Erika Bagnarello is a filmmaker from Costa Rica. She made her first feature film, the ttff/15 selection January 1st in the Dominican Republic.

Tell us what your film is about in 140 characters or less.
It’s about a boy who will stop at nothing to bring his family back together.

Why should audiences see your film?
I think that adults and teenagers in general who enjoy a coming-of-age, family drama would like this film. Also, parents and children who are going through, or have been through a divorce, would also appreciate it, as it can be a way to open up a conversation about the issue.

What was the most challenging thing about making your film?
Like most filmmakers, we always want more time; time to prepare, to shoot and to edit. So I think it was probably the lack of time. It was hard adapting the film from Costa Rica to the Dominican Republic in relatively short notice.

What did making this film teach you?
That the process of making a film is what matters the most. The learning curve is so big on a first feature and it can be overwhelming. But in the end, what you learned for the next one is what matters.

Complete the sentence: “If I weren’t a filmmaker…”
I would be a documentary photographer, so still doing something related to telling stories and images, or a painter. If I wasn’t in the arts, I would probably a human rights lawyer.

What films or filmmakers inspired you?
Too many, and for different films, but I can say for sure Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, Alfonso Cuarón, Ang Lee, Stanley Kubrick, Danny Boyle and Sofia Coppola.

If you could only watch one film ever again, what would it be?
It’s a Wonderful Life.

What’s next?
I recently moved to Los Angeles so I’m developing a few narrative projects there. One is a feature and the others are in a shorter format. Also, I will start post-production in October for a documentary that I shot in Costa Rica earlier this year.

January 1st screens at ttff/15 as follows:

Fri 18 Sept, 11.00am, MovieTowne POS Q&A
Mon 28 Sept, 10.30am, MovieTowne POS

Image: A still from January 1st

Michael Rochford is a filmmaker from Trinidad and Tobago. His ttff/15 selection, Pendulum, is his first feature film.

Tell us what your film is about in 140 characters or less.
Pendulum is about a former Marine turned journalist investigating the murder of a CEO, which he is accused of committing.

Why should audiences see your film?
Pendulum is a thrill-ride encompassing great characters; a suspenseful mystery with a compelling story to keep you guessing at every turn. It features an all-local cast of young and new talent, and inspiring well-photographed and enthralling imagery.

What was the most challenging thing about making your film?
I can’t say that there was one major challenge as much as there were several little things, some more serious than others. For example, making the film (shooting, writing, editing) while juggling school activities was a challenge. Finding the right team was another challenge. Also, being respected as a filmmaker in the Caribbean proved to be difficult. The film was very ambitious and took a lot of preparation. Hours of careful pre-production had to be done in order to achieve what we did.

What did making this film teach you?
Making this film was definitely a lesson in endurance; being strong and trusting that my vision would work out. There were many times while working on Pendulum that I would wonder, “How in the world I will get all of this done?” I would contemplate shortening it or doing something simpler. But I had to persevere. With Pendulum I learned about the necessity of collaboration more than any other project I worked on. You really need very sensible and competent people to work with pulling the project through.

Complete the sentence: “If I weren’t a filmmaker…”
If I weren’t a filmmaker I would be telling stories in some other way…or doing other forms of art.

What films or filmmakers inspired you?
Star Wars, Men in Black and The Matrix were seminal films that spurred me into this passion for filmmaking. Movie-watching heavily impacted my childhood and early teenage years and I loved the movie theatre a lot. Steven Spielberg, David Lean and Orson Welles have had profound influence on my art and in the shaping of my own voice as a filmmaker. Those guys are fantastic! As for Caribbean film, I think Bim is one of the best films ever made. I remember seeing it and being impressed at how masterfully it was done. It has inspired me greatly.

If you could only watch one film ever again, what would it be?
It would probably be Men in Black mostly for the nostalgic [hold] it has on me. I just adore the time I saw it and where I was in life as a child. It brings back wonderful memories and feelings of creativity growing up.

What’s next?
Apart from finding a job, I am constantly writing so I have a lot of ideas. There is one film in particular that I really want to make and I think it will be my best work yet.

Pendulum screens at the ttff/15 as follows:

Thu 17 Sept, 6.30pm, MovieTowne POS Q&A
Fri 25 Sept, 4.00, MovieTowne POS Q&A
Fri 25 Sept, 8.00pm, MovieTowne Tobago
Sat 26 Sept, 6.30pm, UWI Q&A
Mon 28 Sept, 3.00pm, MovieTowne Tobago

Image: A still from Pendulum

Our beautiful, printed ttff/15 guide is now available. Containing all the information you’ll need—from film screenings to workshops—to have a successful Festival experience, the guide is a must-have item. You can pick up your free copy at one of the following locations. More locations across T&T to be added soon.

trinidad+tobago film festival office, Belmont
MovieTowne Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago Film Company (FilmTT) office, Long Circular Road
Benetton, Long Circular Mall
Drink Bistro & Lounge, Woodbrook
Veni Mange restaurant, Wookbrook
UWI Film Programme building, St Augustine
Paper Based bookshop, St Ann’s
NALIS Port of Spain
Alliance Française, St Clair
Tablespoon coffee shop, St Augustine
Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association, Chaguaramas
Akasha Yoga Studio, Long Circular Road
HOME, Scott Street, St Clair
All Flow payment centres
NALIS San Fernando
Naparima Bowl
The Souther Academy for the Arts
Tourism Development Corporation, Piarco

Once again, bpTT is teaming up with the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) to give five young people an opportunity of a lifetime, through the bpTT Youth Jury and Prize at the ttff/15 (September 15–29).

The initiative was conceived as a way of stimulating interest in and a critical appreciation of independent film among the country’s youth. The prize will be awarded to the best film screening at the ttff/15 as decided by a jury of five youngsters.

Jurors were selected by an open call. To be considered for the jury, applicants had to be from 16 to 21 years of age. Each had submit an essay saying what their favourite film is, and why.

The five members of the ttff/15 bpTT Youth Jury are:

Saskia Johnson, 16, Maple Leaf International School. Favourite film: The Fall
Claude Lilford, 19, home-schooled. Favourite film: The Pirates of Penzance
Auset McClean, 16, Fatima College. Favourite film: Atonement
Sarah Mongroo, 18, St Stephen’s College. Favourite film: It’s Kind of a Funny Story
Teneka Mohammed, 21, University of the West Indies. Favourite film: In the Mood for Love

Under the guidance of film critic and journalist BC Pires, the jury will watch eight Caribbean and international feature-length fiction films featuring young protagonists. After the jurors have viewed all the films in competition, they will choose the winning film, the director of which will receive a trophy plus a cash award of $5,000.

The eight films in competition are:

Girlhood: Céline Sciamma, 2014 / France
The Greatest House in the World: Ana V. Bojórquez, Lucía Carreras, 2015 / Guatemala, Mexico
Güeros: Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2014 / Mexico
Honeytrap: Rebecca Johnson, 2014 / United Kingdom
Margarita, with a Straw: Shonali Bose, 2014 / India
On the Road, Somewhere: Guillermo Zouain, 2015 / Dominican Republic
Stories of Our Lives: Jim Chuchu, 2015 / Kenya, South Africa
Theeb: Naji Abu Nowar, 2014 / Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

Image: A still from Stories of Our Lives

For decades, soca superstar Machel Montano has enthralled listeners and audiences with his infectious music and electrifying live performances. Now, he makes the leap onto the silver screen with his motion-picture debut in the film Bazodee, which will have its world premiere at the 2015 trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff/15).

The ttff is partnering with Monk Pictures, Indiepelago Films and FilmTT to bring Bazodee and members of its stellar cast to a T&T audience, on Wednesday 23 September from 8.00pm at the historic Globe Cinema in Port of Spain. The stars of the film will travel from India, the USA and the UK to be in Trinidad for the event. The screening will be followed by an after-party at Aria Lounge on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook.

Tickets for this special event will be on sale at the ttff office, 199 Belmont Circular Road, Belmont, from Friday 4 September. Tickets for the screening (only) cost $250, while tickets for the screening and after-party cost $350. To book your tickets call the Festival office at 621-0709, or email hello@ttfilmfestival.com.

Bazodee is a musical drama about a rugged soca singer (Lee, played by Montano) who falls for a beautiful young Indian woman (Anita, played by Natalie Perera, a London-born newcomer of Sri Lankan parentage). Anita happens to be engaged to Kumar, a man she doesn’t love (Staz Nair).

Anita is the daughter of Ram (Bollywood star Kabir Bedi), a secretly deep-in-debt businessman. When Anita encounters Lee, hired at the last minute to perform at her engagement party, sparks fly, and soon the two fall for each other.

Nikhil (UK-based T&T actor Valmike Rampersad), Anita’s malevolent, future brother-in-law, notices. Once he discovers the truth about Ram’s finances, Nikhil threatens to expose everything, forcing Anita to fight for the wealth that truly matters—love.

Bazodee also features acting talents of a number of other T&T actors, including Teneille Newallo, who plays Poorvi, Anita’s cousin; and Cindy F. Daniel, who plays Anita’s servant Lalima.

The long-anticipated Bazodee is directed by Todd Kessler, an award-winning American film and television writer, producer and director. He is the director of the feature film Keith (2008), and co-creator of Nickelodeon’s pre-school series Blue’s Clues.

The world-premiere screening of Bazodee will be preceded by an introduction from Todd Kessler, Machel Montano and Natalie Perera, as well as some of its co-stars. After the screening, patrons can head to Aria Lounge, where they will have the opportunity to mingle with the stars. Machel Montano will perform a short live set at the after-party.

Some of the best talent in contemporary Caribbean filmmaking will meet top professionals in the global film industry, at the inaugural Caribbean Film Mart (CFM), to be held from 24–26 September 2015, in Port of Spain.

The CFM will take place during the tenth edition of the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff), which runs from 15–27 September.

Each industry professional will meet one-on-one with representatives from fifteen Caribbean film projects in development, as well as participate in a number of public events and activities. The thirty industry professionals are drawn from across Europe, Latin America and the USA.

The CFM will also host daily round-table discussions with the participating industry guests. The guests include Moira Griffin, Head of Diversity at the Sundance Institute; Rob Maylor, International Sales Agent at Magnolia Films; Molly O’Keefe, Director of Scripted Programmes at Tribeca Film Institute; Thierry Lenouvel, founder of the Script Development Fund of the International Film Festival of Amiens; and Javier Fernandez Cuarto from the Argentinian film market Ventana Sur who, while in Trinidad, will confirm five Caribbean films in post-production to attend their market in December.

Producers Damon D’Oliveira of Conquering Lion Pictures (Canada) and Samuel Chauvin from Promenades Films (France) will use the dramatic serial Book of Negroes and the Cuban narrative feature film Melaza as case studies to address the development process, drawing on personal experiences, including how they found a co-producer, the benefits and challenges of co-producing with South Africa and Cuba respectively, and where they sourced financing.

Producers Rachel Watanabe-Batton of the Producers Guild of America, Shrihari Sathe of Infinitum Productions, and Aurélien Bodinaux of Neon Rouge Production will address how they got into producing, the choices they made along the way, training programmes they have gone through, and what membership of guilds and organisations does for a producer.

“We are particularly excited about the group of visiting industry professionals who will be in attendance at the Caribbean Film Mart. Each person has shown a keen interest to engage with the participating filmmakers and to be a part of the emergence of the Caribbean film industry,” said Emilie Upczak, ttff Creative Director, who is spearheading the Caribbean Film Mart.

The CFM will also host a number of award-winning producers, including Donald Ranvaud (Farewell My Concubine, Central Station, City of God, The Constant Gardener); Ryan Silbert (The Girl is in Trouble); Yanick Létourneau (United States of Africa); Barthélémy Fougea (On the Way to School); Diana Elbaum (Xenia); and Ron Simons (Blue Caprice).

The rest of the line-up includes:
Nathalie Streiff, Institut Français
Naima Abed, Memento Films
Elizabeth Odal, Sorfund
Gizelle Lue,Cinemavault
Elsa Reyes, Zensky Cine
Katheryn Kennedy, Kennedy Films
Tania Serra, Carnaby International Sales
Jameson Oyer, Kino Lorber
Alfredo Calviño,Habanero Film Sales
Eric Schnedecker,Urban Distribution International
Sydney Levine, Syndey’s Buzz – Indiewire
Lucuis Barre, international publicist
Tilane Jones, African Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM)
Marjorie Bendeck Regalado, independent consultant for Ateliers du Cinema Européen – ACE Producers Network, Creative Europe – MEDIA film development fund, the Berlinale Talents and the World Cinema Fund

The project in development deemed to be the best of the fifteen selected for the CFM will receive a prize sponsored by bpTT: a place in the Rotterdam Producers Lab at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2016, inclusive of five nights accommodation, and an industry pass. The winner will be announced at the ttff/15 awards ceremony on Sunday 27th September.

The Caribbean Film Mart is being implemented in association with the Fundación Global Democracia y Dessarollo from the Dominican Republic, the Association for the Development of Art Cinema and Practice in Guadeloupe, the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema from Cuba, and the Festival Régional et International du Cinéma de Guadeloupe.

The project is supported by the ACP Cultures+ Programme, funded by the European Union (European Development Fund) and implemented by the ACP Group of States.

Famed actor Michael Fassbender and late music star Amy Winehouse will dominate the screen on September 16 and 17, respectively, as StudioFilmCub (SFC) presents two nights of film screenings and other activities during the 2015 trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff/15).

The two nights of screenings at SFC, located at 7 Fernandes Industrial Centre, Laventille, begin at 8.15pm, with doors opening at 7.00pm. All events at SFC are free of charge.

On Wednesday 16 September, there will be a screening of the fiction feature Slow West (2015, 84 minutes), directed by John Maclean and starring Michael Fassbender. A western, the film tells the story of Jay, a 17-year-old Scotsman, who travels to America in the late 19th century in pursuit of the woman he loves. Confronted with the harsh realities of the frontier, he falls in with a mysterious traveller, Silas (Fassbender), who soon discovers that the focus of Jay’s affection has a price on her head. Together the two men navigate a vast wilderness while attempting to stay one step ahead of a bloodthirsty posse and a colourful bounty hunter.

We are delighted that John Maclean will be in attendance on the 16th to introduce his film and answer questions afterward.

Then on Thursday 17 September the documentary Amy (2015, 123 minutes), directed by Asif Kapadia, will be screened. The film is a portrait of Amy Winehouse, whose raw honesty and supreme talent resulted in some of the most adored songs of the modern era. Her massive success, however, led to relentless media attention which, coupled with her troubled relationships and precarious lifestyle, saw her life tragically unravel. Featuring previously unseen archive footage, this moving, vital film tells the story of Amy Winehouse as it was meant to be told: in her own words.

Also on the 17th, there will be a tribute to the late, groundbreaking artist Peter Dean Rickards, who worked across photography and video to create gritty, lyrical and beautiful imagery from and of his native Jamaica. The tribute will comprise a showing of several of Rickards’ videos, and a number of projected images from his acclaimed The Afflicted Yard series. A party will round out the evening.

Founded by the artists Peter Doig and Che Lovelace, Studiofilmclub (SFC) began screening independent and art-house films in Building 7 of the Fernandes Compound, Eastern Main Road, Laventille, in 2003.

In 2006, SFC began hosting screenings and guests as part of the ttff. Guests of SFC have included British-Caribbean artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien (ttff/08), and New Yorker theatre critic Hilton Als (ttff/09). In 2012, the work of British-Caribbean filmmaker Steve McQueen took centre stage, while 2013 saw a screening of the restored version of Shirley Clarke’s classic 1967 documentary, Portrait of Jason.

Image: A still from Slow West

For the second year in a row, Amnesty International will award a human rights film prize at the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff), which runs from September 15–29.

Established in an effort to support the promotion of human rights in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, the Amnesty International Human Rights Film Prize will be awarded to the maker of the feature-length Caribbean film screening at ttff/15 which best highlights a human rights issue.

“We are enthusiastically continuing our cooperation with the trinidad+tobago film festival this year as we remain convinced that films and filmmakers play an important role in promoting human rights,” said Chiara Sangiorgio, thematic adviser at Amnesty International.

“What may seem a remote and abstract UN instrument can suddenly become a close reality when analysed through the camera lens—something affecting a friend, a neighbour, our country. Through this prize we wish to more formally acknowledge the efforts of filmmakers and activists in the Caribbean to raise awareness about human rights in the region.”

This year four films—all documentaries—will be in competition for the prize, one more than last year. They are:

Casa Blanca
Director: Aleksandra Maciuszek
Country: Cuba

Citizens of Nowhere
Directors: Regis Coussot and Nicolas Alexandre Tremblay
Countries: Dominican Republic, Haiti

The Last Colony
Director: Juan Agustín Márquez
Country: Puerto Rico

My Father’s Land
Directors: Miquel Galofré and Tyler Johnston
Countries: The Bahamas, Haiti

“We are pleased to see more films selected for this year’s Festival grappling with human-rights issues,” said Jonathan Ali, Editorial Director of the ttff. “The range of issues considered is also noteworthy. Both Citizens of Nowhere and My Father’s Land deal with the status of Haitians and people of Haitian descent in the Caribbean, a timely subject. The Last Colony considers the sovereignty issue in Puerto Rico, also timely, given the economic crisis there. And Casa Blanca is an intimate look at the status of the elderly and the mentally disabled in Cuba.”

The winning film will be chosen by a three-person jury. This year’s jury comprises Blanca Granados, Head of Industry at the Cartagena International Film Festival in Colombia; Jason Nathu, an attorney-at-law responsible for the Human Rights Law Clinic at the Hugh Wooding Law School in T&T; and Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International’s London-based coordinator of the campaign for the abolition of the death penalty.

In addition to receiving a trophy, the winning filmmaker will also be given a cash prize of TT$5000. The ttff and Amnesty International will also assist the winning film in getting screened as widely as possible throughout the region.

Last year’s winning film was The Abominable Crime, a documentary directed by Micah Fink, about Jamaica’s LGBT community. Since then, Amnesty International USA has supported the screening of The Abominable Crime at the Pulitzer Center in New York City. There was also a screening of the film in Mexico City to celebrate the opening of Amnesty International’s regional office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and both the film and associated tools have been promoted through Amnesty International’s activists.

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than three million members, supporters and activists in over 150 countries and territories. The organisation exposes human rights violations and campaigns for justice around the world. It is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion, and is funded mainly by its membership and public donations.

Caption: Clockwise from top left, stills from Casa Blanca, Citizens of Nowhere, The Last Colony and My Father’s Land

A group of regional and international scholars will converge in Port of Spain this September, to examine some of the core issues driving and impacting contemporary Caribbean cinema.

Organised by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in association with the Film Programme of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus, the Caribbean Cinema Now symposium will be held from Thursday 24–Saturday 26 September, at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad. The symposium takes place during the ttff/15, which runs from 15–29 September.

Caribbean Cinema Now will use the work of Caribbean filmmakers to explore issues such as the aesthetics of resistance, the politics of hunger, new Cuban cinema, Puerto Rican identity in the twenty-first century, and the use of folklore to take back and decolonise knowledge.

The presentation of papers includes: “My story is not a nice story: Raoul Peck’s African films”, by Professor Jane Bryce, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill; “Female directors and kinship in Caribbean cinema: An ongoing trend” by Norma Liz Rodríguez-Santiago, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras; and “Telling Caribbean stories: Storm Saulter’s place in the new Caribbean canon” by Rachel Moseley-Wood, University of the West Indies, Mona.

There will also be presentations by scholars from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine; University of Missouri; New York University; University of Kansas; the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry; and University of the French West Indies.

According to Bruce Paddington, Founder and Festival Director, ttff, “With the Festival marking its tenth anniversary this year, we felt it was important to formally acknowledge the place of Caribbean film in the canon of film studies. The symposium, with presentations by a renowned group of regional and international academics, marks an important stage in the validation and acceptance of Caribbean cinema.”

Caribbean Cinema Now takes place in the San Fernando room of the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, each day from 1.30pm–3.30pm. The symposium is free and open to the public. As there is limited space, pre-registration is recommended. Call + 1 (868) 621.0709 or hello@ttfilmfestival.com to do so. For more information about the ttff, visit ttfilmfestival.com.

Image: A still from Eat, for This Is My Body (Michelange Quay, Haiti/France, 2007)

The juries that will decide the two main competitive sections at the 2015 trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff), which takes place from 15–29 September, have been announced.

Each jury is comprised of three members. The first jury will determine the best feature-length films (fiction and documentary) from the Caribbean and also from Trinidad and Tobago, while the second will decide the best short films (fiction and documentary) from the Caribbean as well as Trinidad and Tobago.

The jury that will choose the Amnesty International Film Prize, for the Caribbean film that best highlights a human-rights issue, has also been chosen. This jury is also comprised of three members.

The members of the three ttff/15 juries are as follows.

Features
Shonali Bose is a filmmaker. Her debut narrative feature film, Amu (2005), opened at the Berlin International Film Festival. Bose’s second feature film, Margarita, With a Straw (2014; ttff/15), opened at the Toronto International Film Festival to great acclaim.

Jaie Laplante is the Director of the Miami International Film Festival, a position he has held since 2010. He began his career as a critic and journalist in Canada in the late 1980s. He was appointed to the Miami-Dade County Film & Entertainment Advisory Board in 2013.

Nicole Guillemet served as Vice-President of the Sundance Institute and Co-Director of the Sundance Film Festival for over fifteen years. She is an executive producer of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Square (2013).

The features jury will adjudicate the following categories:

Best Feature Film – Fiction
Best Feature Film – Documentary
Best Trinidad and Tobago Feature Film – Fiction
Best Trinidad and Tobago Feature Film – Documentary

Shorts
Diana Cadavid is a Programming Associate at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she has provided support for the Ibero-American programme for the past six editions. She is also Programming Manager for the International Film Festival of Panama.

Romola Lucas is the Co-Founder of the Caribbean Film Academy (CaFA), a Brooklyn-based not-for-profit organisation working to increase the visibility of Caribbean filmmakers both in the region and in the diaspora.

Percy Pinedo is the Director of the Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam. A native of Curaçao, he is project leader of all projects of the Fundashon Bon Intenshon (Foundation for Good Intention).

The shorts jury will adjudicate the following categories:

Best Short Film – Fiction
Best Short Film – Documentary
Best Trinidad and Tobago Short Film – Fiction
Best Trinidad and Tobago Short Film – Documentary

Amnesty International Human Rights Prize
Blanca Granados is Head of Industry at the Cartagena International Film Festival in Colombia, curator of the Ibero-American section of the International Film Festival of India in Goa, and Director of Public Relations for the International Film Festival of Panama.

Jason Nathu is an attorney-at-law and a tutor at the Legal Aid Clinic at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. He is also responsible for the Human Rights Law Clinic, in which he trains students in human rights education and advocacy.

Chiara Sangiorgio joined Amnesty International’s global death penalty team in 2008, and has since then coordinated its campaign for the abolition of the death penalty. She has also coordinated Amnesty International’s work in support of the UN General Assembly’s resolutions on a moratorium on the death penalty.

The ttff/15 awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 27 September in Port of Spain.

Image: the ttff/15 jurors, clockwise from the top left corner: Shonali Bose, Jaie Laplante, Nicole Guillemet, Percy Pinedo, Chiara Sangiorgio, Jason Nathu, Blanca Granados, Diana Cadavid, Romola Lucas