ttff advances its Caribbean connections

Last month, ttff representatives were invited to be guests of two regional film festivals: Festival Régional et International du Cinéma de Guadeloupe (FEMI), which ran from 13-21 March, and the Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam, (CIFFR), 25-29 March. At 21 years old, FEMI is one of the older film festivals in the Caribbean; at four years of age, CIFFR is the youngest. Both festivals are important partners of the ttff, taking place in the French and Dutch areas of the region, respectively; and both are proving important platforms for ttff to talk about its work, and to continue to reinforce the importance of our Caribbean connections in the film industry.

FEMI invites primarily the French film industry, as well as filmmakers from the French-speaking Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana) to meet and exchange; they screen films from these countries, as well as international films. At FEMI, the ttff presented two films from the ttff/14 programme, Dubois and Pan! Our Music Odyssey; gave a formal presentation in the market to enthusiastic Francophone filmmakers about the Caribbean Film Mart and Regional Film Database, launching at ttff/15; and saw Caribbean and diaspora films for consideration for ttff/15.

As icing on top of what was already a productive trip, Miquel Galofré’s ttff/14 award-winning documentary Art Connect took home the jury prize for best documentary, and Pan! Our Music Odyssey received a special mention from the jury in the best feature category.

The ttff has attended CIFFR from its inception in 2012, and has been a key partner in its growth, contributing to the development of the Yellow Robin Award for Caribbean filmmakers. The ttff again presented to an enthusiastic audience about the Caribbean Film Mart and Regional Film Database; saw Caribbean and Diaspora films for consideration for ttff/15; and supported the experience of UWI film student Anderson Edghill, who won the trip as the prize for Best UWI Film Student at ttff/14.

We were also quite pleased that ttff/14 alumnus Alex Santiago Pérez of Puerto Rico was a double winner at these festivals: his film Cows Wearing Glasses, which was in competition at the ttff last year, won the jury prize for best feature film at FEMI, and he won the Yellow Robin Award for Caribbean filmmakers at CIFFR. Alex will now have the opportunity to screen his film at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in January 2016 (Damian Marcano, director of ttff/13 prizewinner God Loves The Fighter, was the winner of the Yellow Robin Award in 2014).

FEMI and CIFFR remain excellent platforms to strengthen the ttff’s Caribbean connections. Filmmakers from all over the region are now looking forward to meeting at the 10th edition of the ttff this September, to learn, exchange, network, and celebrate this exciting time in the development of the Caribbean film industry.
We were also quite pleased that ttff/14 alumnus Alex Santiago Pérez of Puerto Rico was a double winner at these festivals: his film Cows Wearing Glasses, which was in competition at the ttff last year, won the jury prize for best feature film at FEMI, and he won the Yellow Robin Award for Caribbean filmmakers at CIFFR. Alex will now have the opportunity to screen his film at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2016 (Damian Marcano, director of ttff/13 prizewinner God Loves The Fighter, was the winner of the Yellow Robin Award in 2014).

Photo: Miquel Galofré, left, and Nneka Luke, External Relations Director, ttff, at FEMI. Luke collected the prize for Pan! Our Music Odyssey on the filmmaker’s behalf