaking) by Francesco Zippel.
A tribute to the life and work of African-American film industry pioneer Oscar Micheaux.
Genre : Documentary
Year : 2021

Tuesday, February 27th : “Bois d’ébène” by Moussa Touré.
A film about the slave trade and colonial trade in the early 19th century.
Genre : Documentary
Year : 2016


In order to reflect the diversity of Canada's French-speaking community at all times, TFO wishes to offer an equal opportunity for all to shine through their talents and creativity. TFO is calling on all creators who wish to contribute and showcase the richness of francophone culture here and abroad. Submit your project to tfocontenu@tfo.org.