Sandi Rankaduwa's upcoming NFB doc Ice Breakers to shed light on the amazing story of hockey’s Black-Canadian pioneers. Today’s Black players the latest link in a long and proud Canadian legacy.

News release

February 27, 2019 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada

“There’s a pervading myth that hockey is a white man’s sport. Today, hockey players of colour from all levels, children to pros (and most recently in Quebec, their families) are still met with racial slurs and worse. But the truth is that many pillars in the foundation of hockey aren’t white. We’ve been fed a history that is infuriatingly inaccurate and I’m hoping this documentary can help change that. By paying homage to the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, this film will hopefully reframe how we see hockey while also telling athletes of colour that they not only have a place on the ice, but they’re part of a sports legacy.” - Director Sandi Rankaduwa

Principal photography is now underway on Ice Breakers, a National Film Board of Canada (NFB) short documentary by Sandi Rankaduwa that will explore the little-known Black-Canadian history of hockey and its Nova Scotian forefathers.

Ice Breakers will take us back to hockey’s Black roots in Nova Scotia with the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes (CHLM), established in 1895 by the sons and grandsons of Black Loyalists, Jamaican Maroons, and runaway African-American slaves who settled in Eastern Canada in the 1800s.

Produced by Rohan Fernando, Ice Breakers is part of Re-Imagining My Nova Scotia, a new three-part series of NFB short films by emerging and established filmmakers from Nova Scotia.

CHLM teams played a modern, hard-hitting, fast-paced style compared to white leagues of the time. And the league was home to many firsts: in 1900, Henry “Braces” Franklin of the Dartmouth Jubilees was the first goalie documented to use butterfly goaltending, while Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eurekas introduced the slapshot nearly 30 years before its credited white pioneer, Habs superstar Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, was even born.

The CHLM flourished until World War I, when the league collapsed. This in itself was a tragedy, but even more tragic is the fact that the league was essentially forgotten despite its significance in sports history. Today, Black hockey players remain subject to racism and are often seen as an anomaly in the sport. But in reality, they’re carrying the torch for an important—albeit regrettably little-known—Canadian tradition.

Sandi Rankaduwa is a Sri Lankan-Canadian writer and filmmaker who was named one of three BuzzFeed Emerging Writer Fellows for 2018. This is her third film.

Andrew MacCormack is the cinematographer for Ice Breakers, which is being executive produced for the NFB’s Quebec and Atlantic Studio by Annette Clarke.

About the NFB

The NFB is Canada’s public producer of award-winning creative documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories and participatory experiences. NFB producers are embedded in communities across the country, from St. John’s to Vancouver, working with talented creators on innovative and socially relevant projects. The NFB is a leader in gender equity in film and digital media production, and is working to strengthen Indigenous-led production, guided by the recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. NFB productions have won over 7,000 awards, including 20 Canadian Screen Awards, 18 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 100 Genies. To access NFB works, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for mobile devices.

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Contacts

Pat Dillon-Moore
NFB Publicist
C.: 514-206-1750
p.dillon@nfb.ca | @PatDoftheNFB

Lily Robert
Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
C.: 514-296-8261
l.robert@nfb.ca

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