A powerful new documentary by Ian Mark Kimanje explores Carnival's deep cultural legacy and global resonance. Screening in Toronto this summer, Carnival: They Can’t Steal Our Joy is both a visual spectacle and an emotional journey across generations and continents.
From the rhythmic streets of Port of Spain to the jubilant vibes of Toronto's Grand Parade, Carnival pulses with colour, history, and resistance. A new documentary, Carnival: They Can’t Steal Our Joy, dives into the heart of this globally celebrated tradition, tracing its origins, cultural evolution, and deeply personal significance. Directed by Ian Mark Kimanje, the film offers a timely and soul-stirring look at the power of Carnival as a form of joy-fuelled defiance and cultural pride.
After acclaimed screenings at the 2025 American Black Film Festival and the Caribbean Film and Arts Festival, the documentary makes its Toronto debut at Hot Docs Cinema on July 24, followed by a special Emancipation Day screening at the Nia Centre for the Arts on August 4, 2025.
The film’s title is a bold declaration of purpose, capturing the spirit and defiance at the heart of Carnival. Kimanje, a Kitchener-based filmmaker, uses Carnival as a lens to explore generational memory, emotional healing, and diasporic connection. His journey began when he met a woman along a Carnival parade route who shared how the celebration helped her reconnect with life during cancer treatment. That encounter opened up deeper questions about the enduring emotional impact of Carnival for people across the African diaspora.
“This woman’s story reminded me that Carnival isn’t just celebration,” Kimanje reflects. “It’s a life force. It’s memory, legacy, and resistance wrapped in colour, sound, and movement.”
Through sweeping cinematography and emotionally rich interviews, They Can’t Steal Our Joy documents Carnival’s resonance from Ghana to Trinidad and Tobago, from Toronto to the UK and the United States. The film unearths Carnival’s rebellious roots in the resistance of enslaved Africans and follows its global journey to becoming a symbol of spiritual liberation, artistic expression, and social unity.
Anchored in historical scholarship and intimate storytelling, the documentary shines light on Carnival’s dual identity, as both an economic powerhouse and a sacred ritual. In Toronto alone, the 2023 edition of Carnival injected a staggering $465.7 million into Ontario’s GDP, drawing 1.67 million people to the streets in joyful affirmation. But beyond the spectacle lies something intangible yet deeply felt: Carnival as survival, celebration, and connection to ancestral strength.
The film’s production is as layered and dynamic as its subject. Shot across five countries, the project brought together an award-winning creative team. Alongside Kimanje, the film is co-produced by Emily Jane DeVries and Robert Lang, with a script by Allen Booth. Cinematography is handled by Russell Gienapp, while editing duties were split between Mark Stork and Sonia Godding Togoba—each adding their signature storytelling rhythm. The soundtrack features original music from Trinidad’s Freetown Collective, producer Sheriff Mumbles, and Derek Brin, who also oversaw music supervision and sound editing. Their fusion of rootsy soca, afrobeats, and diasporic soundscapes adds emotional heft to the film’s visual poetry.
The documentary also benefited from the support of key Canadian institutions and distributors. Executive producers include Kimanje, DeVries, and Lang, with additional backing from TVO’s Jane Jankovic and Alexandra Roberts, as well as Patrice Ramsay from Knowledge Network. Development and distribution support came through Film Garage North, Kensington Communications, the Canada Media Fund, and the Rogers Documentary Fund, highlighting the importance of public broadcasting and institutional support in documenting underrepresented stories.
More than a cultural retrospective, Carnival: They Can’t Steal Our Joy is a celebration of how communities continue to find beauty and resistance in movement, costume, and music. From stilt-walkers and moko jumbies to feathered masqueraders and booming steel pans, the documentary paints a vibrant and defiant picture of diasporic pride.
Upcoming Toronto Screenings
Two major opportunities await audiences to experience this film in Toronto:
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Hot Docs Cinema
Date: July 24, 2025
Location: 506 Bloor St W, Toronto
Details: General admission screening as part of the national rollout
Tickets -
Nia Centre for the Arts (Emancipation Day Special Screening)
Date: August 4, 2025
Location: 524 Oakwood Avenue, Toronto
Details: Commemorative screening tied to Emancipation Day, with community programming
As Kimanje’s film makes clear, Carnival has always been more than a parade. It is a tapestry woven from struggle and survival, a kaleidoscope of joy stitched with history. They Can’t Steal Our Joy captures this truth with emotional clarity and visual brilliance. For Afro-Caribbean Canadians, and Black communities worldwide, Carnival is proof that resistance can dance, that healing can sing, and that joy is power.
This documentary honours the past while charging forward—urging us to carry Carnival’s spirit into the future, alive in every feather, every beat, every step.
