Inaugural Caribbean Film Mart draws big names to ttff/15

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.