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.

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.

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’.

There are many secret testimonies along the hallways of the Heritage Library Division. These secrets are lodged in the extensive primary resources that NALIS has acquired over the years; resources that tell a story and come in many forms including books, stamps, paintings, photographs, letters, bluebooks, ephemera pieces and objects. These true life stories about icons and issues in Trinidad and Tobago need to be told through the lens of skilled craftsmen with eyes for the dramatic. Two African Chiefs, two judges, a cricketer-lawyer, a master artist, photographer, Trinidad’s last governor, books from the Historical Society, cricket stumps from 1931, folktales and stories from Alfred Mendes to Sam Selvon. If authenticity is what you seek, come to NALIS’ Special Collections and take a peek!

Come and experience a walking tour of the Special Collections and Rare Books Room of the Heritage Library Division, delivered by the Director Jasmin Simmons. Whether it’s a musical, a fantasy, a documentary or a thriller, the resources at the Heritage Library will definitely inspire your creativity.

logistics

date: Saturday 24 September, 2022
time: 1.00pm–2.30pm
location: NALIS (Heritage Library)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
facilitator: Jasmin P. Simmons

about Jasmin P. Simmons

Jasmin P. Simmons is the director of the Heritage Library Division, NALIS. She holds a wealth of experience in libraries spanning over 25 years. She is a 2010 Salzburg Fellow and 2016 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Fellow.  She has served on the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee where she demonstrated her passion for the preservation of documentary heritage of Trinidad and Tobago. She is also an avid puppeteer, storytelling aficionado and budding spoken word artist. She believes that it is imperative that in this present period we create a media- and information-literate citizenry. Simmons is a champion for authors, through her involvement with NALIS ‘First Time Authors Appreciation Programme’ a consistent feature of NALIS over the last twelve years.

If the words ‘contract’ and ‘clearance’ keep you up at night, you’re not alone. But knowledge is the key to allaying one’s fears, and understanding this essential and oft-overlooked part of the filmmaking process will give you peace of mind and offer protection for your film and company.

During this 90-minute presentation, lawyer Justin Koo will guide you through the main types of contracts needed for a project, help you navigate the legal processes involved in film production and touch on some critical dos and don’ts.

logistics

date: Saturday 24 September, 2022
time: 10.30am–12.00pm 
location: NALIS (AV Room)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
facilitator: Justin Koo

about Justin Koo

Dr Justin Koo is co-founder of Clover Consultancy Ltd. which provides expert information on intellectual property rights and management to a wide array of persons including artists, musicians, performers, filmmakers, event promoters, athletes and brands. Justin is also a lecturer and deputy dean for Graduate Studies and Outreach at the Faculty of Law, UWI, St Augustine. Prior to joining UWI, Justin was a visiting lecturer at King’s College London and a teaching fellow at University College London (UCL). Justin’s primary research interest is focused on copyright law and he has published books and articles in the area. Justin also has interests in trade mark law, sports law, entertainment law and legal research skills.

Are you planning to buy your first pieces of production gear but can’t figure out where to start? Then this is the presentation for you! It can be quite overwhelming trying to decide what equipment you should make your first investments in. Cameras, lights, sound recording equipment and everything else is expensive, and you want to make sure that you’re making the smartest choices, especially if you’re on a tight budget.

In this 90-minute presentation, director and cinematographer, Robert Macfarlane, will walk you through building your very own filmmaking kit. He will break down what you should prioritise, what you can put off for later, and how to get the most bang for your buck.  

logistics

date: Saturday 24 September, 2022
time: 2.30pm–4.00pm
location: NALIS (Seminar Room 1)
rsvp: pre-registration required. Sign up here!
tickets: free of charge
facilitator: Robert Macfarlane

about Robert Macfarlane

Robert has been in the film and TV industries for 18 years in both the UK and the Caribbean. In that time he has worked in a variety of roles, including as a director, editor, DoP, and DIT on films, TV series, and commercials. In the narrative space, Robert has directed several shorts and is keen to make that next step into directing long-form drama. To help hone his practice and share his experience, he also runs a YouTube channel called ‘The Director Toolbox’ that analyses the techniques used by directors to create popular films and TV shows. His most recent short film ‘Immune’, filmed in 2020, is a science fiction drama set in a world ravaged by a pandemic and has won 9 awards, including two Best Director and two Best Film awards.

presentation

Mon 27 Sept, 10.00–11.00 a.m. (est)
location: Facebook Live, YouTube Live, ttfilmfestival.com
tickets: free

Click here to register.

Filmmaking is a complex, collaborative undertaking. It involves many different layers of rights that relate to different elements of production, all of which need to be licenced, documented and transferred for a producer to claim ownership of a film. Having creative rights to literary or artistic work is necessary if you aim to prevent others from using your work without permission. In this one-hour presentation, lawyer Cindy F. Daniel will answer important questions about why copyright is important to filmmakers; how copyright permissions impact budget and how filmmakers can protect and enforce copyright. She will also provide case studies on copyright conflict in film and television.

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facilitator: Cindy F. Daniel

Cindy F. Daniel is an attorney with more than a decade of experience in both the legal and creative fields. After being called to the Bar, she worked primarily in the public service having been attached to the Ministry with responsibility for Culture for the last six years, where she collaborated with the Intellectual Property Office to facilitate capacity-building workshops for artists and provided support to grant recipient filmmakers. She has significant experience in policy development, contract negotiation and drafting, as well as intellectual property. Daniel has a Postgraduate certificate in Entertainment Law and Industry from the prestigious University of Southern California and is currently one of their 2022 LLM candidates.