AXT: Behind the Screen – Brown Girl Begins (Private Event)

Friday, November 14, 2025 | 6:45 PM | Private Screening Room, Downtown Toronto

RSVP Deadline: November 10th

About the Event

AXT Behind the Screen isn’t your typical screening and Q&A. It brings together industry leaders and brilliant emerging creatives for open exchange and collaboration. Designed as both an experience and a dialogue, it briefly dissolves the distance between creatives, industry, and audience, offering an immersive, interactive approach to learning while celebrating our shared love of film.

Each AXT Behind the Screen event blends:

• The engagement of a Q&A
• The intimacy of a fireside chat
• The collaborative spark of a roundtable
• A unique screening experience and moderated dialogue shaped around a specific industry perspective

The Film: Brown Girl Begins

On November 14th, AXT Behind the Screen is thrilled to screen the award-winning Brown Girl Begins. This 2017 film is an adaptation of Nalo Hopkinson’s Afrofuturistic classic, Brown Girl in the Ring. It takes place in a dystopian Toronto and centres around a young woman who must come into her power, drawing on Caribbean folklore, Afrofuturistic themes, and Toronto as the dynamic backdrop for this epic indie classic.

As View From the Dark put it, director Sharon Lewis succeeds not because she created a glossy film with all the bells and whistles, but because it’s more of a grassroots performance piece, a sketch of a world that has lost its power, and the story of one young Black woman who finds hers.

The Director: Sharon Lewis

Following the screening, join us for a Q&A with the film’s award-winning director, Sharon Lewis. Her career encompasses a range of narrative and factual subject matter, as well as feature films and episodic television, making her one of the most versatile and celebrated voices in the Canadian screen industry.

The Micro-Workshop

Following the Q&A, AXT Behind the Screen will host a director-focused micro-workshop, giving attendees a rare hands-on opportunity to engage directly with Sharon Lewis and dig deeper into the craft and perspective behind the film.

Why Attend AXT Behind the Screen?

AXT Behind the Screen is a space where real conversations happen, where emerging creatives get direct access to industry trailblazers, and where the love of film becomes a catalyst for connection and growth. Whether you’re an emerging creative or an established industry professional, this is the kind of evening that stays with you.

Join us for a night of inspiration, connection, and real talk with innovative director Sharon Lewis, as we continue to work together to transform the Canadian film industry.

Event Details

• Date: Friday, November 14, 2025
• Time: 6:45 PM
• Film: Brown Girl Begins
• Location: Private Screening Room, Downtown Toronto
• RSVP Deadline: November 10th