Highlights from “The Power Of Women In Film at 2017 trinidad+tobago film festival hosted by Jillia Cato. www.gtcaribbeannetwork.tv

Three documentaries about steelbands will make their debut at this year’s trinidad+tobago film 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.

James O’Connor’s film To Be A Renegade, captures the story of the BP Renegades through an examination of the violent beginnings of pan, the era of change, and its present state as a positive influence on communities, with steelbands now travelling abroad as international ambassadors.

Featuring players, founding members and supporters, the documentary funded by BP Trinidad and Tobago, seeks to show what it really means to be a Renegade.  As part of its support for the film, BPTT is sponsoring a free screening of To Be A Renegade on Friday, September 22 at 8:30pm, at MovieTowne Port of Spain. Tickets will be available from the box office on a first-come-first-served basis, at the start of the Festival.

The Film Programme at The University of the West Indies (UWI), will once again host the screening of internationally acclaimed and student made films, as part of the trinidad+tobago film festival, which runs from 19 – 26 September. The UWI programme will take place at 12 Carmody Street, St Augustine, with a day of documentaries on Friday 22, and a showcase of student films, with Q+As, on Saturday 23 September.

Among the selection of films  is La Matamoros, by Panamanian director Delfina Vidal, which won Best Picture at the International Film Festival Panama, in the Central America and Caribbean category.

La Matamoros tells the story of Marta Matamoros, a phenomenal figure in Panamanian history who rose from being a factory dressmaker to becoming an international trade union leader, playing a key role in asserting Panamanian independence against U.S. domination. Dedicated to the defense of the rights of Panamanian women and workers, her struggle brought her persecution and imprisonment, yet she remained fearless in the face of oppression, refusing to be bribed or intimidated. It is through her struggles that Panamanians gained a minimum wage and paid maternity leave.

The trinidad+tobago film festival is partnering with UN Women and the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), UWI  to present The Power of Women in Film, on Friday 22 September, from 9am, at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

The day of panels and presentations will include speakers from across the region who explore depictions of women and girls and how film can be used to address issues of violence against women, objectification, gender inequality and female empowerment. Short films will be incorporated into the programme to help illustrate some of the issues being discussed. The Power of Women in Film initiative is free, and individuals and organisations interested in the issues are invited to attend.

The Power of Women in Film will be followed by three days of feminist cinema, from 22 – 24 September, also at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (TTFF) has partnered with the United Nations Women and the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) at the University of the West Indies (The UWI) to present “The Power of Women in Film” on September 22 at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain.

The event starts at 9 am and admission is free. The TTFF said “individuals and organisations who are interested in the issues are invited to attend.”

The day of panels and presentations will include speakers from across the region who will explore depictions of women and girls, and how film can be used to address issues of violence against women, objectification, gender inequality and female empowerment. Short films will be incorporated into the programme to help illustrate some of the issues being discussed.

The event will be followed by three days of feminist cinema, from September 22 to 24, at the same venue.

The trinidad+tobago film festival is partnering with UN Women and the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), UWI  to present The Power of Women in Film, on Friday, September 22 from 9am, at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

The day of panels and presentations will include speakers from across the region who explore depictions of women and girls and how film can be used to address issues of violence against women, objectification, gender inequality and female empowerment. Short films will be incorporated into the programme to help illustrate some of the issues being discussed. The Power of Women in Film initiative is free, and individuals and organisations interested in the issues are invited to attend.

The Power of Women in Film will be followed by three days of feminist cinema, from September 22 – 24, also at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

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’.

A strong lineup of critically acclaimed, award-winning Caribbean films will screen at this year’s trinidad+tobago film festival (tt/ff), to be held from September 19 – 26, 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 filmmakers, 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.  Described by critics as a raw, intriguing and energetic blend of the tough and the tender, Carpinteros played at the Sundance Film Festival, to great acclaim.

Bahamian filmmaker, Kareem Mortimer’s moving and topical film, Cargo, tells the tragic story of human trafficking from the point of view of reluctant trafficker, Kevin. An American exile with a gambling addiction, living in the Bahamas, he begins smuggling Haitians to Florida in an act of desperation, to keep his secrets buried and get out of a financial bind.

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.

Eleven years ago, Michael Mooleedhar and Christian James met at the University of the West Indies. It was the first time that the institution had offered a Degree in film and they were among the first class of undergraduates who enrolled to pursue the course. In 2014, armed with Film Degrees and a Masters in Creative Design Entrepreneurship and Fine Arts in Creative Producing, respectively – 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 which has stood the test of time, Green Days by the River is an intriguing coming of age story whose 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 and 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 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. “This film is unique because this is a Trinidad and Tobago story by a Trinidad and Tobago director and producer. It’s being told by us for us.”

Pulling off a production of this magnitude wasn’t easy – or cheap.

Mooleedhar and James – the film’s producer, spent all of 2015 pounding the pavement in search of funding to get the 102-minute film in motion. They approached over 100 companies appealing for financial help and most declined, which they understood given the economy. “Imagine making a creative product and telling a business person that you need them to contribute some amount of money towards the total cost, especially in an economic downturn. So yeah, we got turned down a lot.”

That is, until bmobile stepped in as the film’s title sponsor.