ttff takes to the road to raise profile of Caribbean film

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Over the next two weeks members of the ttff will be attending various film festivals in Europe, as well as the FEMI festival in Guadeloupe. Their aim is to raise the global profile of Caribbean cinema, as well as seek out opportunities that Caribbean filmmakers may access. The ttff’s Creative Director, Emilie Upczak, and External Relations Director, Nneka Luke, will both attend the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Berlin International Film Festival, while Upczak will attend the International Shorts Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand in France. Bruce Paddington, Founder and Festival Director, will attend FEMI.

International Film Festival Rotterdam
22 January–02 February

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) offers a high-quality lineup of fiction and documentary feature films, short films and media art. IFFR actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through its co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund, the Rotterdam Lab and other industry activities.

The first co-production market of its kind, CineMart offers filmmakers the opportunity to launch their ideas to the international film industry and to find the right connections to get their projects financed. The CineMart staff also organises the Rotterdam Lab, a five-day training workshop for young and emerging producers designed to build up their international network and their experience at an international festival and market. Participation in the Rotterdam Lab provides young producers with the confidence and skills to navigate the festival circuit and meet the professionals who can help finance their projects.

The Rotterdam Lab is organised by CineMart in collaboration with various partner organisations involved in the training of young producers as well as funding bodies. The trinidad+tobago film festival is one of the newest partners for the Rotterdam Lab.

International Short Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand
31 January–08 February

The 36th International Short Film Festival and Market, Clermont-Ferrand, France, is the world’s leading film festival dedicated to short films. It is the second largest film festival in France, after Cannes, in terms of audience and professional attendance, boasting over 100,000 attendees annually. The ttff has been invited to send a representative and eight films to the festival to be showcased at a Caribbean film booth in the marketplace with our partner APCAG, the Association for the Development of Cinema and Art, from Guadeloupe. The marketplace will host international film and media promotion bodies, short-film agencies, production and distribution companies and networks, associations and technical industries to promote business, present catalogues and form working relationships whilst preparing new projects.

The short-films showcase comprises the following previous ttff selections:

After Mas (Karen Martinez, T&T/UK, 2013)
Auntie (Lisa Harewood, Barbados, 2013)
The Earthquake (Danielle Lessovitz, Haiti/USA, 2012)
Fish (Shawn Escayg, T&T, 2012)
The Gardener (Jo Henriquez, Aruba, 2013)
Passage (Kareem Mortimer, Bahamas, 2013)
Small Man: The World My Father Made (Mariel Brown, T&T, 2013)
Yolanda (Cristian Carretero, Dominican Republic, 2013)

Berlin International Film Festival
06–16 February

The Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in the world. The festival attracts more than 300,000 visitors a year to the city of Berlin, and screens up to 400 films from all over the world, across all genres.

The Berlinale also has valuable programmes that can serve as models for the development of the ttff as well as opportunities for regional filmmakers, such as the Berlinale Talents programme, where over 300 emerging filmmakers are immersed in developing their craft; the Co-Production Market, where experienced international producers, film financiers, film distributors, funding bodies, sales agents and TV channels come together to initiate international co-productions; and the World Cinema Fund, a federally funded programme that works to develop and support cinema in regions with a weak film infrastructure, while fostering cultural diversity in German cinema.

FEMI
30 January–08 February

The ttff is a partner festival of the Regional and International Film Festival of Guadeloupe (FEMI). This year the ttff will present three films at FEMI: Melaza (Carlos Lechuga, Cuba, 2012), Forward Ever: The Killing of a Revolution (Bruce Paddington, T&T, 2013) and After Mas (Karen Martinez, T&T/UK, 2013).

This edition of FEMI, the 18th, will focus on the cinema of Africa. The festival will screen over 60 shorts, feature films and documentaries, with28 of these films playing in competition. FEMI will also host a film marketplace and over 40 leading international film professionals will be present. The festival will be held throughout Guadeloupe’s 14 municipalities.

Image: At the International Film Festival Rotterdam