In Competition: Student Films

Programmed as a separate category for the first time in 2020, Student films are narrative and documentary films made by student filmmakers (whether secondary or tertiary) from the Caribbean and the diaspora. The films competing for the Best Student Film award are:

Carmencita, dir. Nayibe Tavares-Abel
Carne e Casca (Meat and Shell), dir. Dani Drumond
Endless Love, dir. Duda Gambogi
La Pieza de Casseus (The Raging Dance of Casseus), dir. Camilo Mejía
Waiting In Strange Times, dir. Kristof West
Wicket, dir. Harsh Khurana

Synopses

Carmencita

Directed by Nayibe Tavares-Abel/ 2020/ Dominican Republic/ 27 minutes

In this documentary short, filmmaker Nayibe Tavares-Abel sets out to make a film based on her great grandmother’s diary entries written in 1918. Incorporating stop motion animation and a silent film shot in 16mm, the filmmaker begins with the aim of poking fun at her great grandmother’s jealousy and conceit, but ends up revealing much about herself in the process.

Carne e Casca (Meat and Shell)

Directed by Dani Drumond/ 2016/ Brazil/ 16 minutes

In the bowels of the Recife mangrove is Ilha de Deus (God’s Island). There, José Joaquim Francisco Filho, known as “Mosquito”, the oldest sururu (mussel) fisherman of the region, battles on. In the Capibaribe river, one of the most polluted in Brazil, Mosquito fights for the survival and future of his grandchildren.

Endless Love

Directed by Duda Gambogi/ 2020/ Brazil /20 minutes

A series of characters experience the joy of performance, demonstrating that it is better to live than to dream.

La Pieza de Casseus (The Raging Dance of Casseus)

Directed by Camilo Mejía/ 2020/ Dominican Republic /16 minutes

Casseus is a young Haitian man who decides to enroll in a ballet academy in order to accomplish his dream of being a dancer, but his job as a bodega delivery guy in the Dominican Republic gets in the way of his goal.

Waiting In Strange Times

Directed by Kristof West/ 2020/ Trinidad and Tobago/ 4 minutes

Set in Trinidad during the lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19, “Waiting In Strange Times” explores space and time during a period of boredom, uncertainty, confusion and fear.

Wicket

Directed by Harsh Khurana/ 2020/ India/ 4 minutes

A young boy dreams of being a cricketer but, like almost everyone else, ends up having an ordinary job. Nevertheless, his passion never dies and he lives his dream every day for the rest of his life.

Image: production still from ‘Endless Love’, directed by Duda Gambogi