Emmanuel Akanbi

Emmanuel Akanbi is one of the founders of Antler River Media Co-operative and serves as a board member and Coordinating Editor for the outlet. As trained epidemiologist by day, he is very invested in the advancement of the public healthcare system and contributing to healthcare research. Outside of writing, he loves animation, film, smart comedies, and learning about different organizing histories. You can contact him at akanbi.e@proton.me.

“We call it bougie peasant food”: Bicycle Café’s Londonlicious menu

From January 16 to February 8, more than 40 London restaurants are participating in the winter edition of Londonlicious, a food festival inspiring restaurants to come up with new menus that highlight produce from local farms across Southwestern Ontario. One of the participants is Dutch-inspired restaurant, Bicycle Café. Alicia Berkelmans, executive chef at Bicycle Café, sees Londonlicious as an opportunity to apply much of her farm-to-table mentality. “I’m the granddaughter of Dutch farmers — I also had a farm myself [for a] short period of time and grow a lot of my own food and cook a lot of things…

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Londoners gather at London courthouse in support of local activist

Yesterday morning, a crowd of Londoners gathered to support longtime activist David Heap at his court hearing. Heap faces charges related to protesting the ‘Best Defence’ weapons manufacturing conference held in London in October 2025. Heap, an associate professor at Western University, was charged with one count of obstructing a peace officer after the London Police Service (LPS) Street Crime Unit executed search warrants at his home on November 25. In their press release, the LPS announced that a variety of items had been seized, including computers, cell phones, radios and protest placards during their pre-dawn searches at activists’ homes…

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In conversation with Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugas on Venezuela’s political unrest

Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugas directorial feature It Would Be Night in Caracas had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film, based on a book of the same name, takes place in Venezuela during a time of massive political unrest following the heightened tensions between the government and its political opponents. The film follows Adelaida (played by Natalia Reyes) as she struggles with the loss of her mother, only to find her home has been seized by a corrupt militia. As she takes refuge in a nearby apartment, she needs to survive and…

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A Tribe Called Love sets the stage for more Somali-Canadian stories

Mohamed Ahmed’s A Tribe Called Love is a heartwarming and heartbreaking Romeo & Juliet story for the Somali diaspora. Although not flawless, the directorial debut from Ahmed is full of nostalgia, strong shot work, and a transparent look at how tribalism affects modern communities far from home. Set amongst the Somali community in Toronto, the film follows Farah both as a child (played by Ahmed Ibrahim) and adult (played by Dalmar Abuzeid) as he tries to pursue a romantic relationship with in with Halima (played by Older Feaven Abera), a fellow Somali but from a different tribe than his own. …

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18 to 35 co-creator talks filming in London and bringing diverse comedies to Canadian TVs

The Reel Asian International Film Festival returns for its 29th year, bringing Asian filmmakers and enthusiasts together to celebrate the stories that exist both in the Asian-Canadian diaspora and the many countries from which they hail. Although the festival usually focuses on the big screen, there’s plenty of room to celebrate the achievements of Asian-Canadian creatives on the small screen as well. One such creative is Rahul Chaturvedi, director and co-creator of Bell Fibe TV1’s 18 to 35, a workplace sitcom following Misha Patel (played by Natalia Gracious) a young Indian-Canadian woman as she struggles to run a youth hostel…

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Sudanese Londoners rally to raise awareness of ongoing genocide in Sudan

More than 60 Sudanese Londoners and community members gathered at Victoria Park Wednesday to raise awareness of the genocide unfolding in Sudan. The crowd passed around flyers to people passing by and yelled chants calling for action to be taken to protect Sudanese civilians. “Save El Fasher, save Tawila, even in Canada it does matter,” they chanted. The protests come after El Fasher, the regional capital of North Darfur in Sudan, fell to paramilitary control by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia after 18-months of siege. Since the militia’s takeover of El Fasher, reports of summary executions of civilians trying…

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Forest City Youth Film Festival showcases Southwestern Ontario’s best young filmmakers

The 7th annual Forest City Youth Film Festival (FCYFF) was held at the Wolf Performance Hall on Tuesday, showcasing talented storytelling by young filmmakers across Southwestern Ontario secondary schools. Nineteen short films and 5 feature film pitches were screened to an audience of over 120, including parents, filmmakers and industry professionals. For each of the five categories, films had the chance to win prize money, with $300 going to the winners and $200 to each runner up. FCYFF’s youth co-hosts and H.B. Beal Secondary school students Finn Brady and Kalista Langford led the crowd through each of the categories with…

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“Cinema knows no borders”: Opening night at the Forest City Film Festival

The opening ceremonies of the 10th annual Forest City Film Festival (FCFF) were held Friday evening. The ceremony saw more than 200 attendees gather to celebrate film, music and the festival’s 10 year milestone. “Cinema knows no borders — and neither do we,” said festival director Dorothy Downs in a letter to festival-goers. “Each festival year is a celebration of how our stories connect to the world, and how the world connects to us.” The opening ceremony, held at the Wolf Performance Hall, celebrated London’s role as UNESCO City of Music. It presented a collection of 16 music videos, recognizing…

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Project Pitch narrative feature entry – Cracked

With the Forest City Film Festival returning for its tenth year this weekend, the city is brimming with creative talent. The festival is bringing back Project Pitch, a pitch competition where filmmakers can submit pitches for a chance to win support and funding. Project Pitch’s narrative feature film competition champions projects that hope to produce Canadian-made feature-length films, with at least 50 per cent of filming taking place right here in London. The winner of the narrative feature competition will win a $60,000 prize package to support their production. One pitch that I’m looking forward to learning more about is…

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Project Pitch short film entry – Grape Expectations

With the Forest City Film Festival returning for its tenth year this weekend, the city is brimming with creative talent. The festival is bringing back Project Pitch, a pitch competition where filmmakers can submit pitches for a chance to win support and funding. In the short film category, winners will receive $17,000 in production funding. This year, London-based director Brad Spencer and screenwriter Mary Ann Dixon will be pitching their short, Grape Expectations. In Grape Expectations we follow a recently terminated business executive, Claire, seeking to reinvent herself by purchasing a run-down winery. I spoke with the creative duo on…

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