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: Friday 23 September, 2022
time: ​​4.30pm–5.45pm
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: Sign up here!
tickets: free
moderator: Maria Nunes

about Christopher Laird

Christopher Laird is Managing Director, co-owner and co-founder of Banyan Ltd. He has produced more than three hundred documentaries, dramas and other video productions during his forty-year professional career. His genius has been recognized and rewarded with many national, regional and international awards. He is responsible for establishing the Caribbean Film and Video Archive which is (arguably) the largest collection of Caribbean culture on video. In 2003, he founded, with Errol Fabien, the Region’s first all-Caribbean free-to-air television station, Gayelle. In 2009 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the West Indies.

Christopher has worked closely with Caribbean Tales for more than ten years, receiving the CaribbeanTales Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. His film NO BOIS MAN NO FRAID opened CTFF 2013. Currently, CTWD distributes all Banyan’s catalogued content.

about Dr Bruce Paddington

Bruce Paddington (PhD) is a filmmaker, lecturer, academic and film festival curator. He was a senior lecturer in film at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, and the co-founder of the Bachelor of Arts Film Programme. He is the founder of Banyan Productions, the New World Film Centre and the trinidad+tobago film festival and was the festival director from 2006–19. He is a consultant and programmer for ttff/22.

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’.

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