Through Telus Storyhive, the public can now view 33 projects from a program for new and emerging filmmakers in B.C. and Alberta, including African Rifles, a film from Greater Victoria's own Mia Golden.

In African Rifles, Golden shares the history of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 first official militia, formed solely with Black pioneers. "Men fleeing the U.S. from racism and in some cases slavery," Golden said in the trailer for the film. "It's a really important piece of history and it highlighted to me how many stories exist out there that we've never been told about."

Golden, who moved to Canada from Jamaica at age 3, describes in the film walking in Bastion Square weekly for the last 20 years, only to recently uncover she was walking on bricks with names of people who helped build the capital city. She then learned the history of the Black immigrants who voluntarily formed the Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps in 1860, helping to build a newly crowned colony of British Columbia.

"Why had I never learned about this?" Golden asked herself. "I wanted to know more."

By exploring archives, cemeteries, BC Black History Society, and interviewing historians and ancestors, Golden uncovered a past rich with diversity and dreams of a new life, but also bigotry. 

Golden received $20,000 in production funding for the creation of the project, which premiered Jan. 14 as part of the program All Access Documentary Edition. 

Storyhive's six programs have provided over $66.9 million in production funding for thousands of local content creators across B.C. and Alberta since 2013, Telus said in a press release.

Telus Storyhive content, including Golden's film, can be found on Telus Optik TV channel 9, Stream+ and the Telus Storyhive YouTube channel. It is also running Feb. 12 at the Victoria Film Festival.