As an award-winning filmmaker and social justice activist, it was only natural that Sobaz would approach the work he has been doing from an arts-based approach, and as a black man he also intrinsically understands the impacts of racism and marginalization.

 

Sobaz’s NFB film from early in his career is called Race is a Four-letter Word. His sense of empathy and the unique programs he’s designed are anchored in his own experiences. He has received awards from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, the Multicultural Education Council of Nova Scotia, the Canadian Heritage National Anti-Racism Competition, National Film Board, and the Minister’s Award for Leadership in Crime Prevention.

​

Sobaz has certificates in Compassionate Listening, Community Based Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding (from the Coady Institute), and diversity training facilitation. He also has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Mass Communication from York University in Toronto, and is doing a Masters in Sociology at Dalhousie University.

 

The programming Sobaz has designed is also based on his own experiences, as a father of two African Nova Scotian children who are now in their twenties, as a filmmaker, community activist and so much more. iMOVe’s programming starts with meeting participants where they are in their lives, and using an arts-based approach including learning about Compassionate Listening (a program that iMOVe is the only organization in Canada to be certified in). Participants are then invited to participate in ‘re-authoring’ their stories through the Kintsugi Monologues program involving filmmaking, radio and theatre work.