In Conversation With... Euzhan Palcy

With her 1983 feature debut, Sugar Cane Alley, Euzhan Palcy became the first Black director to win a Silver Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival and a César Award. She was also the first female director to win a César. The TIFF Share Her Journey Ambassador joins TIFF Executive Director and Co-Head Joana Vicente for an in-depth conversation about the transformative power of cinema and the importance of political filmmaking. Following Sugar Cane Alley, which won a total of four prizes at Venice, Palcy went on to direct Donald Sutherland, Marlon Brando, and Susan Sarandon in the anti-apartheid drama A Dry White Season — the first major studio film helmed by a Black woman. Heralded as a “goddess” by Ava DuVernay, Palcy joins us to discuss her creative process, the importance of mentorship, and the challenges she has faced as a Black woman working in the film industry.