Toronto/CMEDIA: Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, which runs April 23 – May 3, 2026, ahead of its TVO broadcast and digital premiere in September 2026, the TVO Original NEKAI WALKS will have its World Premiere.
For decades families have reportedly been left in unimaginable pain by many young people losing their lives from shootings and have left a community searching for healing.
By exploring in his films, gun violence and its impact on our communities, Award-winning writer-director Rico King follows one survivor on his quest to regain his ability to walk after a near-fatal shooting.
“I began this film from a place of anger…I wanted to expose how Toronto’s racial communities have been misunderstood, misrepresented, abandoned, and even blamed for the violence they suffer through. But Nekai changed me…As a documentary filmmaker, launching a film at Hot Docs is a dream come true. Showing the audience black joy, love and togetherness that defines our community even through its darkest moments makes it even special. I want the world to see that despite all odds , stereotypes, and pain, like Nekai, still we rise,” says filmmaker Rico King.
At just 16 years of age, Nekai Foster, with no involvement in crime, was randomly targeted and shot multiple times, including in the head, while walking home after playing basketball in Toronto’s Jane and Finch community. Nekai’s life changed in a matter of seconds due to retaliatory gun violence that has plagued his community for generations. With the loving support of his family and his fierce mother Taneeshia, the film captures Nekai’s remarkable journey as he turns tragedy into triumph.
“Gun violence continues to have a devastating impact on communities in the GTA and across Canada, with disproportionate effects on racialized communities in particular,And as soon as we saw Rico’s specific vision for this film, we knew it was something special and put the project into formal development. To see Nekai Walks selected for Hot Docs now is a spectacular outcome. We are proud to support a film that confronts the urgency of this issue through the voices and experiences of those most directly affected,” said Alexandra Roberts, Commissioning Editor of TVO Docs.
The film also follows a former educator Devon Jones,who haunted by the loss of more than 30 of his students to senseless shootings turned tireless crusader against gun violence.Dedicating his life to empowering and protecting the most vulnerable youth in the Jane and Finch community, he has redirected his grief into action by doing everything in his power to ensure they don’t become the next victims.
Offering a rare perspective from the other side of gun violence, the film follows Imo Lewis, who is now serving a life sentence for a shooting he committed as a troubled young man who reflects on his choices and the devastating impact they’ve had not only on his victim’s family but his very own.
Public health nurse and researcher Dr. Annette Bailey contextualizes that those who commit violence are often victims of the environments and circumstances they were born into gun violence in deeply rooted social inequities, trauma, poverty, and systemic barriers.
At a time when society has become desensitized to gun violence, NEKAI WALKS reminds us that behind every headline is a human, NEKAI WALKS will have its World Premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, running April 23 – May 3, 2026. Screenings dates and times to be announced.
Produced by Black King Entertainment in association with TVO, the film NEKAI WALKS was filmed with the assistance of Canada Media Fund, Rogers Documentary Fund, Telefilm.
ABOUT BLACK KING ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Created to develop, produce, and distribute powerful, socially impactful stories that amplify underrepresented voices and challenge dominant narratives, and founded by producer, writer, and director Rico King, Black King Entertainment Inc. is a Toronto-based film and television production company.
After gaining international recognition with Tears in the Bayou, one of the most-viewed independent documentaries to emerge from Texas, which examined the devastating impact of gun violence in Houston through the voices of survivors and grieving families, Black King Entertainment is now expanding into broadcast and premium long-form storytelling with Nekai Walks, a TVO-commissioned documentary exploring the psychological and communal aftermath of violence in Toronto.
With a growing slate including narrative series, feature films, documentaries, and stage productions, Black King Entertainment is building toward its long-term vision of becoming a globally recognized Black-owned studio that produces culturally significant, commercially viable, and socially transformative content.
ABOUT TVO MEDIA EDUCATION GROUP
Inspiring learning that changes lives and enriches communities, TVO Media Education Group founded in 1970 is a globally recognized digital learning organization that engages Ontarians of all ages with inclusive experiences and diverse perspectives.
Investing in the transformative potential of education for everyone, through our brands TVO Today, TVO Learn, TVO ILC and TVOkids, TVO is a registered charity funded in part by the Province of Ontario and supported by thousands of sponsors and donors.
Visit TVO.me for more information.
