The award-winning film Ninth Floor, a documentary produced by TT-born, Canada-based, Selwyn Jacob, made its cinematic return to Trinidad this July at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. The free screening was presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the Department of Cultural Studies, UWI. Images © trinidad+tobago film festival Photography: Digimedia Photo + Cinema
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The award-winning film Ninth Floor, a documentary produced by Trinidadian-born, Canada-based, Selwyn Jacob, will make its cinematic return to Trinidad this Thursday at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. The free screening is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the Department of Cultural Studies, UWI.
Described as addressing, “the most dramatic and violent racial conflict in modern Canadian history” by povmagazine.com, Ninth Floor examines the Sir George Williams University riot of February 1969, when six Caribbean students mounted a protest against institutional racism. It would snowball into 14 days of chaos and violence, with riot police storming the occupied ninth floor, and a storm of computer cards raining down onto the streets below.
The film–which uses never-before-seen footage of the students’ protest and occupation of the ninth floor computer room as well as interviews with several of the students involved–was chosen as one of Canada’s top ten films by the the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2016.
Directed by independent filmmaker Mina Shum, Ninth Floor screens Thursday 20 July, 5:30PM at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL), The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. It is rated 14+.
The Cultural Studies Section of the Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies (LCCS) hosts Film Night with a screening of the documentary Ninth Floor followed by a Q&A session with its TT-born, Canada based producer Selwyn Jacob.
The screening and discussion takes place July 20 from 5.30 to 7.30pm at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) Auditorium.
About the Film
The film, the Ninth Floor viewing is being conducted in conjunction with trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff). The film is produced by Trinidadian Selwyn Jacob who lives in Canada and details the events that occurred at the Sir George Williams University in February 1969, when six Caribbean students mounted a protest against institutional racism. The event is often thought to be the precursor to Black Power revolution in the US and Caribbean.
SELWYN JACOB, then ten or 11, sat in the theatre and saw what he did not want to see on the screen. It is knowing what he did not want to see, which led him to changing the narratives of immigrants and black-Canadians.
The Trinidadian- born, award-winning Canadian documentary film-maker’s work with Mina Shum on The Ninth Floor has changed how the world viewed the six Caribbean students who mounted a protest against institutional racism at the Sir George Williams University, Canada, in the late 1960s.Jacob produced the film and reframed the perspective surrounding the events which led to Caribbean students, Trinidadians among them, being deported from Canada and damage to the university’s computer centre.
But if Jacob’s story is known, one would know that he has always sought to change perceptions.
In telling Newsday how he got into film-making, Jacob said: “I think it must have been when I was about ten or 11. I remember going to a movie theatre in Trinidad and I saw the movies of the day. As a matter of fact, they gave charitable showings like Joan of Arc and the teachers would take the entire school out. On Saturdays there were matinees and some of the schools would go. I must have seen one of the pictures and I looked at the movie and I looked at how the Africans were depicted in those movies. They looked to me as though they were silly. They came across as a caricature…I kept thinking if I were making a movie and setting it in Trinidad and they [would] see people the way that I would [see them], not behaving like buffoons.
https://youtu.be/ZTimw4njDMQ
The award-winning film Ninth Floor, a documentary produced by TT-born, Canada-based, Selwyn Jacob, will make its cinematic return to Trinidad this July at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine.
The film directed by independent filmmaker Mina Shum, was shown as part of ttff/16 to critical acclaim. The free screening is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the Department of Cultural Studies, UWI.
Described as addressing “the most dramatic and violent racial conflict in modern Canadian history” by povmagazine.com, Ninth Floor examines the Sir George Williams University riot of February 1969, when six Caribbean students mounted a protest against institutional racism. It would snowball into 14-days of chaos and violence, with riot police storming the occupied ninth floor, and a storm of computer cards raining down onto the streets below.
The film was chosen as one of Canada’s top ten films by the the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2016. It presents never-before-seen footage of the students’ protest and occupation of the ninth floor computer room, as well as interviews with several of the students involved.
Ninth Floor will be shown on Thursday 20 July, 5:30pm, at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL), The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. It is rated 14+.
Selwyn Jacob will be present for a Q&A session after the film. His trip to Trinidad and the screening of the film have been facilitated by the National Film Board of Canada and is supported by the Mausica Teachers College Alumni, of which Jacob is a member.
The award-winning film Ninth Floor, a documentary produced by TT-born, Canada-based, Selwyn Jacob, will make its cinematic return to Trinidad this July at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. The free screening is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the Department of Cultural Studies, UWI.
Described as addressing “the most dramatic and violent racial conflict in modern Canadian history” by povmagazine.com, Ninth Floor examines the Sir George Williams University riot of February 1969, when six Caribbean students mounted a protest against institutional racism. It would snowball into 14-days of chaos and violence, with riot police storming the occupied ninth floor, and a storm of computer cards raining down onto the streets below.
The film – which uses never-before-seen footage of the students’ protest and occupation of the ninth floor computer room, as well as interviews with several of the students involved – was chosen as one of Canada’s top ten films by the the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2016.
The award-winning film Ninth Floor, a documentary produced by TT-born, Canada-based Selwyn Jacob, will make its cinematic return to Trinidad this month at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), St Augustine.
The free screening is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the Department of Cultural Studies, The UWI.
Described as addressing “the most dramatic and violent racial conflict in modern Canadian history” by povmagazine.com, Ninth Floor examines the Sir George Williams University riot of February 1969, when six Caribbean students mounted a protest against institutional racism.
Now in its fourth year, the Youth Jury panel at the trinidad + tobago film festival (ttff) offers five young people the chance of lifetime to see great films from all over the world, as well as learn the ‘how-to’s’ of critiquing them and gain exclusive access to some of the Festival’s major film events.
According to three members of the 2016 Youth Jury – Marc Angus Skinner, Christopher Lou-Hing and Asa Reyes – the experience was both amazing and transformational.
Nineteen-year-old Skinner described it as “spectacular”. “This [was] my first time sitting on a jury and I enjoyed interacting with people my own age. It was really wonderful to see different personalities interact, watch the same movie and come up with different conclusions…”
Lou-Hing, now a film student at University of the West Indies (UWI) stated, “I really didn’t know what to expect coming into the jury but it was so much more.” The 20-year-old said, “being on the jury really helped me with developing that critical eye when watching a film, which I think was a really good stepping stone into university for me”.
“I learned not just tolerance, but appreciation for things that I cannot easily identify with”, said 22-year-old Asa Reyes. “There was a need for teamwork as I discovered each juror had their own perceptions of the different films.” After serving on the youth Jury in 2016, Reyes returned to school to finish her Bachelor’s Degree in Education.
God Loves the Fighter, by T&T filmmaker Damian Marcano, screened to a packed audience Tuesday night, during the WeBeat Festival, at the St James Amphitheatre. The free screening was organised by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) and sponsored by Flow. Among those in attendance were lead actors Abdi Waithe (the gangsta, Stone) and Muhammad Muwakil (the protagonist, Charlie), and supporting actress Tishanna Williams.
God Loves the Fighter, by T&T filmmaker Damian Marcano, screened to a packed audience Tuesday night (06 June), during the WeBeat Festival, at the St James Amphitheatre. The free screening was organised by the trinidad+tobago film festival and sponsored by Flow. Among those in attendance were lead actors Abdi Waithe (the gangsta, Stone) and Muhammad Muwakil (the protagonist, Charlie), and supporting actress Tishanna Williams. Images © trinidad+tobago film festival Photography: Digimedia Photo + Cinema
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