Eleven years ago, Michael Mooleedhar and Christian James met at the University of the West Indies. It was the first time the institution offered a degree in film. By 2014, armed with film degrees and a Masters in Creative Design Entrepreneurship (Mooleedhar) and a Fine Arts in Creative Producing (Christian James), the creative minds reconnected to work on their first feature length film—Green Days by the River—an adaptation of the 1967 novel by renowned Trinidadian author, Michael Anthony.

A Caribbean classic, Green Days by the River is a coming of age story. The plot revolves around a Trinidadian boy named Shellie who goes through all the emotional challenges of adolescent life and having an ailing father. Shellie moves to Mayaro, meets Rosalie, and is instantly smitten. But when he meets Joan, he finds himself in a bit of a love triangle.

“We tried to stay true to the book and create something that Trinbagonians can be proud of,” said Mooleedhar, the 32-year-old director of the film, known for his critically-acclaimed short films, including City on the Hill, which won People’s Choice Award at the 2015 T&T Film Festival.

Green Days by the River, a film adapta­tion of Michael Antho­ny’s classic 1967 novel of the same name, will open this year’s T&T Film Festival (ttff/17), with a red carpet gala and screening to be held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), on September 19.

The first local film by a TT director and producer to open the festival, director Michael Mooleedhar’s film is set in the idyllic country­side of 1950s Mayaro and re-tells the story of 15 year old Shell. Newly arrived in the village, he quickly gets caught between his longing to be a man, and his child-like innocence in the face of adult cunning.

With adolescent hor­mones raging, amidst the beauty of the local girls and the Mayaro landscape, the quiet storm that’s brewing may prove more than Shell can handle and life as he once knew it may never be the same again.

Generations of Caribbean readers know Shell’s and Rosalie’s story well. Shell and Rosalie, the main characters in Michael Anthony’s 1967 novel Green Days by the River, will now share their story with upcoming generations, through film.
The beloved story will open this year’s Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (ttff). It is one of four TT features and over 34 local shorts that will premiere at the festival this year. A red carpet gala and screening of the adaptation, which carries the same name, will be held on September 19 at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA).

It is also the first local film by a TT director and producer to open the annual film festival.

Green Days by the River, a film adaptation of Michael Anthony’s classic 1967 novel of the same name, will open this year’s trinidad + tobago film festival (ttff), with a red carpet gala and screening to be held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain on September 19.

The first local film by a homegrown director and producer to open the festival, director of the movie, filmmaker Michael Mooleedhar’s film is set in the idyllic countryside of 1950s Mayaro and re-tells the story of 15-year-old Shell. Newly arrived in the village, he quickly gets caught between his longing to be a man, and his child-like innocence in the face of adult cunning.

With adolescent hormones raging, amidst the beauty of the local girls and the Mayaro landscape, the quiet storm that’s brewing may prove more than Shell can handle and life as he once knew it may never be the same again.

Eleven years ago, Michael Mooleedhar and Christian James met at the University of the West Indies. It was the first time that the institution had offered a Degree in film and they were among the first class of undergraduates who enrolled to pursue the course. In 2014, armed with Film Degrees and a Masters in Creative Design Entrepreneurship and Fine Arts in Creative Producing, respectively – the creative minds reconnected to work on their first feature length film – Green Days by the River – an adaptation of the 1967 novel by renowned Trinidadian author, Michael Anthony
A Caribbean classic which has stood the test of time, Green Days by the River is an intriguing coming of age story whose plot revolves around a Trinidadian boy named Shellie who goes through all the emotional challenges of adolescent life and having an ailing father. Shellie moves to Mayaro and meets Rosalie and is instantly smitten. But when he meets Joan, he finds himself in a bit of a love triangle.

“We tried to stay true to the book and create something that Trinbagonians can be proud of,” said Mooleedhar, the 32-year-old director of the film, known for his critically-acclaimed short films, including City on the Hill, which won People’s Choice Award at the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. “This film is unique because this is a Trinidad and Tobago story by a Trinidad and Tobago director and producer. It’s being told by us for us.”

Pulling off a production of this magnitude wasn’t easy – or cheap.

Mooleedhar and James – the film’s producer, spent all of 2015 pounding the pavement in search of funding to get the 102-minute film in motion. They approached over 100 companies appealing for financial help and most declined, which they understood given the economy. “Imagine making a creative product and telling a business person that you need them to contribute some amount of money towards the total cost, especially in an economic downturn. So yeah, we got turned down a lot.”

That is, until bmobile stepped in as the film’s title sponsor.

Green Days by the River, a film adaptation of Michael Anthony’s classic 1967 novel of the same name, will open this year’s trinidad + tobago film festival (ttff), with a red carpet gala and screening to be held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain on September 19.

The first local film by a homegrown director and producer to open the festival, director of the movie, filmmaker Michael Mooleedhar’s film is set in the idyllic countryside of 1950s Mayaro and re-tells the story of 15-year-old Shell. Newly arrived in the village, he quickly gets caught between his longing to be a man, and his child-like innocence in the face of adult cunning.

With adolescent hormones raging, amidst the beauty of the local girls and the Mayaro landscape, the quiet storm that’s brewing may prove more than Shell can handle and life as he once knew it may never be the same again.

Green Days by the River, a film adaptation of Michael Anthony’s classic 1967 novel of the same name, will open this year’s trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff/17).

The ttff made the announcement via its website on Wednesday evening.

This will be the first local film by a T&T director and producer to open the festival.

Director Michael Mooleedhar’s film is set in the idyllic countryside of 1950s Mayaro and re-tells the story of15-year-old Shell.  Newly arrived in the village, he quickly gets caught between his longing to be a man, and his child-like innocence in the face of adult cunning.

With adolescent hormones raging, amidst the beauty of the local girls and the Mayaro landscape, the quiet storm that’s brewing may prove more than Shell can handle and life as he once knew it may never be the same again.