On August 21, 2018, a son lost his father, a mother lost her son and a nephew lost his uncle. The community knows what happened. Flowers bloom where Nicholas Gibbs last drew breath. He was a 23-year-old Black man plagued by mental health issues but was murdered by the Montreal police. Stefan Verna’s Night Watches Us examines the systemic forces that lead to Nicholas’s tragic death, telling the story through the eyes of his family and community, united in their collective grief. Using a blend of documentary styles mixed with street art and spoken word, this film is a love letter in honour of Nicholas and the Gibbs family.
Documentary styles, street art and spoken word blend in Night Watches Us as it examines the systemic forces that caused a young man’s tragic death.
Stefan Verna’s documentary Night Watches Us is a poignant cinematic exploration of the tragic death of Nicholas Gibbs, a 24-year-old Black Montreal man who fell victim to police brutality while grappling with mental health issues and psychosis.
Montclair Street is deceptively calm and quiet today, yet the residents remember what happened on the night of August 17, 2018. They were permanently marked by the killing of Gibbs, a father of three, who was shot to death by Montreal police in the street outside his home. Nicholas was unarmed and in the midst of a mental breakdown. Witnessing this traumatic event has powerfully changed lives—and for some residents, it has led to an awakening around issues of police violence and impunity.
Through community accounts and intimate conversations with Gibbs’ loved ones—his mother, his youngest son and his nephew—Night Watches Us delves into the profound impact of systemic racism and injustice. It captures the collective grief that follows, incorporating various cinematic styles, eye-witness footage and documentary interviews. A poetic blend of music, dance and spoken word brings Nicholas and his family’s desire for justice to life on screen. Themes of mourning and resistance are woven throughout, highlighting public protests, personal grief rituals and creative expressions reflecting a shared yearning for change.
To Nicholas… and the Gibbs family
Written and Directed by
Stefan Verna
Edited by
Andrea Henriquez
Jeremiah Hayes
Directors of Photography
Mark Ó Fearghaíl
Stefan Verna
Jean-Marc Abela
Pierre Tremblay
Produced by
Ariel Nasr
Kat Baulu
Poetry and Additional Music
Jason “Blackbird” Selman
Sound Design
Tyler Fitzmaurice (Audio Coara)
Original Music
Don Barbarino
Sound Recordists
Dimitri Médard
Gaëlle Komar
Lynne Trépanier
Dancers
Guy-Robert Jean
Junior Dorsaint
Kurt Williams Fina
Street Artists
Peter Gibson (Roadsworth)
Gene Pendon
Animation Consultant
Dale Hayward
Art Director
Paola Ridolfi
Musician
Tyler Fitzmaurice
Thank You
Dannielle Dyson
Dexter X
Alexandre Popovic
Me. Virginie Dufresne-Lemire
Maria Murphy
Elijah Mathura
Tristan McCool
Paul Cargnello
Lisa Miron
Ted Rutland
Patrice Jean-Louis
Joëlle Remarais
Ralph Joseph aka Waahli
Lucas Tomely
Nancy Guerera
Denis Keene
Alison Maloney
Will Prosper
Marcelle Partouche Gutierrez
Head & Hands
Alain Babineau
Sharon Sweeny
René Bernal
Emilio Emiliano
Sue Montgomery
Pat Dillon-Moore
Zibz aka Neil Guilding
Fo Niemei
Jason Arsenault
DRPN:SOUL
Adrian Wills
Alia Hazineh
Jessica Valoise
Production Manager
Mylène Augustin
Drone Operator
Julien Brault-Chénier
1st Camera Assistant
Cory Reynolds
2nd Camera Assistant
Ruth Elvire Dejean
Grip
Benoit Déry
Virgile Ratelle
Gaffers
Shanyn Milech
Michael McMullin
Assistant Art Director
Rock Plourde
Assistant Production Manager
Mona Maarabani
Production Assistants
Victoria Laberge
Mona Maarabani
Asia Mason
Elya Myers
Barnabe Solon
Geneviève Thibert
Security
Jackson Frank
Usama Rana
Assistant Sound Editor (Audio Coara)
Joanna Worthington
Sound Editor (Development)
Marie-Pierre Grenier
Transcription
Mylène Augustin
Researcher
Stefan Verna
Archival Research
Marika Lapointe
Nancy Marcotte
Audio / Visual Archives
The Gibbs Family
Jesse Freeston
Alan Kohl
No Borders Media
Jaggi Singh
Santiago Bertolino
Société Radio-Canada
Stefan Verna
Re-Recording Mixer
Jean Paul Vialard
Online Editor
Luca Di Gioacchino
Production Supervisor
Roz Power
Technical Coordinators
Daniel Lord
Christopher MacIntosh
Graphic Design
Mélanie Bouchard
Digital Editing Technicians
Marie-Josée Gourde
Patrick Trahan
Pierre Dupont
Albert Kurian
Production Coordinators
Yanis Ait Mohamed
Lucia Corak
Christine Williams
Senior Production Coordinators
Cheryl Murgatroyd
Kelly Davis
Line Producer
Amanda Roy
Studio Administrators
Leslie Anne Poyntz
Isabelle Limoges
Senior Marketing Advisor
Jamie Hammond
Marketing Manager
Carly Kastner
Marketing Coordinator
Jolène Lessard
Publicist
Marie-Claude Lamoureux
Legal Counsel
Christian Pitchen
Executive Producers
Eastern Canada Documentary Unit
Nathalie Cloutier
Rohan Fernando
Annette Clarke