We Film Night

A still from Africa Unite

UPDATE: Donisha Prendergast, the granddaughter of Bob and Rita Marley, who is currently at work on a documentary about Rastafarianism, will be introducing Africa Unite and engaging in a Q&A with the audience at the screening on Tuesday.

ttff/11 Night at WeBeat
Tuesday 7 June 2011, 7–9pm
St James Amphitheatre
Western Main Road, St James

We’re bringing you two movies during this year’s WeBeat celebrations in St James and we hope you’ll join us on Tuesday, June 7, from 7-9pm at the St James Amphitheatre. We’ll be showing Africa Unite, a sure hit for fans of reggae music and Bob Marley, and The Suspect, a dramatic short made in Trinidad.

Africa Unite (USA, 2008) brings together the family of Robert Nesta Marley as they celebrate in music what would have been the reggae giant’s 60th birthday. The movie follows three generations of Marleys as they journey to Ethiopia in 2005 for the annual Africa Unite concert in Addis Ababa. The concert features music from the younger generation and rare footage of their legendary relative in action, as they promote his vision for a united Africa. The movie was directed by Stephanie Black.

The Suspect, a dramatic short by Trinidadian director Leroy Smart, premiered in 2010 at the ttff. The action takes place on a bus, where a passenger begins to suspect that a crime is about to take place.

Admission is free and both movies are suitable for all ages.

For more information on the ttff Night at WeBeat, go here.

Sunday Nite Movie Lime

A still from Rain

Fancy catching a couple of great movies this Arrival Day weekend? If you're in Tobago you can do just that, at the Sunday Nite Movie Lime, which we're hosting along with the Division of Community Development+Culture of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).

The lime takes place this Sunday, 29 May, 7-9pm at the Buccoo Community Centre, and will comprise two films. The first is a science-fiction short, Pumzi (2009), written and directed by the Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu. A visually stunning tale of one woman's quest to breathe new life into a dying planet Earth, Pumzi was a selection of the ttff/10.

Following Pumzi will be the evening's feature film, Rain (2008), written and directed by Maria Govan of the Bahamas. The opening night film of the ttff/09, Rain is a powerful drama about the attempts of a teenage girl, Rain, a promising sprinter, to forge a relationship with her mother, after many years of being apart.

Admission to the Sunday Nite Novie Lime is free. The films are recommended for persons 14 years and over. We hope to see you there!

Q&A with Pascale Obolo

Pascale Obolo

Tomorrow evening the ttff will host an evening with Pascale Obolo, the director of the new documentary Calypso Rose: The Lioness of the Jungle. Born in Cameroon, Ms Obolo moved with her family to Paris when she was six. She studied filmmaking at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français and the University of Paris, and was one of the first people to document the Parisian hip-hop and graffiti art scenes on film.

Tomorrow's event takes place at the offices of the trinidad+tobago film festival, 199 Belmont Circular Road, 6-8pm. The public is invited to attend this event, which is free of charge. Call 621-0709 for more info.


How did you get interested in becoming a filmmaker?

When I was young I realised that the language of the cinema is an international language. For me, if you have a message to give to people, images speak to and touch everybody. I was interested in working to fight against racism, against injustice and sexism, and wanted to do that through film—so that’s why I decided to become a filmmaker.

When did you first come to Trinidad and Tobago?

I came to Trinidad ten years ago for Carnival. When I went to the tents I discovered calypso music. When I was young, in Africa, my father used to play calypso music, but I didn’t know that it came from Trinidad. I was very interested in the stories in the songs, and the extempo battles—they reminded me of hip-hop. So I met some calypsonians and started to do some research. That’s when I decided to make my first feature-length film, Calypso at Dirty Jim’s (2005).

Was that when you first met Calypso Rose?

Yes. She was the only woman in Calypso at Dirty Jim’s. I was very interested in her story. In the beginning she was not the main character, but when I started to edit the movie, Rose started to play more of a role. When I finished editing the movie and started to show it, everyone wanted to know who this lady was. That’s when I decided I wanted to work with her. Also, I saw parallels between her story, as one of the only women in calypso at the time she started out, and my own story as a black woman in the French film industry.

When did you start working on Calypso Rose: The Lioness of the Jungle?

The film took four years to make. We started shooting in Paris, and after that Tobago, Trinidad, New York and Benin in Africa. The structure of the movie shows each facet of Rose in each country. In Paris we see Rose the artist; in Tobago, we see where she was born; in Trinidad, we see where her career started and where she became the calypso queen; in America, we show how she became an international star; in Africa, it’s back to her roots.

Was that Rose’s first trip to Africa?

No. She had been to Liberia before, because she is an ambassador-at-large, working in the fight against illiteracy. Her father and mother couldn’t read, so for her it’s a kind of a mission. The government of Liberia asked Rose to represent this cause. She raised funds to build a school there, which is named after her. We were supposed to shoot in Liberia, but there was the war going on, so I decided to bring her to Benin, which is where many slaves left to come to the Caribbean.

What was it like showing the film in Tobago?

It was very important for me to show this movie in Tobago first. It’s the island where everything started for Rose. Also, when we were shooting in Tobago it was very interesting, because everybody knows her. It’s like a big family, Tobago. Everywhere we went people were going, “Auntie Rose, Auntie Rose is here!” So everyone was excited to see the movie. So that’s why I asked the producer if we could start by screening the film there, and to get their reaction.

What would you say to people who are coming to the Trinidad premiere of the film? What can they expect?

The story of Rose. You will see what a great person she is. We see Rose in Europe, in Africa, in America, and everywhere she goes, she promotes her culture. She is a true ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago, and has done so successfully. I think it’s important that people know the story of Rose, and what she has been doing for the country internationally. I was very proud to work with her, and I want other people to be proud of her as well and the work she has done for Trinidad and Tobago.

At the Miami International Film Festival

One of the ttff's directors, Emilie Upczak, recently returned from the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF). Emilie sat down with me to discuss her experience.


What were the reasons for you going to MIFF?

I attended the festival as a representative of ttff in order to make links with another regional film festival, to network, to look for potential films for our programme and identify strategic partnerships with key players that could help develop our mission to support the development of a Caribbean film industry.

How is MIFF structured?

MIFF is a mid-sized film festival—not a huge festival like, say, Sundance [at which I worked last year]. It hosts approximately 50,000 participants over a two-week period, and is centrally located in South Beach. Their emphasis, like ours, is on the exhibition of films; however their programme is really an international programme without an overarching curatorial thrust, and their panels had a particular emphasis on the business of film. As a smaller festival, ttff is able to focus a bit more on training—our workshops are more developed than MIFFs—and our visiting filmmakers and participants may have a more intimate experience here in T&T.

What aspects of the festival did you find most useful?

I found the filmmakers’ lounge to be an excellent place to interact with guests of the festival in an informal setting. The panels were thematically well programmed and therefore the presenters in a short period of time were able to disseminate really valuable information. They had key representatives from major distribution companies, as well as sales agents, who participated in the festival as presenters.

Give me some idea of the types of panels you attended.

Alternative distribution mechanisms seemed to be one theme. Distribution in general—how to get finance and how to get your work out there. The business of film as opposed to the more creative elements of film.

Why do you think that was so?

Well, the technological platforms for cinematic exhibition are changing; how people are interacting with media is changing. Then there’s the increasing obsolescence of the DVD format. Also, each festival carves out its own niche and Miami is the hub for Latin American film, and as such it is focused on capital demand, as opposed to say, Sundance, which was founded by a creative person [Robert Redford] and focuses on the expression of the creative voice.

Did you get a sense that the Caribbean, as far as film is concerned, is on the international radar?

Unfortunately not. I didn’t get the feeling that distributors or even festival programmers are aware of the burgeoning Caribbean film industry. It was clear to me that the Caribbean is co-opted into Latin America—the term was used inclusively.

An interesting thing I realised is that film festivals are the new market places for independent filmmakers to make contact with distributors and/or sales agents. Therefore it’s of the utmost importance that programmers from Caribbean festivals like ourselves attend international festivals of note, and that Caribbean filmmakers not only create work but commit portions of their budgets to being at those festivals to promote their work and have creative and financial conversations with key people.

Did you make any useful connections or links for the ttff?

Yes, I did. Keep an eye out for our upcoming programme to find out more.

The Carnival Film Series

Call for submissions

Presented by Flow, the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) seeks to highlight excellence in filmmaking through the exhibition of films made in the Caribbean region including Latin American countries in the Caribbean Basin, by Caribbean people of the Diaspora, and by international filmmakers that reflect Caribbean culture and way of life both in the Caribbean and the Diaspora.

The Festival screens films in 35mm, NTSC Digi-Beta and NTSC MiniDV formats. Entries of various lengths will be accepted. All initial submissions should be in NTSC DVD format and must be in English or with English subtitles.

Selected films screened at the Festival will be eligible for various awards. There are three jury awards, for best feature film, best local film, and best short film. There are also three people’s choice awards, for best dramatic feature, best documentary, and best short. All awards come with a substantial cash prize.

There is no submission fee.

All submissions must be accompanied by:

* Synopsis
* Running time
* Year of production (not before 2008)
* Country of origin
* Language, and if subtitled
* Genre
* Name of director, producer, and cast (if appropriate)
* Short biography of director
* Festivals screened at/awards won (if any)
* Contact information
* An image from the film (minimum 300dpi)

The deadline for ALL submissions is 30th May 2011.

Submitted materials will not be returned, and only successful applicants will be notified. Please direct inquiries to hello@trinidadandtobagofilmfestival.com.

Visit www.withoutabox.com, trinidad+tobago film festival, in order to submit online.

Or you may submit your entries to:

Annabelle Alcazar
Programme Director
Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival
199 Belmont Circular Road
Port of Spain
Trinidad & Tobago

ttff/11 reserves the right to determine the eligibility of the submissions to be screened at the Festival, the appropriate time slots for the screening of films, and to use excerpts of the films for publicity purposes. All films submitted must have applicable clearances and the Festival will not be held liable.

The ttff seeks to make all screenings at the Festival T&T premieres. Occasionally, however, the Festival considers films that have already been shown in T&T. Please contact us if you have a film that falls into this category.

Please note that there are usually many more submissions than spaces available in the Festival line-up and therefore not all films can be accommodated. This does not necessarily imply that a film has not met the Festival’s criteria or is of poor quality. It may be that we have already selected a film on a similar topic, or that a film is deemed to have already received sufficient public exposure.

The ttff, which is in its sixth year, receives leading sponsorship from RBC, and supporting sponsorship from the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company, the Tourism Development Corporation, the Tobago House of Assembly and the National Gas Company.

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT FILMS THAT DO NOT FULFILL THE CRITERIA.

Film review: The Solitary Alchemist

A still from The Solitary Alchemist

“Does suffering produce the best art? It’s not an original question, but it is one that prompts itself several times during the course of Brown’s portrait of the Trinidadian jeweller Barbara Jardine . . . The Solitary Alchemist is not so much concerned with what’s ultimately going to happen as it is with slowly and gently painting a picture of Jardine’s life and work.”

-- From my review of The Solitary Alchemist, in the current issue of the Caribbean Review of Books. An earlier version of the film won the jury prize for best T&T film at the ttff/09.