Forty-four years since its first release, the highly acclaimed local film Bim, will screen once again at We Beat’s We Film Night, on Wednesday 06 June 2018, at 7pm . The free screening, at the St James Amphitheatre, is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the St James Community Improvement Committee and ttff ‘s official technical partner North Eleven Projections.
Described as “the best T&T film ever made” by film critic B.C Pires, Bim is revered as a West Indian cult classic of Caribbean cinema. The script was written by local playwright and newspaper journalist, Raoul Pantin and co-produced by Susanne Nunez, wife of the director, Hugh A. Robertson.
Bim tells the story of Bheem Singh, who is sent to live with his aunt in Port of Spain. Bullied at school and abused at home, he runs away and begins a life of petty crime. After returning to the countryside-and taking a new name, Bim-he becomes leader of the sugar workers, and eventually leader of the colony’s opposition party. It isn’t long, however, before his violent past catches up with him.
The role of Bim is played by Ralph Maraj, a politician, playwright and actor, of both stage and screen. Music for the film was written by the late Andre Tanker who worked with some of the country’s best musicians to fuse African and Indian rhythms.
Shot a decade after our country’s independence, Bim did not open to much fanfare in 1975. However, it was shown at the United States Virgin Islands Film Festival in St Thomas in 1975 and at the CARIFESTA Film Festival in Jamaica and Los Angeles Film Festival, both in 1976.
Bruce Paddington, founder and festival director of the ttff described the film as “one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and … one of the classics of Caribbean cinema”.
Bim screens on Wednesday 06 June, 7pm, at the St James Amphitheatre, next door to the St James Police Station on the Western Main Road. Rated PG, admission is free and drinks and refreshments will be on Sale. Patrons should feel free to bring their own blankets and mats.
The trinidad+tobago film festival celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago .
