MONTREAL, LIVING MEMORIES: MASSIMADI OPENS ITS 18TH EDITION, MORE THAN 40 AFRO-QUEER FILMS IN THEATRES AND ONLINE!
The curtain rises at Théâtre Plaza, on Saint-Hubert Street, and suddenly Montreal changes light. Laughter in the lobby, embraces, a full house for a free opening night — and on the screen, an excerpt from Terry Blade's My Gender Is Black, in its Canadian premiere. That is how, on Thursday, October 15, Massimadi launched its 18th edition.
This year's theme says it all: “Mémoires vives” (Living Memories). Until November 8, 2026, the Afro LGBTQ+ film and arts festival unrolls more than 40 films in seven thematic blocks — chosen families, Indigenous and Two-Spirit resilience, Black and queer histories, Afro-queer communities of the Caribbean and the Guianas. Some works are having their very first screening in the world here, like À minuit les enfants s'éteignent and PLENUM; others choose Montreal for their Quebec premiere.
Massimadi is not just a dark theatre. On October 22, the group exhibition Le/The Sanctum opens at the Maison de la culture de Côte-des-Neiges. On Sunday, October 25, the “Celebrating Our Voices” closing will mix drag, dance, humour and poetry, before a big drag night at DD's Club. And for those kept away by distance, the online showcase takes over from October 26 to November 8, designed to break the isolation of Afro-queer and Indigenous people in remote regions — and to make these voices resonate as far as Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Belgium and the United States.
On the practical side: screenings at $8, in-person pass at $45 (+ taxes). A festival born in 2009 that, edition after edition, remains what it has always been: a home where people recognize themselves. Its fact sheet joins our directory today, in the North America section.
Practical information
Massimadi Festival (18th edition) — Théâtre Plaza, Saint-Hubert Street, Montreal, October 15 to November 8, 2026; theme: “Mémoires vives”; more than 40 films in seven thematic blocks.
Le/The Sanctum exhibition at the Maison de la culture de Côte-des-Neiges from October 22; “Celebrating Our Voices” closing on October 25; online showcase from October 26 to November 8. Screenings at $8, in-person pass at $45 (+ taxes).
— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer