Thurs 23 Sept, 1.00–2.30 p.m. (est) location: Facebook Live, YouTube Live,ttfilmfestival.com tickets: free moderator: BC Pires panellists: Nicola Cross, Ryan Lee, Sue Ann Barratt
For almost all of its history, men have dominated the film and TV industry. The representation of women on screen and behind the scenes is a direct corollary of that domination. But the global MeToo movement has brought these inequalities into sharp focus. This notwithstanding, the famed Bechdel test is still consistently failed, as women are presented through the lens of the male gaze. In this 90-minute session, panellists will take an in-depth look into the problematics of the ubiquitous male gaze in contemporary and Caribbean cinema; they’ll discuss how this shapes societal perception and the possible routes to transformation.
cultural appropriation and the Caribbean space
cultural appropriation and the Caribbean space Sun 26 Sept, 10.00–11.30 a.m. (est) location: Facebook Live, YouTube Live, ttfilmfestival.com tickets: free moderator: Franka Philip panellists: Alpha Obika, Abeo Jackson
Because of our multicultural history, the Caribbean has evolved to become a region overflowing with diversity and creativity. While there are similarities between the nations, each country has its own uniquely expressed culture and entanglement of traditions and practices brought by different settlers, whether free, enslaved or indentured. We can be protective of the artistic forms and practices that we’ve developed over the years because they tell a story of our roots, evolution and possible future. But, given that we are a region built on “appropriation”, whether forced or organic, can we argue against cultural appropriation? In this 90-minute conversation, journalist Franka Philip will delve into the effects of cultural appropriation across the Caribbean while giving her own insight into the topic.
Understanding the creative side of producing a great film is not always enough to ensure success. Investors need to feel confident in the filmmaker’s ability to return a profit. Understanding the business side of filmmaking is a valuable asset when approaching investors for your film. This knowledge can also help to secure you a continued career in the industry. This 90-minute discussion will address both the filmmaker and the investor’s point of view on “risk in filmmaking”. The experienced panel will give insights from these different perspectives on how successful filmmakers turn investments into profit and explain why it’s so important to take the risk and invest.
the Caribbean gaze: authenticity versus universality
Creating a unique and authentic story that connects with audiences across the globe is a challenge for any filmmaker. If your desire is to produce an original yet honest film you must develop a new and interesting world and, at the same time, tell a story that your and other cultures can relate to and that feels authentic. Panellists from across the region will go in-depth in this 90-minute discussion on how to remain authentic in your work as a Caribbean storyteller while creating material that resonates with an international audience.
New Media Panel
Wed 22 September, 3.00–4.30 p.m. (est) location: Facebook Live, YouTube Live,ttfilmfestival.com tickets: free moderator: Melanie Archer panellists: Lisa-Marie Harris, Ada M. Patterson, Alicia Diaz, Keoni K. Wright, Laura Iancu, Richard Mark Rawlins
A discussion with creatives selected for trinidad+tobago film festival 2021.
Documentary Filmmakers Panel
Sat 25 Sept, 5.00–6.30 p.m. (est) location: Facebook Live, YouTube Live, ttfilmfestival.com tickets: free moderator: Janine Mendes-Franco panellists: Alexandra Warner, Eleonore Coyette, François Gruson, Nicola Cross, Rudy Hypolite, Ian Harnarine
A discussion with filmmakers selected for the trinidad+tobago film festival 2021.
Three-time Emmy-nominated Canadian filmmaker and artist Michèle Stephenson draws on her Panamanian and Haitian roots to tell stories. In this in-depth discussion, we will plumb her mission to elucidate the experiences of marginalised communities of colour, and explore her creative routes to creating compelling films.
Michèle Stephenson
Michèle Stephenson is a Canadian filmmaker and artist. She pulls from her Panamanian and Haitian roots to think radically about storytelling and disrupt the imaginary in non-fiction spaces. Her feature documentary, “American Promise”, was nominated for three Emmys and won the Jury Prize at Sundance. Her work has appeared on PBS, Showtime, MTV and other outlets. Stephenson’s honours include the Silverdocs Diversity Award and the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Creative Capital artist.
Visual artist, filmmaker and curator, Zak Ové has built a career around a visual iconography that is both recognisably Caribbean and seems at home in a variety of international spaces. Elder son of filmmaker Horace Ové, Zak is also actively involved in documenting and preserving his father’s legacy. In this ttff talk, art writer and educator, Marsha Pearce, and cultural activist, Atillah Springer will delve into Ové’s creative practice as well as his role in preserving his father’s substantial legacy.
Zak Ové is a British/Caribbean artist with a multidisciplinary practice across sculpture, film and photography. His work is informed, in part, by the history and lore carried through the African diaspora to the Caribbean, Britain and beyond, with particular focus on traditions of masking and masquerade as tools of self emancipation. Ové’s solo presentation “The Invisible Man and The Masque of Blackness” – 40 sculptures exhibited alongside works by Rodin – was on view in the B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Garden at LACMA, Los Angeles, CA from (2019). Ové has presented solo sculpture installations in the Great Hall at the British Museum, London, UK; San Francisco Civic Centre, San Francisco, CA; Forecourt of Somerset House, London; The Ford Foundation, NY; The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; and The Slavery Museum, Liverpool among others. Ové’s work features in a number of museum collections, as well as in private foundations, including the British Museum, London; Newark Museum, New Jersey; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida and many others. He curated the seminal and widely-acclaimed exhibition, “Get up, Stand up now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers” at Somerset House, London in 2019.
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”, was the first Black feature film to be made in the UK; his 1970 documentary, “Reggae”, the first in-depth documentary on Black music and reggae. His film career has produced such diverse films as “Playing Away”, “A Hole in Babylon” and “Baldwin’s Nigger” (with James Baldwin and Dick Gregory) among others. Alongside his film career, Ové has worked extensively as a photographer all over the world, beginning in his native Trinidad during the 1960s and 1970s covering social and political events in the UK, as well as chronicling the birth and growth of the Notting Hill Carnival. He has had several exhibitions at The Photographer’s Gallery, London; Cornerhouse, Manchester; Castle Museum, Nottingham; The University of Brighton; Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wales and at Arts Depot, London. Twelve of his portraits were purchased as part of the permanent exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and were exhibited. At the Whitechapel Gallery, Ové’s pictures of Michael X and members of the Black Power Movement featured as part of “The Back to Black” exhibition. The Barbican also featured a retrospective of Ové’s films and photographs.
There are many reasons productions choose to shoot their films in Trinidad and Tobago, but one of the most beneficial elements of filming in T&T is the Production Expenditure Rebate Programme, offered by the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company (FilmTT). This programme can save producers money by offering significant “cash back” percentages to both local and international producers. In this one-hour session, FilmTT’s facilitation officer, Regina Seabrun, will explain the different rebate programme tiers; which types of productions qualify; which production expenses qualify; how to calculate rebates; how to apply for the rebate and everything in between.
facilitator: Regina Seabrun (for FilmTT)
Regina Seabrun is a creative arts professional with over seven years of experience in stage and production management. She gained a solid background in communication studies and theatre from UWI’s Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA). As FilmTT’s current facilitation officer, she manages the administration of the Production Expenditure Rebate Programme and the company’s film commission work, and oversees the facilitation of a diverse range of productions that have been shot on location in Trinidad and Tobago in recent years.
