Pioneers of Caribbean Film

Hugh Robertson and Suzanne Robertson

Hugh Robertson came to Trinidad to film an adaptation of Derek Walcott’s play Dream on Monkey Mountain for NBC and embarked on an engagement with his wife’s homeland which saw the birth of what is arguably the most important film to be produced in Trinidad: Bim (1974).

American of Jamaican heritage, Robertson, together with his wife, Suzanne Robertson and a group of local directors and investors set up Sharc Productions. Sharc was an acronym for the names of his family: Suzanne, Hugh, Antonio (their son) Robertson Company.

Robertson was editor for the Hollywood films Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Shaft (1971). He also directed Melinda (1972). Robertson was nominated for an Academy Award for his editing work on Midnight Cowboy. Melinda, starring the Bahamian actor Calvin Lockhart, was extremely successful at the local box office.

Sharc brought in professional film equipment and a custom-built production vehicle for location filming. It created a sound stage at Tucker Valley in Chaguaramas and produced commercials and documentaries, but its real mission was to establish a local film industry.

Bim was set in Trinidad in the period before independence, and the politically charged film reflected the passion and conflicts of the 1940s and 50s. Written by Raoul Pantin, the film starred Ralph Maraj as Bim, in what is widely considered to be his finest performance on film.

The film’s musical score was by Andre Tanker, who worked with a group of East Indian musicians. It was later released as an LP record.

Bim won a gold medal at the United States Virgin Islands Film Festival in St. Thomas in 1975, was shown at the Carifesta Film Festival in Jamaica (1976) and the Los Angeles Film festival (1976).

The producers were encouraged to make another film, Avril, based upon an original story by Hans Boos with a script by Raoul Pantin, about a spell inflicted on a young couple and the complications that ensued. While the filming was completed, the producers suffered major financial problems in having the film processed and edited. In 1987, almost ten years later, the film was finally completed and shown in San Francisco under the new title Obeah, a year before the director’s death. This film has never been seen in the Caribbean.


Horace Ové

Born in Trinidad, Horace Ové is internationally known as one of the leading black independent filmmakers to emerge in Britain since the post-war period. His feature film Pressure is cited in the Guinness Book of Records as the first black feature film to be made in the UK. The screenplay was written by Ové and novelist Samuel Selvon. It was funded by the British Film Institute Production Board but banned for three years because of its politically charged subject.

Ové’s other early films include Baldwin’s Nigger (1969) and Reggae, the first in-depth film on reggae music, narrated by the Jamaican writer and journalist, Andrew Salkey. He also made King Carnival (1973), Skateboard Kings (1978), A Hole In Babylon (1979), Who Shall We Tell? (1985), Dabbawallahs (1985) and Playing Away (1986).

He directed various episodes of the groundbreaking television series Empire Road (1978-79). Ové made his mark on the series by taking it out of the studio and onto real street locations. For the ITV network, he directed The Latchkey Children (1978-79), the first multiracial children’s drama and an episode of The Professionals titled A Man Called Quinn.

In 1991 he directed The Orchid House for Britian’s Channel 4. A four-part period drama set in Dominica, it tells the story of the decline of an old colonial family from the point of view of their black nanny. The cast included his daughter Indra Ové.

In 1995, he directed Native Son, shot in America and Paris, for PBS and BBC2 on the life and works of Richard Wright.  Also in 1995 he directed The Equaliser for the BBC series Hidden Empire, which went on to win several Asian Academy Awards.

In 2005 he completed a documentary entitled Dream to Change the World, about the life of the late John La Rose, a Trinidad-born, black activist, publisher, writer and the founder of New Beacon Books.

Ové has won several awards over the years. He was named Best Birector for Independent Film and Television by the British Film Institute in 1986. He is the only non-Jamaican to be given a Doctor Bird award, for his contribution to Caribbean filmmaking. He was awarded the Humming Bird Medal by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in recognition of his international achievements in television and film. He has also received awards for his work as a photographer.

Ové’s most recent feature film, The Ghost of Hing King Estate, written and produced by Francis Escayg, was shot on location in Trinidad and starred Errol Sitahal, Terry-Leigh Bovell, Wendell Manwarren, Susan Hannay-Abrahams and Michael Cherrie.

In June 2007 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to the film and television industry in the UK. He was knighted in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to media.


Horace James

Horace Eastlyn Emmanuel James was born on October 24th 1927 in San Fernando. He started acting when he was just seven years old and was associated with the Carnegie Players, San Fernando’s oldest theatre group.

In 1952 he gathered a group together to initiate formation of what would become the San Fernando Drama Guild. Following his debut on Radio Trinidad’s soap opera The Edwards Family, he accepted a scholarship to study theatre production at the Oxford Playhouse in England. A government scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts followed in 1961 and he stayed in England for almost thirteen years. He won small parts in several British television series, and wrote, directed and produced for others.

In 1968, an adaptation of Samuel Selvon’s novel The Lonely Londoners was broadcast as a series of plays called Eldorado West One, on BBC Radio 4, with Rudolph Walker and James as key actors.

His television work included a stint on Z Cars and the TV soap opera Compact, the first soap to include a regular role for a black actor (James played magazine photographer Jeff Armandez). He also starred in the films Guns at Batasi (1964) and Love Thy Neighbour (1973)

He returned to Trinidad in 1973 and spearheaded the first drama department at Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), beginning a television drama career that would last nineteen years. He established the popular Play of the Month serial, selecting the plays, recruiting actors and co-opting people from other departments of the station to produce one play a month. He adapted plays from Derek Walcott, Errol Hill, Freddie Kissoon and Lennox Brown. He undertook the bulk of the work, directing, sometimes acting, lighting, producing and getting funding. He produced and directed the dramatic series No Boundaries and inspired other series like Sugar Cane Arrows.


Harbance Kumar

Harbance holds the distinction of directing the first feature-length film in the English-speaking Caribbean: The Right and the Wrong and Caribbean Fox (both 1970). 


Born in India in 1937, he came to the Caribbean to distribute the film Bijli Chamke Jamna Paar (1962). He eventually married a Trinidadian and began organising the subtitling of Indian films locally.

He cast two Guyanese actors, Gloria David and Marc Mathews, in leading roles in The Right and the Wrong, while the assistant director was the Guyanese filmmaker Brian Stewart-Young. Robert Hawkins, who was in charge of the Trinidad operations of Pearl and Dean from 1964-1969, was the director of photography on The Right and the Wrong and Caribbean Fox. They were produced by De Luxe Films, a distribution company that marketed Indian films in Trinidad and Guyana.

The Right and the Wrong was filmed on an agricultural estate at Five Rivers, Arouca. It was advertised as “a story of lust, passion and violence set in Trinidad at the time of slavery”. The film was scripted by Freddie Kissoon and also featured local actors, such as Holly Betaudier.

This low-budget film was made for approximately US$50,000 and Carl Jacobs, writing for the local Guardian newspaper, reported that the film had “done splendidly at the Caribbean box office, actually breaking records in some places such as Grenada and Surinam”. It was also very popular in Guyana. It won a gold medal for photography at the Atlanta Film Festival, but the film’s major achievement was that it inspired Caribbean persons to make their own films.

Kumar wrote the script for Caribbean Fox himself. The assistant director was Anthony Maharaj. The film received a similar reception to The Right and the Wrong. It was popular commercially but criticised by local and international critics. The film was shown internationally as a double feature with the The Right and the Wrong

Kumar was not to make another film in Trinidad for a decade. In 1982 he made Man from Africa (also called Girl from India, a version for the Indian market using a different soundtrack) and Jealous, starring Michael Walker. He is also known for films Messing Around (1989), Heaven Becomes Hell (1989). 

Kumar has since changed his name to Mickey Kumar, so that people in the USA could pronounce it. After meeting Mrs. Nivelli, an old Jewish lady who wanted to adopt Harbance and make him her son, he took on her last name out of respect and love, thereby becoming Mickey Nivelli. He lives in New York, working as a writer and film distributor.


Errol John

Errol John was an artist and a talented track and field athlete who ran for the club Malvern. For a short time he worked as a lawyer’s clerk; however, he soon followed his dream to act, joining the Whitehall Players theatre group.

After World War II, he travelled to England and found work in the theatre. He made numerous small appearances in television and film. In 1955, he landed the star role in the BBC’s A Man from the Sun (1956), which was followed by larger roles in No Hiding Place (1961) and Rainbow City (1967), a five-part series written for him by John Elliot.

Today, John is equally known for his success as a writer. His seminal play, Moon on A Rainbow Shawl, won the Observer Play of the Year award in 1957. John developed a full-length screenplay of Moon, but it was never produced. Over the half-century since then the play has achieved iconic status as a classic of Caribbean theatre, regularly staged internationally, in countries as diverse as Iceland, Hungary and Argentina, most recently at the Cottesloe Theatre in the UK (2012).

The BBC produced and broadcast two of his plays: The Dawn (1963) and The Exiles (1968), while the ATV London Network aired his play The Insider (1969).

Despite featuring in films with Audrey Hepburn (The Nun’s Story, 1959),  Frank Sinatra and Harry Belafonte (Assault on a Queen, 1966) and Sidney Poitier’s Buck and the Preacher (1971), he was confined to small parts in Hollywood and didn’t stay on.

He died on 10 July, 1988 in Camden, North London and was posthumously awarded the Chaconia Medal (Silver) for drama that year.


Edric Connor & Pearl Connor

Edric Connor started singing professionally in 1936, and the following year took part in one of the first films made in Trinidad, Callaloo (1937).

Connor left Trinidad in 1944 to study engineering in England, but within weeks he appeared on the BBC radio programme Calling the West Indies. This was the first of over 2,500 sound broadcasts he made during his life. He also appeared in numerous television productions, making his first appearance for BBC television in Music Makers (1946). His first dramatic appearance on television was in All God’s Chillun Got Wings.

Edric Connor made over 300 appearances on BBC TV and ITV and assisted other Caribbean artists newly arrived in England with television appearances. In the 1960s he appeared in the popular television series The Avengers and two episodes of Danger Man. His final television performance was in the drama Espionage (1994).

Connor studied film at the Heatherley School of Art and undertook professional training at the BBC. He then formed Edric Connor Films and with some assistance from the British Film Institute completed two shorts: Caribbean Honeymoon (1960) and Carnival Fantastique (1960).

Caribbean Honeymoon showcased the beauty of the Caribbean and generated pride in the immigrant West Indian community in Britain. Carnival Fantastique was filmed during the 1959 Carnival in Trinidad. The film played a significant role in introducing the carnival arts to Britain at the time when there was major racial prejudice and discontent in Britain.

He was Britain’s first black film director and made short films and documentaries in England and Africa, including one for the independence of Nigeria.

Connor acted in many well-known Hollywood and British productions. His debut was in Cry, the Beloved Country (1952), directed by Zoltan Korda and featuring the young Sidney Poitier as a priest. The experience of filming in apartheid South Africa made a great impression on him and he returned to Africa several times afterward to work on features filmed on location there. He next appeared in Moby-Dick (1956), and Fire Down Below (1957), filmed on location in Trinidad and Tobago. Pearl Connor recalled that her husband “was greatly honoured… he was recognized as a real celebrity, our man come home, which was wonderful.” Other films Connor starred in were Seven Thunders (1957), The Vikings (1958), Virgin Island (1960), King of Kings (1961) and Four for Texas (1963). His final two film performances were in 1968: Only When I Larf and Nobody Runs Forever.

Pearl Connor trained under Beryl McBurnie at the Little Carib Theatre in Port of Spain, then attended the Rose Bruford School of Speech and Drama in Kent.

In 1948 she met, and later married, Edric Connor. They moved to London where she enrolled at King’s College to study law. She too worked in the Caribbean Service of the BBC as an actress, last appearing in Lindsay Anderson’s Oh Lucky Man (1973), which screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

Pearl and Edric opened the Edric Connor Agency (1956), which Pearl later ran as the Afro-Asian-Caribbean Agency. One of their lasting achievements is their advocacy for the employment of a larger percentage of black performers in the British entertainment industry.

The agency was involved in co-producing or distributing some of the groundbreaking films in black British and Caribbean film history, especially Carnival Fantastique (1959), The Harder They Come (1972), Horace Ové’s films King Carnival (1972) and Pressure (1975), and Smile Orange (1976).

Edric also attempted to establish an art-film cinema in Trinidad. He invested his own money, bought a cinema in Curepe and hired a local manager, but it really never took off.

He died in 1968, and in 1971 Pearl married Joe Mogotsi, leader of South Africa’s famous vocal group, the Manhattan Brothers. She continued her work until her death in South Africa in 2005. Her honours include the Humming Bird Medal (silver) for outstanding services to the immigrant community in the United Kingdom, and the National Black Women’s Achievement Award for Entertainment and Arts in Britain.


Anthony Maharaj

The prolific career of Anthony Maharaj includes international and local productions.

His parents were film distributors responsible for the distribution of Indian films throughout the Caribbean. At age fourteen he started working with them, and later worked with Paramount and MGM distribution, in Guyana and Trinidad, until he formed his own distribution company, AMA Films. AMA has distributed in the Caribbean for Samuel Goldwyn, Lorimar, Morgan Creek and Miramax films.

At age nineteen he worked with Harbance Kumar on the first full-colour feature film to be made in the English-speaking Caribbean, The Right and the Wrong (1970), and The Caribbean Fox (1970). He was also assistant producer and assistant director on Operation Makonaima (1972), directed by Ramdjan Abdoel Rahaman and filmed in Guyana, Suriname, Holland and Trinidad and Tobago.

His international career included working on feature films in Thailand, the Philippines and the USA. He established, owned and managed Cariphil Pictures, a production and distribution company based in Los Angeles and Manila.

He was executive producer, second unit director and co-writer on Final Mission (1984), directed by Cirio Santiago. Maharaj and Santiago collaborated on two more films. Maharaj was executive producer and co-producer with Santiago on Naked Vengeance (1985), directed by Santiago and based on an original story by Maharaj.  He was also producer and second unit director on Future Hunters, also known as Deadly Quest and Spear of Destiny, directed by Santiago and based on Maharaj’s original story.

His first film as a director was The Fighter (1987), also known as The Kick Fighter, based on his original story. Maharaj also directed Return of the Kickfighter (1987), also known as Mission Terminate. In 1988 he directed Crossfire, also known as Not Another Mistake, and Rage, also known as Deathfight, which starred Karen Moncrieff and Chuck Jeffreys.


Maharaj returned to work in Trinidad and introduced Moncrieff and Jeffreys to Trinidad, directing them in Innocent Adultery (1994) and Secrets of the Shell (2000), which he also produced.

Maharaj also played an important role in arranging the investment of the Trinidad and Tobago finance company, CL Financial Ltd, in the Merchant Ivory production Mystic Masseur (2002), filmed on location in Trinidad. Maharaj is listed as the associate producer and Lawrence Duprey, the then Chairman of CL Financial Ltd., as the executive producer on the film. Maharaj was also the executive producer of the Bollywood feature film Dulha Mil Gaya (2009), which starred Shah Rukh Khan and was partly filmed in Tobago. 


Alex de Verteuil

In 1964 the English conglomerate Pearl and Dean opened its Caribbean operations and established locally registered companies in Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas.

Pearl and Dean’s focus was the production of 35mm colour advertisements for local cinemas. In 1974 Pearl and Dean divested its Caribbean operations and David Martin—who was born in England and married to a Trinidadian—took over, making Trinidad the headquarters of operations. He died in 1974 and Alex de Verteuil took over running the company along with his sister, Elizabeth Jean Martin, David Martin’s widow.

By the 1980s the cinema industry was in crisis throughout the Caribbean with the closure of cinemas caused by declining audiences. All of Pearl and Dean’s Caribbean companies closed except for the Trinidad office. But the challenges they faced did not break the spirits of the company’s new owners.

De Verteuil, who has always had a passion for the natural environment, history and culture, diversified operations and started to produce documentaries and commercials, although the company’s main revenue earner was and still is outdoor advertising.

He produced and directed documentary videos for television broadcast on a range of local topics, largely cultural and environmental. They include several award-winning programmes that have had international distribution in the UK, South Africa, Israel and the USA.

Among the works produced by De Verteuil are:

  • Iere, Land of the Hummingbird (BWIA Media Award for Best Documentary)
  • Cry for Buccoo (Images Caraibe Award for best environmental documentary, BWIA Media Awards for Best Investigative report and best-edited documentary)
  • Nariva Must Not Die (Green Screen and Missoula awards)
  • Wild T&T (EMA Greenleaf Award)
  • C’est Quitte
  • Buried Treasure; Jab!: The Blue Devils of Paramin 
  • 70: Remembering a Revolution

meet ttff/21 festival artist, sheena rose

The trinidad+tobago film festival is delighted to have Sheena Rose as the festival artist for our 16th edition. Her work, ‘Monolithic’, will represent this year’s festival on the festival guide, poster and buttons. Mikayla Almandoz spoke with the Barbadian visual artist to learn more about her work and her artistry. 

ttff what was the inspiration behind your artwork, ‘Monolithic’, which is representing the festival this year?

SR I love Pop Art, I cannot help to see myself as a Caribbean Pop Artist. I love retro commercials, posters, old magazine and photos. They feel nostalgic and make me very happy inside. I wanted to recreate these found images and collage them into a painting. I was really curious what would happen if I glued these three women, and added them to a vibrant, loud living room. 

ttff how do you view ttff and its role within the region?

SR TTFF is making a great contribution to the region and the global space. We get to see ourselves, our stories, captured in film and moving images. I love to see filmmakers from the Caribbean who are proud and excited to show their films and stories, and I too am excited because I want to see our stories; how did the filmmakers portray us. It is very important to have a space like this to see and show ourselves.

ttff who/ what are some of your influences and inspirations?

SR I have tons of influences and inspiration for my work! At first, whenever I was asked that question in interviews, I would have a list of names. But as time goes by, it’s getting harder to pinpoint. I am inspired by all kinds of passionate creativity such as the work of writers, dancers, poets, filmmakers, cinematographers, musicians, sound engineers, costume makers, etc. I love creative people that take risks and are unapologetic.

ttff you are a multi-disciplinary artist, doing paintings, drawings, performance art, new media, public art and mixed media, what drew you to all of these avenues of creation?

SR I went to Barbados Community College from 2003 – 2008 and honestly, I wanted to be a cartoonist. During that time the college encouraged us to work on different materials. At first, I was very miserable, because I just wanted to draw, but after a while, I learned to enjoy many techniques such as printmaking, filmmaking, figure drawing, photography, graphics, etc. They were very challenging at first, but as I grew as an artist, they taught me to be flexible and curious. In 2014, I received a Fulbright Scholarship to do my MFA in Studio Art at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to continue the idea of working in different media. It felt great to work in many materials during and after my studies. I also created more performance art, new media art, and installation art. 

ttff what are you currently working on?

SR I am currently working on many projects such as pen and ink drawings, colorful cityscapes, hand-stitched mixed media costumes, and paintings. I am continuing the idea of asking myself, who am I? What or how do I contribute to the space? During this time, I feel as though these many projects are helping me find myself. The costumes/ performance art feels like my paintings and drawings are alive and in our world. The drawings feel like a diary, the paintings feel like a bizarre mind scape I occupy.

ttff you seem to always be busy learning a new skill, from swimming to making wigs, where do you find the motivation to keep expanding?

SR Well, since the pandemic started, I told myself, go and learn some skills, this is the time to discover more of yourself. We have a lot more time on our hands. Instead of buying a wig, learn to make one. Instead of buying herbs in the supermarket, learn to be a gardener/ farmer. I also see these extra skills as a benefit to my art and my process of thinking. 

ttff you mentioned that you can get impatient and not trust the process when you’re working on multiple ideas, how do you navigate that?

SR I find I am getting better at not being so impatient, especially now that I am doing yoga and meditation daily. I was getting tired of the process because I wanted to quickly see the result of the work and hope for the best. However, I recently started enjoying the process a bit more. I feel as though I am discovering more about myself, and becoming excited with the transformation of the work. I am asking myself more questions such as why am I doing this again? Should I change this colour, perhaps I can add or take it away? I always remember Picasso and Dali quotes, which help me to be patient and understanding:

“I begin with an idea, and then it’s something else” Pablo Picasso

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” Salvador Dali

ttff what are your thoughts on being ttff/21’s festival artist?

I am smiling from ear to ear. I feel honoured and excited that I was selected to be the ttff/ 21 Festival artist! I am feeling great that you cannot miss my work. It is the poster and part of the face of the festival this year! I love that visual art is also acknowledged in the festival. It also makes me think of powerful visuals. I’m very happy with how my work is exposed to viewers, art lovers, film lovers, and anyone who has a device in their hand.

You can learn more about Sheena Rose’s work by visiting her site:
www.sheenaroseart.com

music clearances in film

presentation

Mon 27 Sept, 3.00–4.00 p.m. (est)
location: Facebook Live, YouTube Live, ttfilmfestival.com
tickets: free

Click here to register.

How is the term Intellectual Property applicable to music? When it comes to legalese, do you know the difference between protected music and music in the public domain? How about the difference between using an original musical score, pre-existing musical compositions or sound recordings? Among the plethora of details a filmmaker must remember when producing a film, legal requirements for music licensing has proven to be one of the more tricky areas for local producers to grasp. There are various types of music licences used in film production, and in this one-hour presentation, lawyer Fabien Alfonso will clarify the details of music clearances in film and further highlight the adverse effects of not obtaining such clearances. 


facilitator: Fabien Alfonso

Fabien Alfonso has been actively involved in the creative cultural sector for the past 30 years. He is an advocate for the overall development of our creative industries, and he is passionate about the appropriate administration of Copyright and Related Rights in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean region. Alfonso lobbied for the updating and passing of the Copyright Amendment Bill (2008) and the signing of the World Intellectual Property Organisation Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). As a copyright-related rights consultant and educator, he has conducted workshops and lectures at institutions such as UTT, COSTAAT, Servol, UWI Roytec, and several private and public music schools. He holds qualifications from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland and his areas of proficiency include industrial property, copyright, related rights, and collective management of rights within the creative industries.

ttff/20 industry programme

trinidad+tobago film festival is proud to announce the industry programme for this year’s edition! From the Caribbean to Latin America, Europe to North America, our masterclass and workshop facilitators, presenters and panelists are a diverse, international and award-winning group of filmmakers.

Online industry events and training will be offered as panels and presentations, which will be free and live-streamed via the ttff Facebook page; or workshops, which will be ticketed and take place via Zoom. For Zoom workshops, tickets must be paid for in full and in advance, and Zoom links will be sent in advance of workshop commencement. All workshop tickets are available at ttfilmfestival.com (see event-specific ticket links below). They can also be purchased via bank transfer or in person at our office at 22 Jerningham Ave.

Please register for our industry events here, and one of the ttff team will be in touch to arrange payment and/ or send Zoom links as necessary.

Please email Catherine at admin@filmco.org for information on payment options and discount codes. FILMCO members, filmmakers with a film in this year’s festival and students with valid photo IDs can receive a discount on all workshops.

*If you sign up for three or more ‘paid-for’  industry events at once, you will be entitled to a total discount of 30% off the ticket price.

ttff’s online industry events are made possible thanks to the support of Shell Trinidad and Tobago Ltd.


Masterclass

The Art of Creative Producing

with Lee Thomas

07–11 September, 2.30pm–4.00pm
Tickets: $1,000 TTD / $150 USD
Online via Zoom

In a world where all the gatekeepers seem to want to say “No,” it’s sometimes difficult to survive as a producer and get your projects out into the world. This intensive five-part masterclass on the art of creatively and sustainably producing your film will be facilitated by acclaimed UK film and television producer, Lee Thomas.

Click here for more information.

This workshop is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.


Workshops

Build Your Film’s Website with the Magic of WordPress

with Shaun Rambaran

10 September, 12.30pm–2.30pm and 3.30pm–5.30pm
Tickets: $240 TTD / $35 USD
Online via Zoom

Websites have become an essential tool in a film’s promotional kit, but they can often cost a fortune to produce. Join web developer Shaun Rambaran as he gives this essential wide-ranging lesson in preparing and running your own website using WordPress.

This workshop is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.

Cost-Effective Lighting for Film

with Robert Macfarlane

10–11 September, 9.30am–12.30pm
Tickets: $360 TTD / $56 USD
Online via Zoom

Lighting is fundamental to film: it creates mood and atmosphere, and adds to a sense of meaning. In this two-day online workshop led by narrative film director Robert Macfarlane, participants will learn how to cost-effectively achieve professional lighting systems for their projects.

Click here for more information.

This workshop is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.

Edit Your Trailer like a Pro!

with Ryan C. Khan

11 September, 9.30am–12.30pm and 2.30pm–5.30pm
Tickets: $360 TTD / $56 USD

In this all-day workshop, facilitator Ryan C. Khan will explore the key elements of a good trailer – what aspects of the story to leave in and leave out; graphics; the right music; and essential information to include in all trailers.

Click here for more information.

This workshop is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.

Breaking it Down:
The Role of the DP

with Gabrielle Blackwood

14 September, 10.00am–1.00pm
Tickets: $180 TTD / $28 USD
Online via Zoom

Understanding the role of the film’s director of photography, and the various departments the dp works with, is invaluable before beginning a project. This foundational three-hour workshop, led by Jamaican director and dp Gabrielle Blackwood, will discuss the role and process of the director of photography, both on and off set.

Click here for more information.

This workshop is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.


Presentations

Social Media Marketing for Filmmakers

with Neala Bhagwansingh

10 September, 12.00pm–1.30pm
Online via Facebook Live @ttfilmfestival

Love it or hate it, social media has become a valuable tool for independent filmmakers. In this ttff/20 presentation, practitioner Neala Bhagwansingh will share invaluable tools and tips for harnessing the power of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to drive interest and investment in you and your film projects.

This presentation is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.

Navigating Contracts and Clearances

with Dionne Mcnicol-Stephenson and Cindy F. Daniel

10 september, 9.30am–11.30am
Online via Facebook Live @ttfilmfestival

If the words ‘contract’ and ‘clearance’ keep you staring at the ceiling at night, you’re not alone. This enlightening two-hour session led by facilitators Dionne McNicol-Stephenson and Cindy F. Daniel will guide listeners through the main types of film contracts including the often-misunderstood collection of music clearances and rights.

This presentation is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.

Getting Ready for Distribution

with Patricia Martin

11 September, 9.30am–11.30am
Online via Facebook Live @ttfilmfestival

Sales agents, distributors and digital outlets expect more than just an HD master to release a film. ttff/20 is pleased to present this integral talk on distribution facilitated by Patricia Martin of Habanero Film Sales in Brazil, in which Martin will explain why filmmakers must start budgeting and preparing their team for distribution long before heading out to film.

This presentation is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.


ttff Talk with Orlando von Einsiedel

ttff talk with Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Orlando von Einsiedel
12 September, 10.30am–11.30am
Online via Facebook Live @ttfilmfestival

In this, our first ever ttff talk, we’ll be sitting down for a wide-ranging discussion with Academy Award-winning documentary director, Orlando von Einsiedel, on documentary filmmaking, curiosity and finding compelling stories in some of the world’s most dangerous places.

This presentation is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.


Every year, the ttff presents filmmakers’ panels, which provide an opportunity for local, regional and international filmmakers to come together to discuss the shared experience of making films within an independent industry context.

Filmmaker Panels

Narrative Filmmakers Panel

with Shola Amoo (‘The Last Tree’), Akkel ‘Lee’ Charles (‘Get Free’), Isabella Issa (‘Yellow Girl and Me’), Calyx Passailaigue (‘Zeen?’), and Héctor M. Valdez (‘Malpaso’)
9 September, 11.00am–12.30pm
Online via Facebook Live @ttfilmfestival

Documentary Filmmakers Panel

with Henrique Amud (‘Stunned, I Remain Alert’), Gabrielle Blackwood (‘Unbroken’), Sam Lockyer (‘501 Not Out’), Shari Petti (‘Jump!’), and Michèle Stephenson (‘Stateless’)
12 September, 1.00pm–2.30pm
Online via Facebook Live @ttfilmfestival

Meet ttff/20 Festival Artist, Mark King

Our festival artist for the 15th edition of the trinidad+tobago film festival is the talented interdisciplinary artist, Mark King, whose work combines fashion, surface design, sculpture and installation to name just a few of the tools he uses. FILMCO’s education coordinator, Catherine Emmanuel, spoke with King about his work, his interests and thoughts on being our ttff/20 festival artist.

ttff You work in many varied mediums such as photography, fashion and surface design. What drew you to this diverse combination of tools?

MK My curiosity and general interests are what pushed me to explore these mediums. A strong desire to communicate abstract concepts in different ways guides this approach. It is also through collaboration that I am able to experiment with a wide range of creative tools in both my fine art and commercial life.

ttff How do you use these mediums to explore the subjects that interest you?

MK Each medium plays a role in the expression and transmission of a concept. The decision to use any medium, whether independently or in a grouping, depends on many factors. I’m concerned with how people engage with my work. Lately, I have been thinking of the objects I create as artifacts that go on to be activated/animated by the owner, wearer, or viewer.

ttff Your work is focused on examining the ‘underlying forces that guide our behaviour’. Can you tell us what your work has allowed you to observe and learn about this in the last few years?

MK A great example is a recent collaboration called, ​Look on me and be renewed ​(2018). Commissioned by Up Projects and the Science Gallery of London for their HOOKED exhibition, the project enabled me to further expand my practice in this direction. It was a collaboration with Dr John Marsden, Professor of Addiction Psychology at King’s College London and Changing 7, a group of people with lived experience of treatment and recovery from substance use. ​Look on me and be renewed​ invited viewers to reflect on the interplay between human beings, objects and environments, highlighting how visual prompts from our surroundings are connected to the behavioural patterns and rhythms that govern or determine our decisions and experiences.

Empathic Loops/Ode to the Widow’s Walk, 2018
Archival inkjet print 16 x 22.4 in (40.64 x 56.9 cm)
Edition of 5
Kimono made in collaboration with fashion designer, Bregje Cox. 

ttff As a Caribbean artist who’s lived in the region as well as abroad, how do you think this has shaped and influenced your work?

MK I feel that my international experience has made me curious about what rests beneath the surface and how it shapes our behavior on a cultural level. Living in the region and internationally has expanded my network of friends and collaborators. This has inspired me to create work that speaks to many disparate groups of people.

ttff  Do you think your early childhood moves played a role in your development as an artist?

MK Most definitely! I started drawing as a toddler living in Barbados. I took my first after school art classes while growing up in Nassau, Bahamas and continued taking after school classes through middle school and high school in Brussels, Belgium. It gave me the confidence to know that it was possible to be a different kind of artist.

ttff Who and what are your major influences?

MK Lately I’ve found the practices of artists Llanor Alleyne, Olafur Eliasson, Hella Jongerius, Nyugen Smith, the Third Horizon collective, and Rodell Warner to be a source of great inspiration.

ttff What are you presently working on?

MK I’m working with Dutch fashion designer, Bregje Cox on our Enclothed Cognition collaboration. That’s me in the ttff artwork (​Untitled,​ 2017) wearing our VIRTUAL suit. We are currently developing new textiles and have a collaboration with site-specific dance company, Tori Lawrence + Co. in the works. Other than that, I have my personal studio practice and am working as a Creative Director in Pop-Up Magazine’s Brand Studio.

Untitled, 2017

ttff  What are your thoughts on being ttff/20’s festival artist?

MK I’m honored to be named this year’s ttff festival artist. I’ve wanted to participate in the festival for many years now. I’m not a filmmaker (yet) and being invited to contribute as a festival artist always seemed like an ideal way to participate creatively. I’ve admired ttff from next door in Barbados for many years but have yet to attend. It’s always been a standout festival in my mind.

ttff How do you view ttff and its role within the region?

MK ttff is one of the most important film platforms in the region. That makes it significant to the global film industry. There aren’t many opportunities for Caribbean filmmakers to screen their films let alone network, attend workshops, update their skills through masterclasses. This is what makes ttff special and significant in the Caribbean arts/film community.

ttff What impact would you like your work to have?

MK I want it to catch your attention and encourage you to think of a once familiar subject in a totally new way. It is my hope that my works get one to spark delight and thought long after I am gone.

ttff Has the (COVID-19) pandemic affected your work in terms of the topics and issues you want to explore?

MK It has instilled a sense of urgency following the initial shock of it all. The focus of my artwork hasn’t changed much since the pandemic is exposing the vulnerabilities of our current systems, many of which I have come to interrogate through my artwork. For example, our relationship with artifacts and the built environment are still important and have an impact on our well-being. That isn’t going to change. The pandemic provides new context and perspectives.

You can learn more about Mark King’s work by visiting his site:
markkingismarkings.com