ttff talks are in depth and insightful conversations with creative masters on their creative journeys, inspiration, challenges and personal philosophies. ttff talks are presented with the support of The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago.

Logistics

date: Saturday 24 September, 2022
time: ​4.30pm–5.45pm
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: Sign up here!
tickets: free
moderator: Mariel Brown

about Stanley Nelson Jr

Stanley Nelson Jr is today’s leading documentarian of the African-American experience. His films combine compelling narratives with rich historical detail to illuminate the under-explored American past. A MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Nelson has received numerous honours over the course of his career, including five Primetime Emmy Awards for his films, as well as lifetime achievement awards from the Emmys, the Peabodys, and IDA. In 2013, Nelson received the National Medal in the Humanities from President Barack Obama. His latest film, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, premiered at Sundance in January 2019.

In 2000, Mr Nelson, along with his wife, Marcia A. Smith, founded Firelight Media, a non-profit production company dedicated to using historical film to advance contemporary social justice causes, and to mentoring, inspiring and training a new generation of diverse young filmmakers committed to telling underrepresented stories.

about Marcia Smith

Marcia Smith is president and co-founder of Firelight Media, which produces documentary films, provides artistic and financial support to emerging filmmakers of colour, and builds impact campaigns to connect documentaries to audiences and social justice advocates. Under her leadership, Firelight Media was honoured with a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Firelight Media’s flagship Documentary Lab programme has supported more than 80 emerging filmmakers over the past decade, who have premiered at festivals such as Sundance, and gone on to earn numerous festival, Peabody and Emmy awards.

The Dominican Republic is currently at the forefront of the Caribbean’s film industry. The country’s cinematographic culture has been strengthened by the growing support of the state, which offers compelling incentives for both local and international film professionals. Their production services and world-class facilities have led to them rightfully becoming a hub for the industry. Moreover, the filmmaking community, with their focus on indigenous storytelling is an exemplar for the rest of the Caribbean. 

Given their robust development over the last decade, are there lessons that we, as Caribbean neighbours, industries and storytellers, can learn? How do we improve the calibre of cinematographic output in the Caribbean? How do we sustainably grow an industry with international reach and appeal whilst supporting indigenous storytelling? This panel discussion will spotlight the Dominican Republic’s film industry – we will hear perspectives from industry professionals from the Dominican Republic as well as Trinidad and Tobago.

Logistics

date: Thursday 22 September, 2022
time: 4.30pm–5.45pm
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
moderator: Mariel Brown

Presented with the support of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic

Does your film address a social issue? Want to optimise your reach? You may want to consider planning an impact campaign. Put a plan in action to achieve your impact goals, engage your audience and obtain measurable results; mobilise and build a coalition to raise awareness. Films can significantly influence cultural and societal change and with the right strategy, you will be able to impact audiences far and wide. 

Join us for an insightful presentation on planning your impact campaign. Learn from award-winning producer and co-founder of Firelight Media, Marcia Smith, as she shares her knowledge on the advantages of implementing a strong campaign for your film; how we can create change using the power of storytelling; and how to make the most of your partnerships.

logistics

date: Thursday 22 September, 2022
time: 12.30pm–2.00pm 
location: NALIS (Seminar Room 1)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
facilitator: Marcia Smith

Presented with the support of the US Embassy, Port of Spain

about Marcia Smith

Marcia Smith is president and co-founder of Firelight Media, which produces documentary films, provides artistic and financial support to emerging filmmakers of colour, and builds impact campaigns to connect documentaries to audiences and social justice advocates. Under her leadership, Firelight Media was honoured with a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Firelight Media’s flagship Documentary Lab programme has supported more than 80 emerging filmmakers over the past decade, who have premiered at festivals such as Sundance, and gone on to earn numerous festival, Peabody and Emmy awards.

In the age of social media, fundraising has taken on a new look. We know filmmaking can be  an expensive venture, and seeking the right investors can take one away from the creative side of production. With mounting expenses, seeking sufficient funds is definitely a hassle. Crowdfunding is an option to explore. 

A publicist, Marcin J. Sobczak has successfully raised impressive amounts of money using crowdfunding and will share his knowledge on how to get the best out of it. He will provide insight on the types of crowdfunding; the available platforms; how it can create an engaged community; the importance of communication; how it can speed up the development process; and how crowdfunding is tied to distribution.

logistics

date: Friday 23 September, 2022
time: 12.30pm–2.00pm
location: NALIS (Seminar Room 1)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
facilitator: Marcin J. Sobczak

about Marcin J. Sobczak

Marcin J. Sobczak, owner of This Way Publicity, has worked in the film industry for over 13 years, supporting sales and production and every step of film development, working on more than 50 films, running international campaigns, and recently handling international Academy Awards campaigns. Some of the titles he has worked on include ‘Coda’, ‘Summer of soul’, ‘Cargo’ (by Kareem Mortimer), and ‘The enforcer’.

There are many reasons productions choose to shoot their films in Trinidad and Tobago, but one of the most beneficial elements of filming here is the Production Expenditure Rebate Programme, offered by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, and administered by FilmTT. This programme can save producers money by offering significant “cash back” percentages to both local and international producers. In this 90-minute session, FilmTT General Manager Leslie Ann Wills-Caton, 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.

logistics

date: Friday 23 September, 2022
time: 10.30am–12.00pm 
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
facilitator: Leslie Ann Wills-Caton

Presented with the support of FilmTT

about Leslie Ann Wills-Caton

Leslie Ann Wills-Caton is the film commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago and the general manager of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company (FilmTT). She is responsible for all aspects of film sector development, promoting Trinidad and Tobago as a film location and providing Film Commission services to local and incoming productions. In her role she also acts as a liaison for the T&T industry and the community at large, advocating for better understanding of the industry and benefits of local participation. Handling production requests and referrals, working with vendors and production crews, facilitating incentive grants and actively focusing on capacity development initiatives to build on the strengths of production houses, location managers, scouts, producers, and various industry professionals is all part of the role.

Ultimately, if you’re building a career as a filmmaker, you’re going to need to find a way to reach an audience for your work. Audiences could be connected via sales agents and distributors to film festivals, television, online or cable broadcasts, theatrical exhibitions, etc.

In this 90-minute discussion, panellists involved in the distribution pipeline (including Jim Kolmar, programmer for SXSW; Ingrid Jahra, CEO of CinemaOne Ltd; Diane Robertson, head of programming at TTT; Gian Franco, CEO of Pavilion Studios and Marcia Smith, President of Firelight Media) will discuss the various ways in which filmmakers can forge their own routes to audiences.

logistics

date: Thursday 22 September, 2022
time: 2.30pm–4.00pm
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
moderator: Mariel Brown

Thinking of becoming a filmmaker? Having the courage to take the first step into developing your first story is a milestone for every filmmaker. Filmmaking is challenging! And in the process of making your film, you’ll often ask yourself why you got into this in the first place!  

In this 90-minute presentation, filmmaker Mariel Brown and publicist Marcin J. Sobczak will share their insights into what it takes to build a sustainable career as a filmmaker.

logistics:

date: Saturday 24 September, 2022
time: 2.30pm–4.00pm
location: NALIS (Seminar Room 2)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
facilitators: Mariel Brown + Marcin J. Sobczak

about Mariel Brown

Mariel Brown is an award-winning filmmaker and director of the creative and production companies SAVANT and SAVANT Films and a co-founder of the filmmaker organisation, FILMCO. Mariel has been working in film and television since 1997. She is committed to uncovering and documenting the Caribbean’s rich history and culture. Mariel’s most recent film is the feature length documentary, ‘Unfinished Sentences’, a personal exploration of her tumultuous relationship with her late father, writer Wayne Brown. Mariel is a four-time trinidad+tobago film festival award-winner, and both her film and television work have won awards locally and internationally.

about Marcin J. Sobczak

Marcin J. Sobczak, owner of This Way Publicity, has worked in the film industry for over 13 years, supporting sales and production and every step of film development, working on more than 50 films, running international campaigns, and recently handling international Academy Awards campaigns. Some of the titles he has worked on include ‘Coda’, ‘Summer of soul’, ‘Cargo’ (by Kareem Mortimer), and ‘The enforcer’.

You may already have heard the term NFT amongst creatives venturing into new income pathways, but it takes time to understand the concept. Are you curious about what NFT universe has to offer? Are you trying to find an innovative field that could bring you more recognition, where your work could possibly go up in value. How does the value chain work, and is it even possible to achieve a stable flow of income by minting NFTs?

In this 90-minute discussion, Trinidad and Tobago creatives who work in the NFT space will shed light on networks, technologies and platforms and highlight the advantages along with any associated risk you should be aware of.

logistics

date: Tuesday 27 September, 2022
time: 2.30pm–4.00pm
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
panelists: Competitiveness, Technology, and Innovation Division at IDB Kayla Grant, NFT Creator Nicholas Huggins, NFT Creator Rodell Warner and  Intellectual Property Attorney and NFT Consultant Joan Webley
moderator: Creative and Fashion Designer Anya Ayoung-Chee

target audience: industry practitioners, persons interested in NFTs, creatives and tech solutions practitioners and general members of the public.

Presented with the support of IDB

History is everywhere. It surrounds us and grounds us, moulds us and motivates us. The preservation of film archives creates a visual timeline which enables us to trace our roots, setting the stage for us to understand who we are by reflecting on where we have come from. Film archives are an invaluable element of this process of understanding our heritage – they can show us not only what happened, but how it looked, how it sounded and what it felt like; they can share the words, gestures and emotions of someone long gone. So many of the great films – whether documentary or narrative – view stories through the lens of history, and access to archival film resources are often essential to these. For young societies like Trinidad and Tobago, film archives are an especially important route to shaping and visioning ourselves.

In this 90-minute discussion, panellists will explore the role of film archives and discuss preservation, restoration and access.

logistics

date: Sunday 25 September, 2022
time: 2.30pm–4.00pm 
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
moderator: Mariel Brown

If we agree that films can affect the way that we perceive ourselves, then can they also effect change? In this session, panellists who work in social-justice and -issue filmmaking discuss how seeing ourselves onscreen (whether big or small) might have a positive impact on our society’s development.

logistics

date: Sunday 25 September, 2022
time: 4.30pm–5.45pm
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
moderator: Franka Phillip