Wieland (Will) Prosper is a

Haitian Canadian Haitian Canadians () are Canadians of Haitian descent or Haiti-born people who reside in Canada. As of 2016, more than 86% of Haitian Canadians reside in Quebec. Haitian migration to Canada Immigration 1960–1980 Immigration from Haiti to ...

filmmaker and activist from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

."This organizer and filmmaker is showing how everyday people can lift up their community"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, February 8, 2021. He is most noted for his 2019 film '' Kenbe la, Until We Win (Kenbe la, jusqu'à la victoire)'', which won the People's Choice Award at the 2019

Montreal International Documentary Festival The Montreal International Documentary Festival () is a Canadian documentary film festival, staged annually in Montreal, Quebec. In English, the festival now goes by the name Montreal International Documentary Festival, while retaining the French- ...

, and was longlisted for the

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...

DGC Discovery Award DGC can refer to: Businesses and organizations * Darlton Gliding Club, Nottinghamshire, England * Daybreak Game Company, an American video game developer * Delhi Golf Club, Delhi, India * Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chronometrie, a German organiz ...

in 2020.

Background

As a teenager he was associated with Dope Squad, a

breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...

crew which began engaging in criminal

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

activity long after Prosper left it.Daniel J. Rowe and Amy Luft
"'Will Prosper is more than this error': Montreal Mayor Plante sticking behind star candidate"
CTV News Montreal, August 19, 2021. He was later a

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

officer from 1988 to 2001, but left that job after being accused of conducting unauthorized background searches on Steve Bernavil, a former Dope Squad colleague who was under investigation as a murder suspect at the time but was later cleared of involvement in the case.

Activism

He began his activism in 2008 after the shooting of Fredy Villanueva, as a co-founder of Montréal-Nord Républik, an organization that provides community legal aid to residents of the Montreal borough of

Montréal-Nord Montreal North (, ) is a borough within the city of Montreal, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city of Montreal North on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. It was amalgamated into the City of Montreal on January 1, 2002. ...

and other projects to combat

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

.Catherine Handfield
"Le passé rattrape certains supporteurs de Montréal-Nord Républik"
''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'', November 14, 2008. The organization has since been renamed Hoodstock.

Filmmaking

As a filmmaker his projects have included the documentary films ''Républik Basket'' and ''Aller Simple: Haiti'', and the television series '' Black Life: Untold Stories''. In 2020 he directed the music video for "Tout recommencer", a supergroup single of Quebec

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

musicians released in support of Hoodstock, whose participants included

Imposs Stanley Rimsky Salgado (born 12 September 1980), known by his stage name Imposs, is a Haitian-Canadian rapper, musician, singer and songwriter based in Quebec. Before becoming a solo artist, he was part of Muzion, one of the well-known hip hop ...

, Shreez, Tizzo,

Sarahmée Sarahmée Ouellet (born 1988 in Dakar, Senegal), mononymously known as Sarahmée, is a Senegalese-Canadians, Canadian rapper from Quebec. She is most noted for her single "T'as pas cru", which was shortlisted for the 2019 SOCAN Songwriting Prize. ...

, Marco Volcy, Rosalvo and Meryem Saci. He also served as a script consultant on Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette's 2022 film '' White Dog (Chien blanc)''.

Political activity

He ran as a

Québec solidaire Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

candidate in

Bourassa-Sauvé Bourassa-Sauvé () is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It is located within Montreal and consists of most of the borough of Montréal-Nord Montreal North (, ) is a boro ...

for the

2012 Quebec general election The 2012 Quebec general election took place in the Canada, Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec on September 4, 2012. Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, Lieutenant Governor Pierre Duchesne dissolved the National Assembly o ...

, and was a

Projet Montréal Projet Montréal (officially Projet Montréal - Équipe Luc Rabouin) is a progressive, environmentalist municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2004, it is led by Luc Rabouin and holds a majority of seats on Montre ...

candidate for mayor of Montréal-Nord in the

2021 Montreal municipal election Municipal elections were held in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada on November 7, 2021, as part of the 2021 Quebec municipal elections. Voters elected 103 representatives in a First-past-the-post voting, first-past-the-post electoral system. ...

. His 2021 candidacy was marred by the revelation of the circumstances behind his departure from the RCMP, with political opponents and media falsely accusing him of direct personal involvement in criminal activity. Projet Montréal leader

Valérie Plante Valérie Plante (; born 14 June 1974) is a Canadian politician serving as the 45th and current mayor of Montreal since 2017. First elected to Montreal City Council in the 2013 election, she served as leader of the Projet Montréal party sin ...

expressed confidence in Prosper's candidacy, noting that his record as a community leader and filmmaker should demonstrate that he was far more than just one ethical mistake from decades earlier.Alessia Simona Maratta
"Mayor Plante supports candidate Will Prosper amid reports of past improper conduct as RCMP officer"

Global News Global News is the news and Current affairs (news format), current affairs division of the Canadian Global Television Network. The network is owned by Corus Entertainment, which oversees all of the network's national news programming as well as ...

, August 19, 2021. He lost the election to incumbent borough mayor Christine Black.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prosper, Will Canadian documentary film directors Black Canadian activists Black Canadian filmmakers Film directors from Montreal Activists from Montreal Québec solidaire candidates in Quebec provincial elections Living people Canadian people of Haitian descent Canadian television directors Canadian music video directors Black Canadian screenwriters