In June, ttff will screen the award-winning film, Green Days by the River, during We Beat in St James! The screening will be free of charge and there will be drinks and eats available to buy on the night. Bring your friends and family; walk with your blankets, cushions or throws and enjoy this film adaptation of a beloved Trinidadian novel!

The screening is 12 June/ 7pm at the St James Amphitheatre.

This free screening is presented in partnership with the St James Community Improvement Committee and  ttff’s official technical partner North Eleven Projections.

Green Days by the River
Director: Michael Moolheedar
2017, Trinidad and Tobago, 1h 42min

Based on Michael Anthony’s classic coming of age novel, Green Days by the River centers on the 15-year-old boy Shellie, whose poor but closely knit family has recently relocated to a village in the Mayaro region of Trinidad. With his father seriously ill, Shellie acquires a surrogate father-figure in the wealthy plantation-owner, Mr. Gidharee. Shellie soon finds himself torn between Gidharee’s seductive half-Indian daughter, Rosalie, and the more down-to-earth charms of out-of-town girl, Joan. But does Shellie actually have a choice, or is he caught in a trap that has already been laid?

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 .

The award-winning film God Loves the Fighter, by T&T filmmaker Damian Marcano, is expected to play to a full house when it screens in St. James on Tuesday, June 6, having previously played to sold-out audiences at the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in 2013, and at other screenings around the world.

Melvina Hazard of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and actor Muhammad Muwakil–who plays the titular role of Charlie–stopped by Loop to talk more about the film.

The free screening will take place during the WeBeat Festival, at 7 pm at the St James Amphitheatre, next door to the St James Police Station on the Western Main Road.

Shot during the 2011 State of Emergency, God Loves The Fighter tells a story about life lived on the edge – a life far removed from some, yet clearly very much part of the social fabric of urban T&T.

Since the inception of WeBeat St James Live in 2001, this year will be the first occasion on which the festival will be staged without its chairman, Earl Cros­by, who passed away in August 2016.

“It is a strange feeling to be plan­ning this year’s event without Earl,” said long-standing WeBeat commit­tee member Angela Fox. “The fes­tival’s success over the years was large­ly due to his untiring ef­forts, and res­olute willingness to forge ahead, despite the many challenges he faced during that time. So we are doing this year’s activities in his honour, even though the problems are still there.”

Crosby, who had undergone se­rious health issues a few months before last year’s staging, had this to say at the opening: “Because of my health condition, members of the committee undertook all responsi­bility for producing this year’s event, and faced even greater challenges than in past years in getting sponsors to buy into this programme that has proven its worth for over 15 years.”

The WeBeat St James Live festi­val was developed to promote the community of St James which, due to its all-day, all-night activities, is dubbed the “city that never sleeps.” The festival provides a platform to showcase the talents of local artistes while highlighting the contribution of people who have been pivotal in the development of St James and, by extension, the wider community. A most apt phrase to describe this fes­tival is ‘collective responsibility’ for within the perimeter of the rhyth­mic, are the social responsibilies of health, environment, and rewards.

The award-winning film God Loves the Fighter, a gritty urban drama by US-based, Trinidad and Tobago-born filmmaker Damian Marcano, will screen at We Beat’s We Film Night on Tuesday—in tribute to the late Earl Crosby.

The free screening, at the St James Amphitheatre, is presented by the Trinidad+Tobago Film Festival (TTFF).

Hailed for its “non-conformist and thrilling voice” by the UK’s Candid magazine and for its “slick cinematography” by film magazine Variety, God Loves the Fighter played to sold-out audiences at the TTFF 2013 where it won the People’s Choice Award and the Best Local Feature Award. It also went on to win the 2014 Yellow Robin Award at the Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam, among others.

The award-winning film God Loves the Fighter, a gritty, urban drama by US-based, TT-born filmmaker Damian Marcano, will screen at We Beat’s We Film Night on Tuesday, June 6 at 7pm in tribute to the late Earl Crosby. The free screening, at the St James Amphitheatre, is presented by the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff), courtesy its sponsor, Flow.

Hailed for its “non-conformist and thrilling voice”  by the UK’s Candid magazine and for its “slick cinematography” by the film magazine, Variety, God Loves the Fighter, played to sold out audiences at the ttff 2013, where it won the People’s Choice Award and the Best Local Feature Award.

It also went on to win the 2014 Yellow Robin Award at the Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam among others.

God Loves the Fighter tells the story of Charlie, a young man seeking to make ends meet on the streets of Port of Spain. Reluctantly, he takes a job from a gang leader as assistant to a drug courier. As he becomes entangled in a web of deceit, the ripple effects are felt across the city, complicating his attempts  at redemption.

Shot during the 2011 State of Emergency,  in an urgent and unflinching style, God Loves the Fighter was Marcano’s debut feature film. A Trinidadian who grew up in Morvant, Marcano moved to America at age 12, later enrolling as a pre-med student at Ohio State University, before moving to New York to become a web design programmer.

As a boy growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, Richard Fung loved dhalpuri roti. As a filmmaker now living in Toronto, he decided to discover the origins of this justly celebrated dish.

Richard’s journey took him first from Canada to his native land. He then headed to the Bhojpur region of India, where the ancestors of the majority of people of Indian descent in T&T came from. Finally he made his way back to the snowy streets of Toronto, where a sizeable Caribbean community lives.

All the while Richard filmed his epic quest. The end result was the documentary Dal Puri Diaspora, an eye-opening and richly enjoyable 80-minute tribute to a unique culinary invention that has travelled the world.

Dal Puri Diaspora had its world premiere at the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) in 2012, and was rapturously received by audiences. Now the Festival presents it again, free of charge, on Saturday 7 June from 7pm at the St James Amphitheatre, as part of the annual We Beat festival.

The screening is sponsored by the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company (TTFC) and presented in association with the St James Community Improvement/We Beat Committee. This is the fourth year that the ttff will present a film during the We Beat celebrations.

According to Melvina Hazard, ttff Director of Community Development, “This screening is a perfect mix of occasion, venue and subject, since We Beat celebrates our culture and St James has a longstanding tradition of street roti sales.”

As if to emphasise this point, one of the most popular roti sellers in St James is featured in Dal Puri Diaspora.

In an interview with Xfinity TV blog Richard recounted some of his discoveries in making the film. “What’s intriguing is that the West Indian roti is something that is intensely regional in India, only eaten at certain times and not commonly sold on the street,” he said.

“In Kolkata dhalpuris are more commonly available than in Bihar,” he continued. “Yet in the southern Caribbean it became the most widely eaten ‘Indian’ food, and in the Caribbean diaspora it has become the most commonly consumed dish. So not only has the dish changed, but its very identity.”

As a result, the documentary tracks dhalpuri’s remarkable passage across space and time, linking colonialism, migration and the globalisation of tastes.

Dal Puri Diaspora also features interviews with leading scholars and food writers, including Brinsley Samaroo and Patricia Mohammed of Trinidad and Tobago, and Pushpesh Pant and Radhika Mongia of India.

Admission to the St James Amphitheatre to see Dal Puri Diaspora is free. There will be refreshments on sale.

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Fans of old-school reggae are in for a treat when the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) hosts a free screening of the music documentary The Story of Lover’s Rock at the St James Amphitheatre on Sunday 16 June from 7pm.

The film is being shown as part of T&T Film Nights, which is sponsored by the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, and as part of the annual We Beat music and arts festival, which takes place from June 7-16. This is the third year running the ttff is hosting a film screening at We Beat.

Directed by Menelik Shabazz, a Black-British filmmaker originally from Barbados, The Story of Lover’s Rock is a joyous celebration of a unique genre of music. Often dubbed “romantic reggae”, lover’s rock is a sound that developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 80s. Against a backdrop of riots and racial tension, it allowed young Caribbean people to experience intimacy and healing at parties and clubs.

Lover’s rock paved the way for artists like Maxi Priest and UB40, and influenced Jamaican reggae musicians such as Gregory Isaacs and Freddie McGregor.

Seamlessly blending interviews and dramatic recreations with concert footage, The Story of Lover’s Rock won the jury prize for best documentary feature at the ttff in 2012, and was also a selection of the European Film Festival last year. According to the synopsis of the film from the ttff, it will make you want to “turn down the lights, turn up the volume, hold on to your partner and start grooving.”

The screening, which takes place in association with the St James Community Improvement Committee, is free of charge, for all ages and open to the public. Doors open at 6pm and there will be refreshments on sale.

Image: a shot from The Story of Lover’s Rock

A multiple-award-winning documentary about Jamaica’s vibrant and fascinating dancehall scene is set to enthrall audiences as part of the annual We Beat festival, on Saturday 2 June from 7pm at the St James Amphitheatre.

The screening of Hit Me With Music is part of the trinidad + tobago film festival (ttff) and bpTT Community Cinergy series of film screenings, and is presented in association with the St James Community Improvement Committee. Admission is free of charge and open to all persons 16 years and over.

Released in 2011 and directed by Miquel Galofré, Hit Me With Music is a brilliant exploration of the various facets of dancehall culture, including feuds between rival musicians, skin bleaching, and the “daggering” phenomenon. Dancehall pioneers Yellowman and the late Bogle make appearances in the film, as well as more recent stars Elephant Man, Mavado and Vybz Kartel.

The film—which has been playing to enthusiastic audiences in North America and Europe—won both the jury and audience awards for best documentary at the ttff/11. Following the screening there will be a Q&A session with the director.

Before the film there will be a lime, from 6pm. Food and drinks will be on sale.

trinidad+tobago film festival
invites you to
ttff/11 at WeBeat

Admission: Free

St James Amphitheatre, Western Main Road
Tuesday 07 June
7-9pm

Here’s another ttff/11 movie night you won’t want to miss:

We’re bringing you two movies during this year’s WeBeat celebrations in St James and we hope you’ll join us on Tuesday, June 7, from 7-9pm at the St James Amphitheatre. We’ll be showing Africa Unite, a sure hit for fans of reggae music and Bob Marley, and The Suspect, a dramatic short by Trinidadian director Leroy Smart.

The Suspect premiered in 2010 at the ttff. The action takes place on a bus, where a passenger begins to suspect that a crime is about to take place.

Africa Unite (USA, 2008) brings together the family of Robert Nesta Marley as they celebrate in music what would have been the reggae giant’s 60th birthday. The movie follows three generations of Marleys as they journey to Ethiopia in 2005 for the annual Africa Unite concert in Addis Ababa. The concert features music from the younger generation and rare footage of their legendary relative in action, as they promote his vision for a united Africa. The movie was directed by Stephanie Black.

Hope to see you there!

Food and beverages will be available for sale.

Come catch a couple of great movies!

 

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The Suspect
Director: Leroy Smart
Country: Trinidad and Tobago
Genre: Dramatic short
Year: 2010
Duration: 7′

A passenger on a bus begins to suspect that a crime is about to take place. Is he right, or merely being paranoid?
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Africa Unite
Director: Stephanie Black
Country: USA
Genre: Documentary
Year: 2008
Duration: 92′
View on IMDB

Part tribute concert and part travelogue, Africa Unitebrings together the family of Robert Nesta Marley as they celebrate in music what would have been the reggae giant’s 60th birthday. The movie follows three generations of Marleys as they journey to Ethiopia in 2005 for the annual Africa Unite concert in Addis Ababa. The concert features music from the younger generation and rare footage of their legendary relative in action, as they promote his vision for a united Africa.
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