StudioFilmClub presents two nights of activities at ttff/15

Famed actor Michael Fassbender and late music star Amy Winehouse will dominate the screen on September 16 and 17, respectively, as StudioFilmCub (SFC) presents two nights of film screenings and other activities during the 2015 trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff/15).

The two nights of screenings at SFC, located at 7 Fernandes Industrial Centre, Laventille, begin at 8.15pm, with doors opening at 7.00pm. All events at SFC are free of charge.

On Wednesday 16 September, there will be a screening of the fiction feature Slow West (2015, 84 minutes), directed by John Maclean and starring Michael Fassbender. A western, the film tells the story of Jay, a 17-year-old Scotsman, who travels to America in the late 19th century in pursuit of the woman he loves. Confronted with the harsh realities of the frontier, he falls in with a mysterious traveller, Silas (Fassbender), who soon discovers that the focus of Jay’s affection has a price on her head. Together the two men navigate a vast wilderness while attempting to stay one step ahead of a bloodthirsty posse and a colourful bounty hunter.

We are delighted that John Maclean will be in attendance on the 16th to introduce his film and answer questions afterward.

Then on Thursday 17 September the documentary Amy (2015, 123 minutes), directed by Asif Kapadia, will be screened. The film is a portrait of Amy Winehouse, whose raw honesty and supreme talent resulted in some of the most adored songs of the modern era. Her massive success, however, led to relentless media attention which, coupled with her troubled relationships and precarious lifestyle, saw her life tragically unravel. Featuring previously unseen archive footage, this moving, vital film tells the story of Amy Winehouse as it was meant to be told: in her own words.

Also on the 17th, there will be a tribute to the late, groundbreaking artist Peter Dean Rickards, who worked across photography and video to create gritty, lyrical and beautiful imagery from and of his native Jamaica. The tribute will comprise a showing of several of Rickards’ videos, and a number of projected images from his acclaimed The Afflicted Yard series. A party will round out the evening.

Founded by the artists Peter Doig and Che Lovelace, Studiofilmclub (SFC) began screening independent and art-house films in Building 7 of the Fernandes Compound, Eastern Main Road, Laventille, in 2003.

In 2006, SFC began hosting screenings and guests as part of the ttff. Guests of SFC have included British-Caribbean artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien (ttff/08), and New Yorker theatre critic Hilton Als (ttff/09). In 2012, the work of British-Caribbean filmmaker Steve McQueen took centre stage, while 2013 saw a screening of the restored version of Shirley Clarke’s classic 1967 documentary, Portrait of Jason.

Image: A still from Slow West