The strength of community prevails in the aftermath of tragedy in Night Watches Us. The documentary directed by Stefan Verna, now streaming at NFB.ca, observes as members of Montreal’s Black community recover from the violent loss of 23-year-old Nicholas Gibbs, who was fatally shot by police while he was having a mental health episode. The documentary considers why violence often serves as the first response to individuals in need, and what Gibbs’ death means for his kids, his community, and the city more broadly as it reckons with institutional violence.
Night Watches Us brings voices of Montrealers together in a portrait of community resilience as Verna mixes interviews and vérité-style footage with spoken word performances and loving portraits of street art that ensure that people like Gibbs won’t be forgotten.
“I made this film for his kids. They’ll never know their father,” Verna told True Daley in the Spring issue of POV. “I grew up with a father and mother and I have two kids and I take it very seriously. For them not to know who their father is, for me, is a great tragedy. If this film can give them that connection to their father whenever they want, I think I would have done my job.
“I felt like this story could not be erased,” Verna continued. “I wanted to shed light on the local issues, because we love to talk about the States. But it’s deflection. It’s pure deflection. For me it was really important that when I told that story [of Gibbs’ death], it would be told in a way that the Black community felt spoken to.”
Watch Night Watches Us below from the NFB.
Night Watches Us, Stefan Verna, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
