Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and show tunes, “Hamilton” has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theater–a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. Captured at the Richard Rodgers Theater on Broadway in June 2016, the film transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way.
If you would like to attend, please register in advance at http://bit.ly/ttffhamiltonscreening This is an in-person event and there is limited seating. We ask that you only register if you are certain that you will attend. Groups are limited to a maximum of two persons per group.
This film will be screened in compliance with health and safety guidelines for masks, size of the gathering, and social distancing.
A fixture of the annual trinidad+tobago film festival since 2011, we’re delighted to announce the return of new media to Medulla Art Gallery on Fitt Street in Woodbrook. The new media section of ttff comprises avant garde and experimental film and video works from artists and filmmakers in the Caribbean and diaspora.
Curated by Melanie Archer, works in our new media section can be viewed at Medulla Art Gallery weekdays (through 15 September) from 10am to 6pm, and Saturday from 11am to 2pm. All health and social distancing protocols will be in effect, with only five attendees at a time being allowed into the exhibition space. We ask that all attendees wear face masks, according to Government regulations.
works listing
group 1
Looking for “Looking for Langston”, by Ada M. Patterson Hijo del mar (Son of the Sea), Candido Junior Bienvenido Cast Displaced, Alex Mendez Giner
group 2
I am Sugar, by Richard Mark RawlinsIsland State of Mine, by Richard Mark Rawlins How to break a horizon: a memory as retold by the sum of its residue, by Kearra Amaya Gopee I cried so much I felt the universe pass through my eyes, by Luis Vasquez La Roche Shade, by Analise Cleopatra Alternative Facts, by Marina Santana de la Torre El dúo de las hermanas gato (The Cat Sister’s Duet), by Marina Santana de la Torre
group 3
Goodbye to the Things, by Ian Schuler The Whole World is Turning, by Ada M. Patterson
group 4
Wake Up, by Shinelle Ambris Untitled, by Kelley-Ann Lindo Howler Monkey Sex Noises at Lunchtime, by Rachel Lee Silent Truths, by Rhiana Bonterre
group 5
Centella (Firefly), by Claudia Claremi Palindrome, by David Parris Murciélago (Bat), by Claudia Claremi
Tickets for Online Screenings
Tickets are now available for all our online screenings! Visit online.ttfilmfestival.com to browse through the daily film bundles, click the bundle you’d like to see, and take it from there! Please note, films will be available to viewers across the English-speaking Caribbean only.
All tickets for online screenings are quoted in USD. As a quick guide, our regular online tickets are tt$35, and tickets for the opening night film cost tt$50.
Click here for a detailed step by step of setting up your account to watch films during the festival.
Printed guides can also be collected from a number of locations, including Paperbased Bookshop, Y Art Gallery, Medulla Art Gallery, Rituals St Ann’s, Ink Stop, SPLICE Studios, Full Bloom. You can also swing by our office to collect a copy of the guide or to pay for workshops and screenings. We’re at 22 Jerningham Ave, Belmont.
In Competition: Feature-Length Narrative and Documentary Films
Chosen from the Caribbean section which comprises feature-length films from the Caribbean, the diaspora, and films by international filmmakers made in and about the region, the narrative and documentary films in competition for the Best Feature-Length Narrative Film and Best Feature-Length Documentary award are:
narrative films:
La Imagen del Tiempo (Timeless Havana), dir. Jeissy Trompiz Malpaso, dir. Héctor M Valdez
documentary films:
501 Not Out, dir. Sam Lockyer A Media Voz (In a Whisper), dirs. Patricia Pérez Fernández and Heidi Hassan Servidão (Servitude), dir. Renato Barbieri Stateless, dir. Michèle Stephenson
Image: production still from ‘Stateless‘, directed by Michèle Stephenson
synopses
narrative films
La Imagen del Tiempo (Timeless Havana) Directed by Jeissy Trompiz/ 2019/ Cuba/ 70 minutes
Shot through the eyes of Felipe, a tortured film director trying in vain to create the authentic portrayal of love that his grandfather so easily captured in his amateur films of decades prior, his lens follows Edel and May, actors playing the characters Alejandro and Rita, strangers with different motives looking for the same girl. Their search meanders through a chaotic Havana that gets them simultaneously nowhere and entangled. Likewise, Felipe’s film meanders from scene to scene lacking a coherent thread and conclusion and leaving him unsatisfied. He is incapable of capturing the compassion in his takes that his grandfather did until he realizes that – unlike himself – his grandfather had the capacity for love. With his new-found awareness, he sets his characters free from their hopeless search.
Malpaso Directed by Héctor M. Valdez/ 2019/ Dominican Republic, Haiti/ 80 minutes
Candido and Braulio are twin brothers growing up near the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. While Candido stays home secluded due to his albinism, Braulio helps his grandfather sell coal in the market. Their life takes a turn for the worst after the unexpected death of their grandfather. Now Braulio will need to look after his brother while attempting to make ends meet in the border town market. All the while, Candido dreams of the eventual return of their absent father.
documentaries
501 Not Out Directed by Sam Lockyer/ 2019/ Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom/ 108 minutes
Over 25 years on from Brian Lara’s world-record-breaking innings for Warwickshire at Edgbaston in the UK, brand-new documentary “501 Not Out” tells the story of cricket’s first global superstar.
Exploring Lara’s remarkable ascent in 1994, the film celebrates his development in Trinidad and features interviews with iconic names from the world of cricket. These include his former international and county teammates from the historic treble-winning season, his friends and coaches in the Caribbean, fans who witnessed the marathon knock first hand and those inspired by his heroics. Notable contributions come from Sir Curtly Ambrose, Allan Donald, Dermot Reeve, Gladstone Small, Dennis Amiss, Jonathan Agnew, Ian Bell, Deryck Murray, Bryan Davis and Trini Posse Group co-founders Nikki Borde and Nigel Camacho.
Featuring rarely seen archive footage and stills, the film also examines the wider impact of Lara’s arrival and success at Warwickshire, coming so soon after his test record 375. “501 Not Out” brings an amazing story to life on the big screen for the very first time.
A Media Voz (In a Whisper) Directed by Patricia Pérez Fernández and Heidi Hassan/ 2019/ Cuba, France, Spain, Switzerland/ 80 minutes
Two childhood friends entering their forties, facing the challenges of emigration, try to rebuild their lives far away from Cuba. An intimate and revealing auto-ethnographic documentary about uprootedness, motherhood, love of film, and freedom. Told through the audiovisual correspondence between two filmmakers and Cuban emigrants, it is a story of friendship and exile.
Servidão (Servitude) Directed by Renato Barbieri/ 2019/ Brazil/ 72 minutes
A feature-length documentary about contemporary slave labour focusing on the Brazilian Amazon, “Servidão” follows the work of the Special Mobile Inspection Group of the Ministry of Labour. Through the testimony of modern abolitionists and rural workers it explores the links between contemporary slavery and a cruel slave-holding mentality that has existed in Brazil for five centuries. With narration by Negra Li, it is an important record of one of Brazil’s greatest ills.
Stateless Directed by Michèle Stephenson/ 2020/ Canada/ 95 minutes
In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013 and the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court strips the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows the grassroots campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris, as she challenges electoral corruption and fights to protect the right to citizenship for all people.
Images: production stills from ‘Malpaso’, directed by Héctor M Valdez, and ‘Stateless’, directed by Michèle Stephenson
In Competition: New Media Works
The new media section comprises avant garde and experimental film and video works from artists and filmmakers in the Caribbean and diaspora. These are the works in competition for best new media work at ttff/20:
Centella (Firefly), by Claudia Claremi Looking for ‘Looking for Langston’, by Ada M. Patterson Murciélago (Bat), by Claudia Claremi The Whole World is Turning, by Ada M. Patterson
synopses
Centella (Firefly) by Claudia Claremi/ 2019/Cuba/ 17 minutes
In Cuba the flight of fireflies, in the night, is said to be like a meeting of miniature spectres, weakened fires or wandering souls. Isabel invokes them and triggers the dance.
Looking for ‘Looking for Langston’ by Ada M. Patterson/ 2018/Barbados, Netherlands/ 16 minutes
A performative video work in search of Isaac Julien’s “Looking for Langston” (1989). A captain dreams of setting sail, in search of a mysterious, intangible, comforting vision that rests at the edge of the horizon. An exploration of desire and distance, pleasure and disappointment, secrets and surprise, “Looking for ‘Looking for Langston’” is a cruise of poetic correspondence, queering sailors and transgressing horizons.
Murciélago (Bat) by Claudia Claremi/ 2018/ Cuba/ 12 minutes
A sensory essay told through body and sound. A composition made from the trance and the vibration of macroscopic figures seen at a millimetric distance from the skin of eight people in Cuba. Inside a black hole, rapid movements fill the void. Macroscopic corporal landscapes follow one after the other to percussion in crescendo. White skin pulsates serenely and black skin wiggles, showing a face. Bright discharges explode in the air. In a slow, swaying trance, a shining eyelid reveals and then hides a liquid eye. The swelling and contracting skin of an abdomen makes deep sounds to an unrelenting beat.
The Whole World is Turning by Ada M. Patterson/ 2019/ Netherlands/ 21 minutes
A group of lovers is visited by a familiar guest. They remark on how this guest has turned, how they have turned and how the whole world keeps turning. How will they receive this turn of events?
Image: still from ‘Murciélago‘ by Claudia Claremi
in competition: short + medium length narrative films
We are delighted to announce the short and medium length narrative films in competition at ttff/20.
SHORT (up to 29 mins): Ici C’est Paris (Paris Is Here), dirs. Léa Magnien and Quentin Chantrel Irma, dir. Lisa Cruz Ma Dame au Camèlia (My Lady of the Camellia), dir. Edouard Montoute Mortenol, dir. Julien Silloray Pure Service, dir. Reyda Gay Timoun Aw (Your Kid), dir. Nelson Foix Yellow Girl and Me, dir. Isabella Issa
MEDIUM (30-59 mins): Get Free!, dir. Akkel Charles Mightier dan de Sun, dir. Trevon C. Jugmohan Zeen?, dir. Calyx Passailaigue
#ttff20 celebrating 15 years in 2020 #watchsomething#ttfilmfestival #15in2020 #caribbeanfilms #caribbeanfilmmakers
Image: production still from ‘Yellow Girl and Me’ directed by Isabella Issa
in competition: short + medium length documentaries
We are delighted to announce the short and medium length documentaries in competition at our fifteenth edition festival.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Coast Land, dir. Alexander Arjoon Our Own House, dirs. Vanessa Bergonzoli, Jeremy Kaplan and Tyler Robinson Atordoado, Eu Permaneço Atento (Stunned, I Remain Alert), dirs. Henrique Amud and Lucas H. Rossi dos Santos The Onyx Butterfly, dir. Yasmin Evering-Kerr Unbroken, dir. Gabrielle Blackwood
BEST MEDIUM LENGTH DOCUMENTARY FILM
I Don’t Call it Ghetto, dir. Miquel Galofré No Island Like Home, dirs. Giulio Gobbetti and Jan Stöckel Men Sa Lanmè Di (Thus Spoke the Sea), dir. Arnold Antonin
Join us as we celebrate the fifteenth edition of the trinidad+tobago film festival! ttff/20 will take place 09–15 sep 2020, with outdoor and online screenings, talks and presentations, training opportunities and even a few cinema screenings!
Featured image: production still from Gabrielle Blackwood’s documentary, “Unbroken”
#ttff20 celebrating 15 years in 2020 #watchsomething #ttfilmfestival #15in2020 #caribbeanfilms #caribbeanfilmmakers
Watch Something!
Join us as we celebrate the fifteenth edition of the trinidad+tobago film festival! ttff/20 will take place 09–15 september 2020, with outdoor and online screenings, talks, panels and training opportunities, and even a few cinema screenings!
ttff/20 will include new shorts, and features, narrative films, documentaries and experimental films, which explore the Caribbean experience. We also have a new prize and category for student filmmakers (whether secondary or tertiary) to encourage and support the early careers of emerging talent.
Our training and professional development programmes continue to be a core offering of ttff in 2020, with the launch of Masterclasses (intensive, multi-day online workshops led by international industry professionals), the re-introduction of filmmaker panels (which will take place via Facebook live), and more of our introductory industry workshops and training (online and in person).
Since our humble beginnings at the then Deluxe cinema in Port of Spain, the trinidad+tobago film festival has become a mainstay of Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural calendar, and is well-established as the premiere film festival of the English-speaking Caribbean. Screening – on average – 110 films over seven days to sold out audiences, ttff proves that Caribbean films are a dynamic and all-encompassing expression of what it is to be from this place, in this moment.
Keep an eye on this space to stay up to date with what’s coming up and follow us on social media @ttfilmfestival
#ttff20 celebrating 15 years in 2020 #watchsomething #ttfilmfestival #15in2020 #caribbeanfilms #caribbeanfilmmakers
ttff/20 festival artist: Mark King @markkingismarkings
Edit Your Trailer like a Pro!
Despite what you might think, editing a trailer is an artform in itself and requires a different set of skills to editing longer-form projects. That’s because a trailer condenses the crux of a film or TV show’s story to two-minute morsels that must be compelling while teasing the audience to ensure that they come back for more! A good trailer will form an essential element of your project’s promotional package – think this: you’re more likely to watch a movie if you’ve seen a good trailer for it. And oftentimes, movies that tease with trailers are more likely to build buzz and positive word of mouth before and during their theatrical, broadcast and online runs!
In this all-day online workshop, facilitator, Ryan C. Khan, will explore the key elements of a good trailer – what aspects of the story to leave in, what to leave out; graphics and how to use them to the greatest advantage; choosing the right music and essential information/ data to include in all trailers. Khan will lead participants through a trailer edit, using one of his own short films as a case study. Participants will have the opportunity to pull selects from the film and put together a rough cut trailer which they feel best represents the film. Finally, Khan will lead the participants through a constructive critiquing session of the trailers produced.
By the end of the course, participants will have a much clearer understanding of the elements that make for a strong trailer, as well as how to pull them together for the greatest effect.
prerequisites
Participants must have a sound working knowledge of their chosen editing software – this class will not teach participants about how to use software
Participants will need to bring their own laptops with any editing software already loaded – note: ttff will not be providing equipment or software
Participants should also ensure that their computers/ external drives have enough space on them to import additional film clips
logistics
dates: 11 september duration: two sessions/ 3 hours/ session times: 9:30am-12:30pm and 2:30pm-5:30pm
This workshop is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.
about ryan c. khan
Ryan C. Khan is one of the many filmmakers emerging from the Caribbean, a new frontier for storytelling. He’s won the Tribeca/Worldview pitch competition at ttff/12. Then in 2013, he participated in the prestigious Berlinale Film Festival Talent Campus and the ttff Filmmakers’ Immersion Programme. His work has also been shown at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner (2014). Khan later began working in the advertising industry, directing TV commercials for major brands within the region. Currently, he directs, produces and edits his own projects under Ryan C. Khan Films while continuing to work within the region, producing projects for major brands.
Call for Youth Jury Participants!
The trinidad+tobago film festival is giving five young people an opportunity of a lifetime! If you’re between the ages of 16 and 21 (inclusive), here’s your chance to apply to be a member of the ttff/20 Youth Jury and help select the winning film for the 2020 Youth Jury Award, which will be presented during the Festival in September.
Applications are open to young people 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: hello@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 application submission is 4pm on 15 August.
The five selected jury members will meet online during the ttff/20, under the guidance of experienced film critic B.C. Pires, to view a selection of films dealing with themes and issues affecting young people.
After viewing all the films in competition, the ttff/20 Youth Jury will choose the winning film and the director of this film will receive an award.
