BLACK SOUL/ÂME NOIRE is an exhilarating immersion into the heart of Black culture via a whirlwind voyage through the defining moments of Black History.

As an old lady initiates her grandson into his past, a series of perpetually transforming images painted directly under the animation camera unfolds before our eyes. In a mesmerizing swirl of light and colour, the boy traces his ancestry to mighty Pharaohs and to valiant kings whose praises are sung by a griot beneath the baobab tree. Suddenly the beating of drums conjures forth the slave market and far-flung exile to the Caribbean and eventually the snows of the Americas.

In early Canada, the boy encounters slaves and fugitives. He shares in the Black peoples' struggles for freedom and sees all they have contributed to our common heritage. Finally, his grandmother bequeaths him Martin Luther King's dream: a dream that one day all human beings will live together in liberty, equality and brotherhood.

BLACK SOUL/ÂME NOIRE, by Haitian-Québécois animator Martine Chartrand, is a poetic film about memory. Its evocative soundtrack is a mix of the Boütz dancers' irresistible rhythms, Lilison T.S. Cordeiro's mellow African music, the magnificent voice of Ranee Lee backed up by a gospel choir, and instrumentals composed by the great Montreal jazz pianist Oliver Jones.

2000, 09 min 47 s

Âme noire/Black Soul

24 idées / seconde - Peinture sur verre

African Canadian History Collection

Jury Kazoo d'Or - with a cash prize of 500$US
Francophone Film Festival
March 13 to 16 2003, Kalamazoo - USA

Award for Best Short Film
Reel Black Awards
October 19 2002, Toronto - Canada

Jury Mention to the Best Animation
Festival Internacional de Cine Para Ninos - La Matatena
August 13 to 18 2002, Mexico City - Mexico

First OCIC Award - Film with the most human values
Festival internacional de Cine para Ninos / DIVERCINE
July 8 to 19 2002, Montevideo - Uruguay

Best Animation Short Film (ExAequo)
Festival internacional de Cine para Ninos / DIVERCINE
July 8 to 19 2002, Montevideo - Uruguay

Special Commendation - Technical Achievement for Craft and Sound
International Animation Festival
June 25 to July 14 2002, Melbourne - Australia

Second Place, Animation
Black Film Festival
June 12 to 16 2002, San Francisco - USA

Best Film Fine Arts Discpline
Black International Cinema I.U.S.B.
May 2 to 5 2002, Berlin - Germany

Certificate of Merit - Division Film and Video - Category: Animation
Golden Gate Awards Competition & International Film Festival
April 18 to May 2 2002, San Francisco - USA

Gold Special Jury Award - Film and Video Production / Category: The Arts / Cultural
WorldFest - International Film Festival
April 5 to 14 2002, Houston - USA

Process Award for Visual Excellence - with a cash prize 500$US
International Film Festival
March 14 to 24 2002, Cleveland - USA

National Film Board of Canada Prize for Best Animation (all ages) by Youth Jury
Reel to Real International Film Festival for Youth and Families
March 6 to 9 2002, Vancouver - Canada

Best Animated Short Award
International Film Festival
February 27 to March 3 2002, Santa Barbara - USA

Best Animated Short
Soirée des Jutra
February 17 2002, Montréal - Canada

Black Maria Juror's Choice - with a cash prize 225$US
Black Maria Film and Video Festival
January 28 2002, Jersey City - USA

Jury Award
Expo of Short Film and Video
December 6 to 9 2001, New York - USA

Honorable Mention - Category: Human Development Across the Life Span
Itinerant - National Council on Family Relations
November 6 to 11 2001, Minneapolis - USA

Chris Statuette - Category: Arts
International Film and Video Festival
October 23 to 26 2001, Columbus - USA

Crystal Heart Award - with a cash prize of 2,500$US
Heartland Film Festival
October 17 to 23 2001, Indianapolis - USA

Special Commendation given by the Ecumenical Jury
International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
October 16 to 21 2001, Leipzig - Germany

Chantal-Lapaire Award given by Tele-Quebec (ex aequo with Speakers for the dead by David Sutherland and Jennifer Holnes) - with a cash prize of 1,000$ (500,00$ each winner)
VUES D'AFRIQUE / Journées du cinéma africain et créole
April 20 to 29 2001, Montréal - Canada

Golden Bear - Category: Short Film
International Film Festival
February 7 to 18 2001, Berlin - Germany