Roger McTair

Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community

Roger McTair, Jennifer Hodge de Silva

This feature documentary takes us to the heart of the Jane-Finch "Corridor" in the early 1980s. Covering six square blocks in Toronto's North York, the area readily evokes images of vandalism, high-density subsidized housing, racial tension, despair and crime. By focusing on the lives of several of the residents, many of them black or members of other visible minorities, the film provides a powerful view of a community that, contrary to its popular image, is working towards a more positive future.

Journey to Justice

Roger McTair

This documentary pays tribute to a group of Canadians who took racism to court. They are Canada's unsung heroes in the fight for Black civil rights. Focusing on the 1930s to the 1950s, this film documents the struggle of 6 people who refused to accept inequality. Featured here, among others, are Viola Desmond, a woman who insisted on keeping her seat at the Roseland movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946 rather than moving to the section normally reserved for the city's Black population, and Fred Christie, who took his case to the Supreme Court after being denied service at a Montreal tavern in 1936. These brave pioneers helped secure justice for all Canadians. Their stories deserve to be told.

Home to Buxton

Roger McTair, Claire Prieto

North Buxton, near Chatham, Ontario, has been a black settlement since the middle of the last century, when it was one of the destinations of escaped slaves traveling north on the Underground Railroad. Prieto and McTair went to Buxton to record one year's 'homecoming,' and came back with a celebratory reminder of the long history blacks have had in Canada. -- Images Festival

Children Are Not the Problem

Roger McTair

The film explores issues of racism in daycare and early education. Includes footage of children of diverse backgrounds in daycare, elementary school, on playgrounds, and interviews with education workers, parents and experts.

Jane Finch Again!

Roger McTair

This film revisits many of the subjects of Jennifer Hodge's 1983 documentary "Home Feeling." The film explores how life has changed over the years for residents of the Jane Street and Finch Avenue area in Toronto, Ontario. The film explores issues of racism, police brutality, urban housing, and immigration.

Different Timbers

Roger McTair

Claire Prieto

The film follows the stories of men and women who work with steel drums in various capacities, including a steel drum tuner, university and primary school students performing on steel drums, as well as two steel drum orchestras.

Some Black Women

Roger McTair

Claire Prieto

This documentary explores the state of black women's roles and lives in Canada during the 1970s.

Jennifer Hodge: The Glory and the Pain

Roger McTair

Jennifer Hodge de Silva

A retrospective documentary of the life and work of Jennifer Hodge, a black filmmaker living and working in Ontario and Quebec. Film includes footage of her funeral service, her family, friends and coworkers; clips from her films; and a memorial weekend at her family's home, Innisfree.

It's Not an Illness

Roger McTair

Features pregnant mothers Marsha Baker, Shaheera Bieber and pregnant couple Claire Prieto and Roger McTair. Also included in the footage are interviews with Dr. J.E. Milligan of the Toronto Women College Hospital and a fitness classes for pregnant women at the Toronto Women's Club.