Dr. Bruce Paddington founder of the T&T Film Festival give some insight into the festival, which takes place from September 19-26 at MovieTowne Port-of-Spain, San Fernando, and Tobago, as well as the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine.
It’s that time of year again when film makers and lovers alike gear up for the much anticipated Trinidad and Tobago 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 festival, at the red carpet gala and screening to be held at NAPA, on September 19, 2017. Bringing to life childhood memories of the book, and a Trinidad of yesteryear, director Michael Mooleedhar’s film is set in the idyllic countryside of 1950’s Mayaro and re-tells the story of 15 year old Shell. Newly arrived, 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 breath-taking beauty of Mayaro, the quiet storm that’s brewing may prove more than he can handle and he’ll certainly never be the same again.
IT IS Michael Anthony’s hope that the film adaptation of his iconic novel, Green Days by the River, inspires a new generation of Caribbean writers as well as those interested in film. The novel has been adapted into film by a local film-makers Michael Mooleedhar and Christian James and is set to launch this year’s Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.
The film’s première will be held at a red carpet gala on September 19.In a phone interview with Newsday the acclaimed author said, “I wrote the book as a writer hoping his work will be published… you think about telling a good story, a story that people would want to read and carry on reading it.” Not only did audiences want to continue reading Anthony’s novel 50 years on, but it has become so beloved in the hearts and minds of Caribbean readers that the novel is now finished.
Recalling what it was like initially crafting the novel, Anthony said, “When I finished Green Days by the River, I sent it and kept my fingers crossed that it would be published, and when it was published it began doing what you would call fairly well and I kept having hope. And then 50 years later, Mr Mooleedhar and his producer came to me and told me about the film and I said ‘my goodness, just in time I am ready to die’. I warmly accepted this and look forward to the film but I just did not have any real deep faith that we’d get to journey’s end.” Anthony now expects out of the film, a new wave in Caribbean literature with an eye on film. With a widely growing local and regional film industry, Anthony said, “I am hoping for success so that it will start a new day for writers and that there are some writers that will write with their minds on film. I did not because I never thought for one moment that my book was going to be filmed. There are young writers who would think, ‘Oh I hope they turn my book into film’.
T&T will present four feature-length films and over 34 short and experimental films during the T&T Film Festival (TTFF) from September 19-26.
One of those films, a movie adaptation of Michael Anthony’s Green Days by the River directed by Michael Mooleedhar and Christian James, will be the opening night film.
In a release last week, the festival announced most of its Caribbean line-up, which includes several award-winning and critically acclaimed films.
The festival will be held at MovieTowne Port-of-Spain, San Fernando and Tobago, as well as at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
The films from some of the Caribbean’s finest film makers include, from the Dominican Republic, Jose Maria Cabral’s Carpinteros (Woodpeckers), a high-octane, no-holds barred movie about a forbidden relationship conducted through prison bars and across the 200 yards of empty space dividing the male and female prisons in Santo Domingo. Carpinteros, which played at the Sundance Film Festival, has been described by critics as a “raw, intriguing and energetic blend of the tough and the tender.”
T&T will present four feature-length films and over 34 short and experimental films during the T&T Film Festival (TTFF) from September 19-26.
One of those films, a movie adaptation of Michael Anthony’s Green Days by the River directed by Michael Mooleedhar and Christian James, will be the opening night film.
In a release last week, the festival announced most of its Caribbean line-up, which includes several award-winning and critically acclaimed films.
The festival will be held at MovieTowne Port-of-Spain, San Fernando and Tobago, as well as at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
The films from some of the Caribbean’s finest film makers include, from the Dominican Republic, Jose Maria Cabral’s Carpinteros (Woodpeckers), a high-octane, no-holds barred movie about a forbidden relationship conducted through prison bars and across the 200 yards of empty space dividing the male and female prisons in Santo Domingo. Carpinteros, which played at the Sundance Film Festival, has been described by critics as a “raw, intriguing and energetic blend of the tough and the tender.”
Excitement is high for the film adaptation of Michael Anthony’s 1967 coming of age novel Green Days by the River.
The movie will open the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival on Tuesday, September 19 with a red carpet gala and screening to be held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA),
Director Michael Moleedhar and two of the stars from the film, Sudai Tafari and Anand Lawkaran dropped into The Lounge to give us a glimpse into what we can expect when the movie opens this weekend and goes into nation-wide release from September 27.
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.