Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The trinidad and tobago film festival (ttff) is a film festival
in the Anglophone Caribbean
. It takes place annually in Trinidad and Tobago
around the latter half of September, and runs for two weeks. The festival screens feature-length narrative and documentary films, as well as short and experimental films.
. The first trinidad+tobago film festival took place in 2006, and was supported by the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company, a state enterprise. Films screened included Sistagod
, directed by Trinidadian filmmaker Yao Ramesar, and the documentary Calypso Dreams.
In 2007 the festival expanded to its current length, and included, for the first time, screenings outside of Port of Spain, including Tobago. The festival opened with Trinidadian filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon
's Canadian feature film A Winter Tale
. One of the films shown was the Trinidad and Tobago classic Bim (1974), directed by Hugh A. Robertson. In 2008 the cable television provider Flow became the festival's presenting sponsor, and the festival expanded further to include technical workshops, and began a partnership with the University of the West Indies. Among the festival's guests that year was the British artist and filmmaker, Isaac Julien
.
The 2009 festival opened with the film Rain, written and directed by Maria Govan of the Bahamas. 2009 also saw the inclusion, for the first time, of jury prizes. Guests that year included the Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas
, director of the Cannes Film Festival
Jury Prize-winning Silent Light
, and Hilton Als
, theatre critic for The New Yorker
magazine. In 2010 the festival entered into partnerships with the Zanzibar International Film Festival, as well as Zambia.
The ttff also has a partnership with StudioFilmClub , a weekly Port of Spain cine-club, run by the artist Peter Doig
.
• The Trinidad & Tobago Film Company
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
in the Anglophone Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. It takes place annually in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
around the latter half of September, and runs for two weeks. The festival screens feature-length narrative and documentary films, as well as short and experimental films.
History
The festival has its origins in the Kairi Film Festival, a one-off event which took place over three days in November 2002 in Port of SpainPort of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
. The first trinidad+tobago film festival took place in 2006, and was supported by the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company, a state enterprise. Films screened included Sistagod
SistaGod
SistaGod is a 2006 Trinidadian fantasy drama, the first in a trilogy by director Robert Yao Ramesar. The film stars Evelyn Caesar Munroe who also serves as the narrator of the story...
, directed by Trinidadian filmmaker Yao Ramesar, and the documentary Calypso Dreams.
In 2007 the festival expanded to its current length, and included, for the first time, screenings outside of Port of Spain, including Tobago. The festival opened with Trinidadian filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon
Frances-Anne Solomon
Frances-Anne Solomon is a Trinidadian-Canadian-British filmmaker, writer, producer, and entrepreneur.Born in England of Trinidadian parents, she began her professional life at the BBC in England, where she built a successful career as a Producer first with BBC Radio then with BBC television drama...
's Canadian feature film A Winter Tale
A Winter Tale
A Winter Tale is a 2007 Canadian dramatic feature film, written, directed and produced by Frances-Anne Solomon, featuring Canadian actor Peter Williams and Caribbean stars Leonie Forbes and Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall...
. One of the films shown was the Trinidad and Tobago classic Bim (1974), directed by Hugh A. Robertson. In 2008 the cable television provider Flow became the festival's presenting sponsor, and the festival expanded further to include technical workshops, and began a partnership with the University of the West Indies. Among the festival's guests that year was the British artist and filmmaker, Isaac Julien
Isaac Julien
Isaac Julien is an installation artist and filmmaker.-Biography:Julien graduated from St Martin's School of Art in 1985, where he studied painting and fine art film...
.
The 2009 festival opened with the film Rain, written and directed by Maria Govan of the Bahamas. 2009 also saw the inclusion, for the first time, of jury prizes. Guests that year included the Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas
Carlos Reygadas
Carlos Reygadas is a Mexican filmmaker known for his three films Batalla en el Cielo, Japón and Silent Light . After Batalla en el Cielo, he was known for his raw depiction of sex in his films and the use of old or ugly-seeming characters...
, director of the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
Jury Prize-winning Silent Light
Silent Light
- External links :* * at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival* - External links :* * at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival* - External links :* * at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival*...
, and Hilton Als
Hilton Als
Hilton Als is an American writer and theater critic who writes for The New Yorker magazine.Als is a former staff writer for The Village Voice and former editor-at-large at Vibe magazine....
, theatre critic for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine. In 2010 the festival entered into partnerships with the Zanzibar International Film Festival, as well as Zambia.
The ttff also has a partnership with StudioFilmClub , a weekly Port of Spain cine-club, run by the artist Peter Doig
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
.
Main initiatives
- Promoting Caribbean films The trinidad+tobago film festival is a celebration of the best in film from the English, French, Spanish and Dutch Caribbean, as well as the Caribbean DiasporaDiasporaA diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. The festival also screens films from Latin American countries that border the Caribbean SeaCaribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
.
- Promoting the Caribbean film industry The festival seeks to promote indigenous filmmakingFilmmakingFilmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
not only through screening films by regional filmmakers, but also by hosting workshops on technical aspects of filmmaking, as well as panel discussions on marketing, co-productions, etc.
- Reaching out to rural communities In keeping with its tagline—“You’re in Focus”—the festival is committed to promoting the culture of viewing indigenous films throughout Trindad and Tobago by hosting film screenings in communities outside of the main urban centres. These screenings are free of charge to the public.
Prizes
One of the main features of the festival is the awarding of prizes to the best films. A jury, made up of local, regional and international film industry professionals, awards prizes for Best Feature Film, Best Short Film and Best Trinidad and Tobago Film. Each award comes with a significant cash prize. In addition, there are audience awards for Best Dramatic Feature, Best Narrative Feature, and Best Short Film.External links
• The official ttff website• The Trinidad & Tobago Film Company