(still from Floating into Fire)

The number and quality of films produced locally has consistently continued to grow over the past few years. ttff/18 promises to continue this tradition by showcasing the best recently produced TT films.(still from Hero)

In addition to the opening night film, Hero, Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr. Ulric Cross the ttff will also screen the feature Unfinished Sentences, a documentary directed by Mariel Brown about the relationship between herself and her late father, writer Wayne Brown.

 

(still from Mangrove)

There will be exciting new shorts on a wide range of subjects including: Mangroves, a supernatural mystery directed by Teneille Newallo, and The Deliverer, a thriller directed and starring actor/director Paul Pryce.  (Paul Pryce in The Deliverer) 

Miquel Galofre’s Breaking The Cycle documents the journey of a domestic abuse survivor and  Floating Into Fire is based on the true events of a sailor lost at sea off Tobago.

(still fromFor the Love of Money)

Trini style dramas: Home Invasion, For the Love of Money, and Live Bait are all by young filmmakers and Kim Johnson and Orlando Dinchong have made visually exciting documentaries, The March of the Mokos and The Firewalkers of Kali respectively. (pictured below)

Following last year’s screenings to packed audiences and in support of National Patriotism month from 31 August–24 September, this year the ttff presents a day-long celebration of T+T through the screening of local short and feature films, followed by Q+A sessions with the filmmakers.

The screenings- Feature TT, will be held at MovieTowne Port of Spain, San Fernando and Tobago on Republic Day, Monday, September 24. This will be a day for Trinbagonians to come together to celebrate who we are, through the cinematic stories of some of the nation’s finest filmmakers, as well as those now emerging arts.

 

“ttff has a special interest in supporting the work of local filmmakers and this year we are very pleased with the number of short and medium length films from Trinidad and Tobago. The production of a short demonstrates the ability of the filmmaker to make more films and move on to feature films.” said Bruce Paddington, ttff Festival Director.

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; supporting sponsorship by The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Republic Bank Limited; and contributing sponsorship by FilmTT and The National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB).

 

Winners L to R: Francesca Hawkins, Andrei Pierre and Siobhan Millette

The trinidad+tobago film festival in partnership with the Canadian High Commission is pleased to announce the winners of the The Reel Human Rights on Film training programme.

Filmmakers Siobhan Millette, Andrei Pierre and Francesca Hawkins will receive $5,000CDN each. The three short completed films will be shown at ttff/18 in September.

In March 2017 , the trinidad+tobago film festival  partnered with the Canadian High Commission to present a script writing programme for 15  emerging filmmakers. The workshop was facilitated by Canadian film professional Annmarie Morais who continued to mentor the filmmakers throughout the year.

In March of this year, the same fifteen filmmakers attended  a two-day workshop on ‘From script to Production’. This was conducted  by Film Board of Canada producer Selwyn Jacob, and also included presentations from specialists in human rights issues in order to assist the writers develop an approach to their topic. These filmmakers were then tasked to  produce a script for a five minute short narrative or documentary film, on a human rights issue in Trinidad and Tobago, or the wider Caribbean.

In Photo: Her Excellency Carla Hogan Rufelds presents cheque to Dr. Bruce Paddington, Founder and Festival Director, ttff.

At the cheque presentation ceremony at the Canadian High Commission, Her Excellency Carla Hogan Rufelds, reiterated that Canada regards human rights as universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated . She emphasised that human rights cinema plays an important role in the struggle for justice and dignity, speaking out against censorship and repression. She remarked that “this extremely powerful medium can touch and inspire audiences, challenging individuals to expand their knowledge and perspectives. It can also stimulate healthy dialogue, and ultimately, change.”

An important part of the ttff’s annual programme is a strong lineup of films that focus on issues of gender inequality, children’s rights, issues impacting the LGBTQI community and other human rights and social and economic inequalities.

According to Annabelle Alcazar, programme director of the ttff: “This programme marries our interest in developing the skills of local filmmakers and writers, with advancing the conversations on human rights in Trinidad and Tobago. We were very excited about this project and we are pleased to see how the filmmakers rose to the challenge of using their artistic knowledge and skill to bring these important issues alive.”

The three successful filmmakers were jubilant about being able to realise their projects. According to Siobhan Millette: “I’m grateful that the Canadian High Commission has afforded me the opportunity to bring attention to one aspect of how these prejudices affect one of the many marginalized communities here in Trinidad and Tobago. Often late to the table, it is high time that ALL citizens are afforded equality and protection from discrimination, violence, unfair treatment and biases under the laws of our land”.

Andrei Pierre remarked on the advantages to his professional development: “This program has given me robust legs to stand on as a filmmaker. I’ve been able to not just hone my craft, but now have an opportunity to prove it. I’m a grateful for the privilege to hold a lens to underrepresented communities and under-addressed issues in our culture, and help tell their stories responsibly and with due empathy.”

Francesca Hawkins complimented the partnership and initiative:
“Our names were removed from the submissions to ensure transparency in the judging process. This collaboration between ttff and the CHC has been extremely supportive of film development while also raising awareness on a variety of Human Rights issues in Trinidad and Tobago.”

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; supporting sponsorship by The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Republic Bank Limited; and contributing sponsorship by FilmTT and The National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB).

The Take One Feature Film Grant, being spearheaded by the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, in association with New World Film Centre, invites submissions from emerging local first time feature filmmakers.

The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, in association with the New World Film Centre (NWFC), will executive produce and coordinate the production of three new local narrative feature films by emerging local first-time feature filmmakers. The Ministry will provide a grant of $250,000TT for each film, while the NWFC will manage the disbursement of these grants, and monitor their progress.

The filmmakers (directors) must be citizens or permanent residents of Trinidad and Tobago and have resided in the country for the past year. They should have directed at least one short film but will be first-time feature filmmakers.

The primary goal of  tttf/18 Caribbean Film Mart (CFM) is to provide local filmmakers with professional levels of  exposure and interactions between the T+T and the international film industry. This will be achieved by setting the scene for  stimulating and creating viable cinematic co-productions; exploring new platforms and markets of distribution; and reviewing international best practices among other areas.gives twelve (12)narrative feature film and creative documentaries  in development or pre-production.T

Twelve selected filmmakers will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with, and pitch their projects to, international film producers, sales and acquisitions agents and film funds, forging partnerships that can lead to the production and distribution of their films.

The successful candidates and their projects are:

Dance the Cocoa – Juliette McCawley

 Mas Slaughter – Christopher Din Chong

The Jaguar – Ryan Khan

Virus – Michael Rochford

Steel – Glenford Adams

Igual Paradise – Shea Best

Wishing for Wings – Kim Johnson

Silk Road – Janine – Mendes-Franco

Trinidad’s Missing – Reynald Seydass

Hey Handsome – Roderick Weever

Fairway – Kafi Kareem Farrell

Right and Left – Sonja Dumas

A cash prize sponsored by BP Trinidad and Tobago for the Best Pitch will be awarded at the end of the ttff/18 CFM.

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; supporting sponsorship by The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Republic Bank Limited; and contributing sponsorship by FilmTT and The National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB)

Forty-four years since its first release, the highly acclaimed local film Bim, will screen once again at We Beat’s We Film Night, on Wednesday 06 June 2018, at 7pm . The free screening, at the St James Amphitheatre, is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the St James Community Improvement Committee and  ttff ‘s official technical partner North Eleven Projections.

Described as “the best T&T film ever made” by film critic B.C Pires, Bim is  revered as a West Indian cult classic of Caribbean cinema. The script was written by local playwright and newspaper journalist, Raoul Pantin and co-produced by Susanne Nunez, wife of the director, Hugh A. Robertson.

Bim tells the story of Bheem Singh, who  is sent to live with his aunt in Port of Spain. Bullied at school and abused at home, he runs away and begins a life of petty crime. After returning to the countryside-and taking a new name, Bim-he becomes leader of the sugar workers, and eventually leader of the colony’s opposition party. It isn’t long, however, before his violent past catches up with him.

The role of Bim is played by Ralph Maraj, a politician,  playwright and actor, of both stage and screen. Music for the film was written by the late Andre Tanker who worked with some of the country’s best musicians to fuse African and Indian rhythms.

Shot a decade after our country’s  independence, Bim did not open to much fanfare in 1975. However, it was shown at the  United States Virgin Islands Film Festival in St Thomas in 1975 and at the CARIFESTA Film Festival in Jamaica and Los Angeles Film Festival, both in 1976.

Bruce Paddington, founder and festival director of the ttff described the film  as “one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and … one of the classics of Caribbean cinema”.

Bim  screens on Wednesday 06 June, 7pm, at the St James Amphitheatre, next door to the St James Police Station on the Western Main Road. Rated PG, admission is free and drinks and refreshments will be on Sale. Patrons should feel free to bring their own blankets and mats.

The trinidad+tobago film festival celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago .

Once again, BP Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT)  is teaming up with the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) to give five (5) young people an opportunity of a lifetime, through the bpTT Youth Jury at ttff/18.

Application is open to young people between the ages of 16 to 21 years (inclusive) who are interested in, and wish to develop, a critical appreciation of independent film. Applicants must be  TT citizens, residents, or based in Trinidad and Tobago for at least one year prior to application.

Prospective jury members must  apply by writing an essay of no more than 250 words, saying what their favourite movie is and why. Applicants must  also provide their name, date of birth, gender, citizenship, residence and school or occupation.

Applications should be sent to: submit@ttfilmfestival.com (subject line: Youth Jury Application)   Successful applicants under the age of 18 years will be required to have written consent from a parent or guardian in order to participate in this programme.

The deadline for submission is 12pm on Friday 13 July.  Successful jury members will be notified by Friday 24 August.

The five selected jury members will meet during the ttff/18, under the guidance of experienced film critic B.C. Pires, to view a selection of feature-length fiction films  dealing with themes and issues affecting young people.

After viewing all the films in competition, the bpTT Youth Jury will choose the winning film. The director of this film will receive a trophy to be presented at the ttff/18 awards ceremony on Tuesday 25 September.

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; supporting sponsorship by The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Republic Bank Limited; and contributing sponsorship by FilmTT and The National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB).

 

The deadline for filmmakers wishing to submit a film for screening at the 13th edition of the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) to be held from 18 – 30 September 2018, is fast approaching.

Those wishing to submit a film must do so by the 14 May. A rough cut will be considered.

We accept submissions from Caribbean filmmakers, Caribbean filmmakers in the diaspora, and international filmmakers with films from or about the Caribbean or its diaspora. Submissions must have been produced after 01 January 2016.

Films screened in competition are eligible for one or more jury prizes. There are also several people’s choice awards.

All submissions must be made online, via the ttff Visitor Page at https://filmfreeway.com/trinidadtobagofilmfestival

There is no submission fee.

The ttff seeks to make all screenings at the Festival T&T premieres. Occasionally, however, the Festival considers films that have already been shown publicly in T&T.

For queries, contact us directly at submit@ttfilmfestival.com, or visit the FAQ page  here.

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities.  The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago.

Shashamane: on the trail of the promised land, a documentary directed by Italian-French filmmaker, Giulia Amati, will screen Friday 06 April, 3pm at UWI Film Studio, 12 Carmody Street, The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine.

This free screening is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in partnership with the University as part of a two-day international workshop called “Local Entanglements of Global Inequalities” at the UWI. The workshop is organised by the Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies (LCCS); the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS); Department of Sociology at UWI and Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany.

Set in Ethiopia, the documentary investigates the life of the Rastafarian community living on the land donated for their repatriation back to Africa. In 1948, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie donated 500 acres of his own private lands “for the black people of the world” to encourage displaced Africans to repatriate.

A number of rastafarians took up the offer in search of a utopia in the motherland and established one of the oldest Rastafari settlements in the world, in Shashamane, Ethiopia. The dream has not perhaps matched their reality. Their spiritual home is under threat. Much of the land is lost and many Ethiopians view them as outsiders, leaving the community in limbo.

Shashamane, Amati’s  second feature-length film, is a compelling look at the seldom highlighted migration of the African diaspora back to the continent in search of a lost identity.

The film screens on  Friday 06 April, 3pm, at  UWI Film Studio, 12 Carmody Street, The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. Dr. Shelene Gomes,  UWI Lecturer and Anthropologist who wrote her doctoral dissertation on  Shashamane will have a discussion after the film.

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The ttff is given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago.

 

  In a move to strengthen the business and entrepreneurial skills of local filmmakers, we are partnering with the British Council, to continue our ongoing film industry development programme.

This stage of training takes place from 23 – 25 March 2018 and will bring together fifteen experienced filmmakers for a three-day workshop on project proposal writing and pitching. The workshop is designed to support filmmakers in developing a clear understanding of what investors are looking for, and the crucial business skills of proposal writing and presentations. In addition, they will get an opportunity to strengthen their delivery and pitching skills. The programme is a continuation of the Festival’s partnership with the British Council, that began in 2017 with training for filmmakers and writers in screenwriting and script development.

The workshop will be led by Peter Ansorge, Head of Short Courses and Part-time Diplomas at the National Film and Television School (NFTS), in the UK. Ansorge has previously worked for the BBC as a Script Editor and Producer in the Drama Department, and for the UK’s Channel 4 as Head of Drama for television series and serials and as a Commissioning Editor for fiction, helping to create the Film On 4 strand. At the NFTS he developed and runs the popular Writing The Pilot and TV Drama: Creating The Bible courses. He has published two books on stage and screenwriting, Disrupting The Spectacle (Pitman) and From Liverpool to Los Angeles, (Faber).

The NFTS is considered to be one of the world’s leading film and TV schools and a recognised centre of excellence. Established in 1971, the School offers post-graduate degrees, diplomas and short courses in specialist disciplines including Animation Direction, Cinematography, Fiction Direction, Documentary Direction, Film Programming and Curation,  Digital Effects, Games Design and TV Entertainment.

Also commenting on the project, Josaine Alexander, Country Manager, British Council said: “ We recognize that there is potential for growth in the T&T film industry and are seeking to assist in filling the knowledge gaps. This is why we saw it as integral to extend our partnership with ttff and continue the capacity building programmes with the inclusion of the proposal writing and pitch development workshops.We hope that these workshops will equip the filmmakers to better position their  films to distributors in wider markets.”

The  participants are:

Kevin Adams

Jamil Agard

Jeffrey Alleyne

Shea Best

Maya Cozier

Christopher Din Chong

Sonja Dumas

Janine Mendes Franco

Jian Hennings

Sean Hodgkinson

Juliette McCawley

Teneille Newallo

Jared Prima

Sophie Walcott

Dainia Wright

The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities.

 

 

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) and Canadian High Commission are teaming up to encourage the making of local short films on human rights issues. This is a continuation of a filmmakers development programme that began in 2017.

The Human Rights on Film training programme encourages filmmakers and writers who participated in a scriptwriting workshop with Canadian-Jamaican film professional, Annmarie Morais, last year, to put their training into practice. The link with Morais will continue as she mentors them through the writing of a five minute narrative or documentary film, on a human rights issue of concern to Trinidad and Tobago, or the wider Caribbean.

A panel of three judges – including a representative from The National Film Board of Canada and from the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad, will select the best three scripts.

Trinidadian-born and National Film Board of Canada producer – Selwyn Jacobs, will then conduct a two-day workshop on how to move from the scriptwriting phase to production and post-production. The completed films will screen at ttff/18.

According to Annabelle Alcazar, programme director of the ttff: “This  programme marries our interest in developing the skills of local filmmakers and writers, with advancing the conversations on human rights in Trinidad and Tobago.  We are excited about this project and look forward to seeing how filmmakers rise to the challenge of using their artistic knowledge and skill to bring these important issues alive.”

The filmmakers participating in the workshop are:

Eric Barry

Keon Francis

Francesca Hawkins

Thais Henry-Ramos

Barbara Jenkins

Ayesha Jordan

Jason Marcano

Oswald ‘Ozy’ Merrick

Siobhan Millette

Brendan O’Brien

Josiah Persad

Andreii Pierre

Kavita Rajpath

Kwasi Shade

The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities.