Lineup of Caribbean feature films announced for ttff/14

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The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) announced the first section of its programme of films for its 2014 edition, the Caribbean features section, today. Twenty feature-length films—ten fiction films and ten documentaries—will screen in this section at the ttff/14, which runs from 16–30 September.

The 20 films come from eight Caribbean countries: Barbados, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. They reflect a range of genres and thematic concerns.

“Our Caribbean section this year seems stronger and more diverse in subject and style than ever,” said Annabelle Alcazar, ttff Programme Director. “We feel it represents a true reflection of our region.”

Eleven of the films will be in official competition, for one or more of three awards: Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature and Best T&T Feature. Several will also compete for the inaugural Amnesty International Human Rights Prize.

Still to be announced are the closing night film, the section of Caribbean short and medium-length films, the panorama section of feature-length films (films from world cinema), and the experimental films playing in the New Media section. Already announced as the opening film is Pan! Our Music Odyssey, a T&T docudrama, which will have its world premiere.

The full lineup of Caribbean features follows. Films marked with an asterisk (*) are in competition.

Narrative selections
200 Cartas Bruno Irizarry, Puerto Rico, 2013, T&T premiere
Behaviour Ernesto Daranas Serrano, Cuba, 2014, T&T premiere*
Cows Wearing Glasses Alex Santiago Pérez, Puerto Rico, 2014, Caribbean premiere*
Giraffes Kiki Álvarez, Cuba, 2013, T&T premiere*
Haiti Bride Robert Yao Ramesar, T&T/Haiti, 2014, world premiere*
Keeping Up with the Joneses Rommel Hall, Barbados, 2014, T&T premiere
Sensei Redemption German Gruber, Curaçao, 2014, international premiere*
A Story About Wendy 2 Sean Hodgkinson, T&T, 2014, Caribbean premiere
Two Smart Shakirah Bourne and Ricky Redman, Barbados, 2014, international premiere
Wake José María Cabral, Dominican Republic, 2013, T&T premiere

Documentary selections
The Abominable Crime Micah Fink, 2013, Jamaica/USA*
Art Connect Miquel Galofré, 2014, T&T, world premiere*
Blanco Melvin Durán, Dominican Republic, 2014, T&T premiere*
Hotel Nueva Isla Irene Gutiérrez Torres and Javier Labrador Deulofeu, Cuba, 2014, Caribbean premiere*
Legends of Ska: Cool & Copasetic Brad Klein, Jamaica/USA, 2014, T&T premiere
Mala Mala Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini, Puerto Rico, 2014, Caribbean premiere*
The Mountain Tabaré Blanchard and Iván Herrera, Dominican Republic, 2013, T&T premiere*
The Price of Memory Karen Marks Mafundikwa, Jamaica, 2014, T&T premiere*
They Are We Emma Christopher, Cuba/Sierra Leone/Australia, 2014, Caribbean premiere
You and Me, Natalia Cabral and Oriol Estrada Dominican Republic, 2013, Caribbean premiere*

Image: A still from Behaviour, Ernesto Daranas Serrano, Cuba, 2014