The last quarter of the year is important on the international film festival calendar, particularly where Caribbean film fests are concerned. The ttff, of course, takes place at the end of September. The Dominican Republic Global Film Festival happens in the middle of November. And the Bahamas International Film Festival (Biff) and International Festival of New Latin American Cinema (or Havana Film Festival as it’s popularly known) both occur at the beginning of December.

As I noted in this post, attending other film festivals is an important way for the ttff to be able to grow and remain a vibrant, cutting-edge entity. It’s a key way for us to make connections with film industry professionals who can facilitate workshops, speak on panels and serve on our jury, as well as a way to discover great films that we can show at the ttff. (And, ultimately, it’s all about the films.)

With these things in mind, the ttff’s Creative Director, Emilie Upczak, and our Art Director, Melanie Archer, jetted off to Biff, followed by the Havana festival. (Emilie also attended Biff as a filmmaker; her short documentary Y-ning? was in official competition.)

According to its mission statement, Biff, which celebrated its ninth anniversary this year, is “dedicated to providing the local Bahamian community and international visitors with a diverse presentation of films from around the world”; it is also intent on “offering films that might not otherwise be released theatrically in the Bahamas”, which also happens to be one of the missions of the ttff with regards to Trinidad and Tobago. According to Emilie and Melanie the lineup at Biff was quite strong, with a few films looking like possible ttff/12 selections. Two Biff selections were actually prize-winning ttff/11 films: Storm Saulter’s Better Mus’ Come, which picked up the audience award at Biff for best feature (as it did at ttff/11), and Francisco Pardo’s short 10 Ave Maria.

After the Bahamas it was off to Cuba, and the oldest, most prestigious film festival in the Caribbean. Cuban cinema has a storied history, and the 33rd annual Havana film fest showed the best new Cuban cinema, as well as the best new and recent films from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, Latin America, and certain other countries around the world. (There was also a smattering of films from the non-Spanish speaking Caribbean.)

The Cuban people love cinema, and the Havana festival takes place at 19 theatres across the city. Despite the long lines, Emilie and Melanie were able to see a number of films, including the new film starring Miriel Cejas, lead actress in the ttff/11 selection Boleto al Paraíso and a guest of this year’s Festival. As with Biff, Emilie and Melanie made connections with the directors of a number of strong films, films that could end up being ttff/12 selections. They also met up with the Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra, whose beautiful film The Wind Journeys was a ttff/10 selection and who was a guest of the Festival last year; he was in Havana serving on one of the festival’s several awards juries.

Melanie and Emilie also had the pleasure of visiting with Cuban designers, and met with a number of people from ICAIC, Cuba’s national cinema institute. All in all they report their stays in the Bahamas and Cuba were highly successful; the fruits of their travels will be seen at the ttff/12. We hope you’ll be there!

Free film screenings this weekend in Mayaro will round out the programme of events for the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) for 2011.

Presented in association with bpTT, the Big Mayaro Movie Weekend takes place this Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 December at the Mayaro Resource Centre.

The excitement begins on Saturday with a screening of the Brazilian film Besouro, a ttff/11 selection. Set in the early 1900s, Besouro is a spellbinding action-fantasy that tells the story of a great capoeirista (Brazilian martial artist) with mystical powers, who rises up to defend his people against the brutal local sugar plantation bosses.

Along with the film there will be a barbecue, bar and DJ music. Gates open at 6pm and the movie, which is for persons ages 14 years and older, starts at 7pm.

Then on Sunday there will be a family day, with a screening of Wind Jammers, also a ttff/11 selection. Wind Jammers is an uplifting, feelgood film that follows Justice, a teenage American girl, who moves to the Bahamas and must face down prejudice at the exclusive yacht club when she attempts to learn how to sail. The film will be preceded by some short Kenyan animations, Tinga Tinga Tales. The screenings are for all ages.

Also on Sunday there will be such activities as bouncy castles, food stalls, live parang, and swimming in the centre’s pool. Gates open at 1pm and the screenings begin at 2pm. Entry to both days’ events is free of charge.

Image: A still from Besouro

One key way the ttff is able to grow and remain a vibrant, cutting-edge entity is through its associations with other film festivals in the region and around the world. In addition to members of the ttff team attending major festivals such as Toronto, Miami and Cannes, we also have official partnerships with other festivals, such as Femi in Guadeloupe and ZIFF in Zanzibar.

Attending and having links with other film festivals serves various functions. Seeing how other, often more established, festivals operate can provide us with valuable lessons on how to improve the ttff. Also, the networking opportunities other festivals provide is invaluable—there’s no better way to make connections with film industry professionals who can facilitate workshops, speak on panels, or serve on our jury. And, perhaps most importantly, by attending other festivals we’re able to discover great films that we wouldn’t otherwise have known about.

Two members of the ttff team recently returned from attending a couple of other film festivals. Co-director Annabelle Alcazar attended the Verona African Film Festival in Italy, which ran from November 11-20. The oldest film festival in Europe screening exclusively African and African diaspora content, the Verona festival celebrated its 31st anniversary this year, and had as its theme “Revolution, the Arab spring and the diaspora”. Not only did Annabelle attend the festival as a representative of the ttff, she also had the honour of serving on the festival’s jury.

Also recently taking place was the fifth annual Dominican Republic Global Film Festival, at which ttff Founder and Festival Director Bruce Paddington was a guest. The DRGFF is one of the fastest-growing festivals in the Caribbean, and screens from content both from the region and around the globe.

Both Annabelle and Bruce reported their experiences to be quite successful ones, in terms of securing possible content for the ttff/12 and forming official links with the respective festivals. Follow-up discussions are to be held and we’ll bring more news then.

We’ll also be bringing news soon about visits to two other festivals: The Bahamas International Film Festival and the Havana Film Festival. Co-director of the ttff Emilie Upczak and Melanie Archer, Art Director of the ttff, attended the just-concluded BIFF and are currently at the Havana festival, the largest, most prestigious festival in the region.

Photo: ttff Founder and Festival Director Bruce Paddington (fourth from left) with fellow guests at the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival, including, second from left, Gina Belafonte, producer of the documentary Sing Your Song (a ttff/11 selection), and, far right, French actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, star of such films as Orpailleur and Moloch Tropical (both ttff/10 selections).

Free film screenings in three communities—Belmont, Mayaro and Tobago—will round out the trinidad+tobago film festival’s events for the year.

On 5 December at the Technical Vocational Centre for Persons with Disability in Tobago, there will be a screening of the film Body and Soul. An uplifting documentary from Mozambique about persons with physical disabilities who have overcome prejudice to lead full, successful lives, the film will be screened to an audience comprising the centre’s students, their parents and teachers.

Next, on 15 December, a screening will be held at the Belmont Community Centre. This is taking place in association with bpTT and the Retiree-Adolescent Partnership, a mentorship organisation which brings at-risk youths together with retirees.

Finally, there will be screenings over two days—17 and 18 December—at the Mayaro Resource Centre, also in association with bpTT. On the evening of the 17th there will be a community lime, with a film screening accompanied by a barbecue. Then on the 18th there will be a family day, which will include film screenings, games and other activities.

Thanks to all our fans for making 2011 such a successful one for us. We’ll be back in the new year with an exciting programme of events, leading up to the ttff/12.

Photo: A shot from Body and Soul (Matthieu Bron, 2011)

Starting November 1, films that screened at this year’s trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) will be available for viewing on Flow’s video on demand (VoD) service.

Since 2008 Flow, the presenting sponsor of the ttff, has provided a platform for some of the more popular films of the festival by making them available on their pay-per-view channels in the months preceding and following the festival.

Last year, Flow demonstrated its ongoing commitment to the growth of the local film industry with the launch of its VoD service. VoD provides Flow customers with a diverse selection of local and Caribbean films, with 100% of all proceeds going directly to the filmmakers.

The ttff/11 selections that will be available on Flow include the Best of the 2010 Anime Caribe festival, Boys of Summer, Calypso Rose: Lioness of the Jungle, Chris Dennis: Between Worlds, Classical Steel, Crazy Love, Faces of a City: Willemstad, Curacao, Festival of Lights, Hit Me with Music, The Creators, To be King, Unravelled, W.A.R. Stories, Wan Pipel and Women in Hats.

(Go here for synopses of the films.)

Customers can access VoD on channel 1000, 24 hours per day. Also on offer apart from the ttff selections is a large library of movies, music and television shows which customers can watch at their convenience. VoD also features pause, rewind, fast-forward and stop features.

Image: A still from Crazy Love (The Bahamas, 2010), written and directed by Clarence Rolle

The ttff, in association with the Trinidad & Tobago Coalition of Service Industries, is pleased to be hosting Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), at an event on 04 November.

Mr Bailey will take part in an interactive workshop for filmmakers and others interested in the film and television industry. He will share his extensive knowledge of a number of topics, including private and state support for developing a film and television industry; how TIFF and other major international film festivals work; and the marketing and distribution of films.

After Mr Bailey’s presentation there will be a screening of Doubles with Slight Pepper, written and directed by Ian Harnarine, winner of the prize for best Canadian short film at the 2011 edition of TIFF.

The workshop takes place at the Hilton Trinidad on Friday 04 November from 1-5pm. Participation fee is $150. Visit the TTCSI website to register.

On Saturday 24 September at The Reader’s Bookshop in Port of Spain, at a laid-back event that took place as part of the ttff/11, journalist and film fan BC Pires counted down his ten favourite Caribbean films of all time. The event was snappily titled Men from Africa, Girls from India, Conquistadors from Germany and Some Cosquelle Rebels: A Personal List of His Ten Favourite Caribbean Films by BC Pires.

Pires’s definition of the Caribbean was suitably broad (The Godfather, anyone?!), and his selections ranged widely in terms of genre and content. Here, in ascending order, and preceded by the runners-up, are his selections, with accompanying comments for the top ten.

20. The Godfather
19. The Mosquito Coast
18. American Beauty
17. Haven
16. What My Mother Told Me
15. Rain
14. Open Water
13. When the Drum is Beating
12. Moloch Tropical
11. Sistagod

10. Flight of the Ibis: Men of Grey II. G Anthony Joseph’s sequel to the film he made to graduate from film school is a far, far better film than anyone should have been able to make in Trinidad in 1996. A smoking soundtrack by Sean Bartholomew, great stunt and fight choreography and Tricia Lee Kelshall brandishing an automatic pistol made this an easy choice; it’s also the only local film I’ve ever seen on cable.

9. ’70: Remembering a Revolution/Fire in Babylon. I cheated because it was, first, such a Trinidadian act and, second, impossible to leave out either of the leading contenders for the documentary prize this year. Festival editorial director, Jonathan Ali, called ’70 “the definitive work, in any medium” about 1970; he is likely to be proven right. Fire in Babylon explains why the West Indies cricket teams of the 70s and 80s were as hugely successful as they were. If these films don’t document the Caribbean spirit, nothing does.

8. Chico y Rita. The animated Cuban film that opened this year’s festival may be the best animated film ever made, with Only Waltz with Bashir giving it serious competition.

7. Rue Cases Negres aka Black Shack Alley aka Sugar Cane Alley. Euzhan Palcy sets out subtly all the powerful contradictions of West Indian society through her apparently straightforward tale of the young black Martinique boy who yearns for education.

6. Bim/Japon. Another cheat. Still the best T&T film ever made, Bim starts with a strong script from Raoul Pantin. Masterfully directed by Hugh A Robertson, Bim features Ralph Maraj, who would later enter the T&T Cabinet, declaring that he “not too sure about this politics thing,” and a dream soundtrack from Andre Tanker. Japon, by the Mexican director Carlos Reygadas, is a beautifully understated film that honours ordinary people struggling to make good in difficult circumstances.

5. Man from Africa, Girl from India. I’d have dismissed this Harbance “Mickey” Kumar melodrama but for a story posted by David Rudder on Facebook. David once played with a band featuring Zimbabwean musicians. When one of them heard he was from Trinidad, he said, “Man from Africa, Girl from India!” Until this movie, black people in Zimbabwe had never seen a black man in a lead role in a film.

4. The Emerald Forest. John “Deliverance” Boorman made the definitive Caribbean/New World adventure film. It tells the story of a young white boy “rescued” by a rainforest tribe and raised as one of their own. The search by the boy’s father is the device of a film, the Amazon is its backdrop, and it is rightly classed as “adventure;” but, within that context, there is real philosophy. A film that makes you reconsider how you live your own life.

3. The Harder They Come. Perry Henzell’s famous film relied entirely on ourselves alone to make itself and its point; and it starred Jimmy Cliff and his songs. Never before had West Indian people been shown themselves as themselves so clearly and so well.

2. Amores Perros/Araya. Another cheat. Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s great work avers that all lives matter, not just those of the rich and famous. Its theme of interconnectedness brought startling success when copied by Hollywood’s Crash. Iñárritu cites American writer William Faulkner as his major influence. Anyone who’s read Absalom, Absalom! understands that Faulkner, like Iñárritu, is really a West Indian. Araya, the poetic 1959 Venezuelan-French documentary, shot in dazzling black-and-white, makes you fall on your knees and give thanks that, whatever salt mine you think you work in, you don’t actually work in a salt mine.

1. Aguirre, The Wrath of God. No one should be given any position of responsibility anywhere in the Caribbean unless he or she has seen and understood this film, which sets out the Caribbean condition with stunning clarity in its opening five minutes, in which a group of black and brown people are led, in what might properly be called an Indian file procession, down a precarious path by a crazy white man, who is as insane as he is sure he is right. Aguirre’s descent into open madness becomes inevitable because he is unable to relinquish the vision he has brought to the New World of himself as the enforcer of the Old World. Hopeless, tragic, rudderless, deluded and misled, his expedition heads towards doom, dreaming of richness measured by someone else’s yardstick, and blind to the wealth by which it is surrounded. If you want a better illustration of Trinidad’s plight than that, you have to look at a PNM manifesto.

Image: Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

The awards ceremony of the trinidad+tobago film festival 2011 was held last evening at the Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook. Here is a list of all the winners.

Jury awards
Best narrative feature: Jean Gentil, Israel Cárdenas & Laura Guzmán
Best documentary feature: Hit Me with Music, Miquel Galofré
Best short film: 10 Ave Maria, Juan Francisco Pardo & Ryan Oduber

Special mention, best narrative feature: Boleto al paraíso, Gerardo Chijona
Special mention, best documentary feature: When the Drum is Beating, Whitney Dow
Special mention, best short film: Classical Steel, John Barry

Best local feature: ’70: Remembering a Revolution: Alex de Verteuil & Elizabeth Topp
Best local short: Sweet Fries, Renée Pollonais
Best actor in a local film: Gerry Bednob, The Rise and Fall of John Tesoro
Best actress in a local film: Dionese Sylvester, Sweet Fries

People’s choice awards
Best narrative feature: Better Mus’ Come, Storm Saulter
Best documentary feature: Hit Me with Music, Miquel Galofré
Best short: Chinee Girl, Natalie Wei

Social awareness award
Positive & Pregnant, Stacy Lela

Focus: Filmmakers’ Immersion pitch session winner
Maria Govan

Graduate Film Development Award
Francesca Hawkins

Lifetime Achievement Award
Harry Belafonte

Image: A still from Jean Gentil

Two nights of screenings are carded at Studiofilmclub for the ttff/11. This year, SFC will be showing films by the acclaimed British filmmaker Asif Kapadia, including his latest, Senna, an award-winning documentary about the late Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna of Brazil.

Studiofilmclub is in the back space of Building 7 at the Fernandes Industrial Centre on the Eastern Main Road. Doors open at 7pm on both nights, and the films begin promptly at 7.30pm. Admission is free.

Thursday 29 September
Senna 2011, UK / 106′

Senna is the story of the monumental life and tragic death of legendary Brazilian motor-racing Champion, Ayrton Senna. Spanning the decade from his arrival in Formula One in the mid 80’s, the film follows Senna’s struggles both on track against his nemesis, French world champion Alain Prost, and off it, against the politics which infest the sport. Sublime and spiritual, yet on occasion ruthless, Senna conquers and transcends Formula One to become a global superstar. Privately, he is humble, almost shy, and fiercely patriotic, donating millions to his native Brazil and contemplating a life beyond motor-racing. Tragically he is struck down in his prime on the blackest weekend in the history of the sport, watched live on television by 300 million people. Years on he is revered in Formula One as one of the greatest motor racing drivers of all time—and in Brazil as a saint.

Friday 30 September
The Warrior 2001, UK / 86′

In feudal India, in the state of Rajasthan, is a desert region that is ruled over by a cruel and sadistic lord who, with the help of a handful of equally cruel and fierce warriors, led by Lafcadia, wage a war of terror upon those who do not submit or dare to oppose him. Long-haired Lafcadia is widowed but has a son, Katiba. Once when Katiba is by himself he befriends a young girl, who ties a raakhee on his hand and makes him her brother, and in return he gives her his amulet. When the lord asks Lafcadia to subdue the villagers of Tarang, they carry out his orders. After the raid, while Lafcadia stands by, his warriors rape and loot the villagers. It is then that Lafcadia is surprised by the very same young girl, and it is Katiba’s amulet that saves her from being killed. This incident has a deep impact on Lafcadia and he is forced to make an important decision.

The ttff/11 is in full swing, and great films are on offer at the various screening venues. Yet the Festival isn’t just about film screenings—there are other exciting film-related events taking place.

Here are a few events taking place this Friday and Saturday that we think you’d enjoy. All are free of charge and open to the public.

The Second Filmmakers’ Panel
Every year the festival provides a platform for local and visiting filmmakers to discuss their craft, from the creative idea to production to the business of financing, marketing and, ultimately, distributing their films. The filmmakers’ panel provides a rare opportunity to see local, regional and international filmmakers come together in an informal setting to discuss the experience of making films within a Caribbean context. Panelists will include Elizabeth Topp (T&T), Storm Saulter (Jamaica), Shundell Prasad (Guyana/USA), Christopher Din Chong (T&T) and Guy Deslauriers (Martinique).
Friday 30 September, 10am
Jetsam Room, The Carlton Savannah, Cascade

Focus: Filmmakers’ Immersion Pitch Competition
At the start of the ttff/11, an intensive three-day creative workshop for 12 selected Caribbean filmmakers was held. These filmmakers each worked on a feature film project that they wish to produce. Six of the participants have been chosen to go on to pitch their film projects to a judging panel, who will pick one overall winner. The winner will receive a cash prize of $20,000.
Friday 27 September, 1pm
Jetsam Room, The Carlton Savannah

Getting It Out There: Marketing, Exhibiting and Distributing Your Film
Addressing problems and finding solutions for financing, marketing and distributing Caribbean films has always been an annual offering of the ttff. This year we give filmmakers the opportunity to hear from and interact with internationally known experts in the fields of film marketing, exhibition and distribution. Topics at this panel will include non-traditional and multi-platform distribution and marketing, including online marketing and social networking.
Saturday 01 October, 10am
Jetsam Room, The Carlton Savannah