CHRISTIE PITS Park
Sunday, August 10, 2025

when morning comes

With the short films On a Sunday at Eleven and Déraciné

TOPS has selected Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, a narrative filmmaker based in Toronto, as this year’s Spotlight Filmmaker, an annual TOPS tradition that allows the festival to highlight local artists whose work inspires our programme selections. Her stunning feature film début When Morning Comes is a love letter to Jamaica and the experiences of first generation immigrants. This cinematic treasure centers on nine-year old Jamal (Djamari Roberts), who’s been informed by his mother Neesha (Shaquana Wilson) that they will be leaving the only home he knows, in hope of better opportunities in Canada. In Fyffe-Marshall’s touching coming of age story, we watch as Jamal learns to embrace himself and his community. A situation familiar to many who have immigrated to Canada, the audience will be struck with waves of nostalgia and memories of the places they were forced to or chose to leave behind. 

Preceding When Morning Comes are two short films about children navigating relationships and social pressures, but finding support in familiar spaces. In Toronto filmmaker Alicia K. Harris' latest captivating short On A Sunday At Eleven, a young Black ballerina questions the eurocentric standards surrounding her but finds solace in the Black women who help shape her identity. Déraciné is a quietly gripping short film about a young woman navigating her father’s impending deportation and the ramifications she faces. In this timely short, Sudanese-Canadian filmmaker Rolla Tahir (who is also the Artistic Director of Toronto Arab Film) captures the experience of displacement and disenfranchisement that countless people face in the current political climate. Déraciné is further highlighted in this year’s Spotlight on SWANA Stories programme.

This screening will be presented with optional pre-recorded Audio Description available for blind, low vision, or visually impaired audience members. More information about this accessibility feature is available at TOpictureshow.com/audio. Other accessibility features available at TOPS events, including open captioning, are outlined at TOpictureshow.com/accessibility.