Newz From CaribbeanTales

CT 2012 : Gala Launch ... Arrivals

2012-09-23T11:42:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

jph

CT 2012 : Wednesday Incubator

2012-09-23T11:16:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

CT 2012 : Lambadina Meet-n-Greet

2012-09-23T11:05:00.001-07:00

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Over the course of CaribbeanTales 2012 jp somehow managed to snap roughly a thousand pictures, which some of you have been anxiously awaiting ... so here are a few of the more viewable selections, in batches, according to the event and/or date, beginning with the introductory Lambadina fête of September 4, 2012 ... Enjoy!

See the full gallery on Posterous

CT 2012 : Gala Launch ... Festivities

2012-09-18T08:48:00.001-07:00

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CT 2012 : Gala Launch ... More Arrivals

2012-09-18T08:17:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

jph

CT 2012 : Gala Launch ... Arrivals

2012-09-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

jph

CT 2012 : Wednesday Incubator

2012-09-18T07:06:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

jph

CT 2012 : Lambadina Meet-n-Greet

2012-09-18T06:51:00.003-07:00

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CT 2012 : Lambadina Meet-n-Greet

2012-09-18T06:51:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

jph

CT 2012 : Fin

2012-09-16T06:53:00.001-07:00

CaribbeanTales 2012 came to a roaring conclusion Saturday ... the Caribbean Web Series screening at 3:30pm (featuring the world premiere of Rodney Smith's full-length feature The Accidental Time Traveller) and the Canadian Caribbean Showcase at 6pm (featuring the world premiere of Melissa Gomez's Silent Music) were both packed. And, as was the case on Friday night, Roger Alexis's first feature-length film I'm Santana: The Movie finished things off by completely selling out.

Thanks to all the fans of Caribbean cinema for their unwavering support and feedback, to the filmmakers and their unwavering commitment to the craft, the Incubator facilitator for her expertise, enthusiasm and insight, to the Harbourfront staff for their professionalism, courtesy and warmth ... and, of course, to my CaribbeanTales teammates for everything ... it's been two weeks well spent.

-jph

CT 2012 : Santana Mashing It Up

2012-09-15T07:10:00.001-07:00

A packed house enjoys Friday's screening of I'm Santana: The Movie.

(Photo: jp hodgkinson)

CT 2012 : Catching Up [Is Tough To Do]

2012-09-13T16:11:00.001-07:00

With Thursday being a day off for CaribbeanTales 2012, it provided the opportunity for everybody to catch up on a little rest before Fri day and Satu rday shut things down for another year ... jp will take the opportunity to catch up on a few photos from Sunday's pitching breakfast, which was a smashing success ... Feel free to tag or tweet or whatever it is people do with photos on Facebook or Twitter ... and stay tuned for more

- jph

CT 2012 : Catching Up

2012-09-13T09:33:00.003-07:00

With Thursday providing CaribbeanTales 2012 a day off and the opportunity for everybody involved to catch up before Friday and Saturday shut things down for another year, jp takes the opportunity to catch up on a few photos from Sunday's pitching breakfast ... Feel free to tag or tweet or whatever it is you people do to photos on Facebook and Twitter ... and stay tuned.

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CT 2012 : Catching Up

2012-09-13T09:33:00.001-07:00

CT 2012 : Catching Up

2012-09-13T09:32:00.001-07:00

With Thursday providing CaribbeanTales 2012 a day off and the opportunity for everybody involved to catch up before Friday and Saturday's shut things down for another year, jp takes the opportunity to catch up on a few photos from Sunday's pitching breakfast ... Feel free to tag or tweet or whatever it is you people do to photos on Facebook and Twitter ... and stay tuned.

CT Around The Web : Opening Gala Recap on '83 To Infinity

2012-09-10T17:43:00.001-07:00

Check out this great recap of the Caribbean Tales Film Festival Opening Gala by Bee of '83 To Infinity! Were you there? Let us know what you thought of the night!

Last week, I found myself in the middle of a Caribbean oasis at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre. The Caribbean Tales Film Festival Opening Gala took place on Wednesday, and transformed the heart of the city into a mini-vacation spot. Food, music, film, and fun – the gala had it all!

For those who don’t know, the Harbourfront Centre is an “innovative not-for-profit cultural organization that creates events and activities of excellence that enliven, educate and entertain a diverse public”. In addition to being one of the most gorgeous spots along Toronto’s waterfront, the Harbourfront Centre is a consistent supporter of arts and culture in Toronto. That being said, it was the perfect venue choice for the Caribbean Tales Film Festival, from the opening gala to all of the film screenings.

The gala kicked off in true Caribbean fashion, with a buffet of delicious West Indian food! Attendees (which included the Consul Generals of Trinidad & Tobago and Antigua & Barbuda, the Hon. Jean Augustine, and Tonya Lee Williams, among many others) milled about while partaking in some of the best jerk chicken and rice & peas I’ve had in a while. Working the Media Room, I got to connect with a number of local and international media representatives, and was very happy to see the immense interest in the gala and film festival at large.

Frances-Anne Solomon (Caribbean Tales Founder) and Allan Jones (G98.7FM)

Guest with Tonya Lee Williams (aka Dr. Olivia Barber Williams on Y&R)

Caribbean Tales Founder and Artistic Director Frances-Anne Solomon welcomed the crowd, led the audience in a birthday song for the Hon. Jean Augustine, and introduced the 48 Hour Film Challenge competitors and filmmakers. Once the official business was through, the Caribbean vibe was continued with an amazing performance by the Trinidadian/Torontonian band Kobo Town. Something was happening in every corner – interviews with filmmakers, red carpet photo shoots, couples dancing to the band, and yells of “Eh! How you goin’?” from old friends who reconnected at the gala. It was an electric hub of creativity, passion, and comradeship, and I was happy to be in the mix!

Finally, we headed from the Lakeside Terrace room to the Studio Theatre for the screening of The Story of Lovers Rock by Menelik Shabazz, a world-renowned British filmmaker. The sold-out screening was led through introductions by Tdot entertainment greats Farley Flex and Motion, with additional words from the Consul General of Trinidad and Tobago. We were treated to a a music video by reggae group No-Maddz, a hilarious short called Joyce and Herman, and trailers for all of the feature films being screened at the Caribbean Tales Film Festival. After the crowd was warmed up, we got right into Shabazz’ film, which I was highly anticipating – I adore Lovers Rock music, so I was excited to learn about its origins and cultural significance.

Media table w/ myself, Louise Noel Ambrose (Eventobe PR), and Dessie Fanfair

With Natasha & David Green – the ’83 To Infinity gala giveaway winners!

Kobo Town performance

The film was interestingly crafted – part documentary, part scripted comedy, it took us through beginnings of Lovers Rock in 1970s Britain to today. Interviews with Lovers Rock greats like Janet Kay and Maxi Priest gave us the origins of the music, which was born out of reggae and ska from Jamaica. With the immigration of Caribbeans to Britain in the ’60s and ’70s, young Black Brits born to Caribbean parents needed an art form to call their own – Lovers Rock became just that, which quickly blossomed into a culture and a lifestyle. The way you dressed, walked, talked, and interacted with each other was influenced by Lovers Rock, and hearing the recounts from those who lived during the time was eye-opening. Lovers Rock was respite and healing for youths who were faced with racism and identity crises on a daily basis; it was an art form in which women came to hold top ranking; and it was a musical interpretation that clearly didn’t receive the recognition it deserved, as told by the film. The most interesting sentiment for me was that of the first-generation Brits who discussed the juxtaposition of not being fully Caribbean, but not being fully British either. I felt they were telling my story as a Canadian child born to Jamaican parents, and found that I could particularly identify to that part of the film. Shabazz’ film gave us a thorough breakdown of the history of Lovers Rock music, and his passion for the story came through loud and clear. The length of the film made for a long night, being at the end of a work day and the gala itself, but I was happy to have been in attendance.

Farley Flex and Motion

The Story of Lovers Rock filmmaker Menelik Shabazz

After a short Q&A session with Menelik Shabazz and Allan Jones from G98.7FM, we called it a night. The Harbourfront Centre was silent, save for a lone caretaker who was sweeping the halls. He looked a bit surprised to see us all filing out, so I suspected that he was unaware that just hours before, Caribbean Tales had the place bursting with Caribbean flavour. It was an excellent night, and an excellent kick-off to the Caribbean Tales Film Festival!

Thanks to Trendsetters Photography for the photos!

The Caribbean Tales Film Festival runs until September 15th! Check here for schedules and ticket info for upcoming films. If you missed the showing of The Story of Lovers Rock on Wednesday, not to worry! There will be one more screening tomorrow night at Innis Town Hall (Univ. of Toronto campus), 2 Sussex Avenue at 6:30pm! Click here for details and tickets! If you were at the gala, leave me a comment and let me know how you enjoyed it!

CT 2012 : Let The Films Begin

2012-09-10T09:38:00.001-07:00

Film screenings for CaribbeanTales 2012 begin tonight. At 6:30 La Hija Natural (Love Child) will kick things off. Directed by Leticia Tonos, this was the Dominican Republic's selection for the Best Foreign Film category at the 2011 Academy Awards. It is "a vibrant story about the universal search for oneself through love, forgiveness and the realization of the mystery of life. After her mother dies, 18-year-old Maria decides to look for the father she has never met. She finds him living in a dark old house located in the middle of an abandoned banana planation, which the locals claim to be haunted by spritits." It will be preceded by an episode of A Day in a Bajan Life, which is a series of 10 cinematic shorts about the life and people of Barbados. Episode 5 focuses on "local hero, Rastafarian, artist and philosopher, Izebo, a homeless artist whose commissioned murals are seen all over the walls of Barbados."

The evening program begins at 9:15 with The Power of the Vagina. In this film Trinidadian director Jimmel Daniel "explores the issue of women's sexuality and sexual politics, examining opinions and assumptions about the various ways in which women use their sexuality ... and the ways men respond." If that's not universal subject matter, i don't know what it. The second short film for the evening will be The Almighty Penis, in which Daniel turns his focus to "men's sexuality from a Trinidadian perspective."

The night will close with Orpailleur by French Guyanese director Marc Barrat. The title translates as "Golddigger" and the story follows Rod, a young Parisian of Guyanese origin, who makes his way back home after the disappearance of his brother and learns of a dark family secret. Accompanied by childhood friend Gonz, Rod meets a young ecological tourist guide named Yann, and all three soon find themselves deep in the Amazonian forest, right in the middle of the hostile territory of illegal gold mining.

Screenings will be held at Harbourfront's Studio Theatre, tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the website or the door. Remember: La Hija Natural screens at 6:30 and Orpailleur at 9:15. Follow CaribbeanTales on Twitter or Facebook and go to caribbeantales-events.com for complete festival listings. (Photo : jp hodgkinson)

-jph

CT 2012 : End Of The Incubator

2012-09-09T14:50:00.001-07:00

The 2012 CaribbeanTales Incubator Program is now officially concluded. Big-ups to all the participants, mentors, facilitator and CaribbeanTales colleagues ... jp had an absolute blast!

Repeat Screening of "THE STORY OF LOVER'S ROCK"

2012-09-08T00:58:00.001-07:00

Did you miss the sold out Gala Launch on Sept 5? Have no fear - there is a second screening!

WHAT: The Story of LOVER'S ROCK

WHERE: Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussez Avenue, Toronto. (On U of T Campus)

WHEN: Tues. Sept 11, @ 6.30pm

CT 2012 : A Moment Of Tranquility

2012-09-07T15:19:00.001-07:00

Francisco Montás and Penelope Hynam

(PHOTO: jp hodgkinson)

CT 2012 : Flashback

2012-08-29T13:06:00.001-07:00

In 2009 CaribbeanTales had the honour of welcoming cinéaste martiniquaise Euzhan Palcy, who graciously provided an interview to current blogger, photogropher and all-around media rat jp hodgkinson ... C'est vrai que ça commence en français mais [it's subtitled so don't panic when you hear only French for the first few seconds].

jph

Bahamian film selected for 2012 Caribbean Tales incubator

2012-08-27T02:58:00.001-07:00

Bahamas Local.com reports on Kareem Mortimer's new film:

August 25, 2012

A Bahamian produced film "Cargo" has been selected to participate at the 2012 CaribbeanTales Incubator program during the Toronto International Film Festival. Cargo is the third feature from award-winning director, Kareem Mortimer.
Cargo tells the story of an immigration officer, Kevin, who becomes a human smuggler to pay off a debt, and his choices affect the lives of three immigrants. These immigrants include a stateless Haitian-Bahamian man, a Cuban hustler and a seventeen-year-old Haitian girl.
Mortimer, who also directed the award winning, "Children Of God" and the family film "Wind Jammers" said, "'Cargo' speaks to how far we are all willing to go to ensure a better life for ourselves and the people we love. This film is specific to the Caribbean but applicable to audiences all over the world."
The Incubator program is a competitive five-day intensive program that includes networking opportunities, a Market Lab, and a Pitching Breakfast with industry representatives. The CaribbeanTales Showcase and Incubator takes place at the Harbourfront Center during the world-renowned Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), offering cross-promotional opportunities. Six projects have been selected including 'Cargo'.
Mortimer said, "CaribbeanTales is a pioneer in how it supports Caribbean films and its storytellers. I am grateful to be a part of such a wonderful program that will help launch one of my most personal projects to date."
For more information on the upcoming production of "Cargo", visit www.mercuryrisingmedia.com.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

CT 2012 : Exile And The Search For Home

2012-08-26T09:37:00.001-07:00

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in the U.S., award-winning filmmaker Guetty Felin says she came of age cinematically while completing graduate studies in Paris, where she was an associate producer for the series "Écrire Contre L'oubli" (Write Against Forgetting) which aired in commemoration of Amnesty International's 30th anniversary. She has since added other roles to her filmmaking credentials, including distributor, marketing/outreach director, screenplay reader, voiceover narrator, curator and teacher. In 2008 she, filmmaker husband Hervé Cohen, and their two sons travelled America to make Closer to the Dream, "an engaging and particularly well-crafted documentary" according to Le Monde. In Closer to the Dream they followed the grassroots movement and primary campaign which resulted in the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States.

"As a child of immigrants," says Guetty Felin, "I'm a post-modern gypsy, a hybrid, and my trajectory and cultural identity pretty much pervades my sensibility as a filmmaker. Cinema is how I engage the world around me, how I explore haunting themes such as memory, exile, foreignness, and the unending search for home." The film she is showcasing at CaribbeanTales 2012 is yet another demonstration of this mindset. Filmed in the aftermath of the earthquake which devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, Broken Stones earned an award at the Belize International Film Festival and, given the haunting subject matter, it looks poised to repeat this feat elsewhere.

With its erected columns and open air, the ruins of the cathedral resemble an ampitheatre where the daily realities of Haitian life unfold. Amidst the vestiges of what was once the most beautiful cathedral in the entire Caribbean, children play, women pray, some carry pails and jugs of water from the nearby tap, a white man dressed in black-hooded priest garb appears out of nowhere, followed by a cameraman, foreign missionaries snap pictures as they pray for lost souls in a house of worship that does not belong to them, men and women roam almost aimlessly in this post-apocalyptic setting ... Beautifully photographed, mixing cinema vérité and observational documentary style, this well-crafted poetic film is personal and yet endearingly political. Haiti, as it has rarely been shown.

Guetty Felin is participating in the 2012 CaribbeanTales Incubator Program and Broken Stones will be screened at 6PM on September 12, 2012, in Harbourfront Centre's Studio Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here and don't forget to follow CaribbeanTales on Twitter and Facebook.

jph

CT 2012 : Transcending Cultures And Genres

2012-08-25T07:54:00.001-07:00

Sue-Ellen Chitunya is an emerging filmmaker who splits her time between the U.S. and her native Zimbabwe. The Georgia State University graduate is now in the process of completing a graduate degree at the University of California, her ambition and determination having already earned screenings of her work at the Short Film Corner in Cannes, Atlanta Film Festival and the Action on Film Festival. "It was like a dream come true because I really didn't think that I would go to Cannes that early in my life," Chitunya said in 2010.

As a student ambassador for Women in Film and Television Atlanta (WIFTA) she made a point of pushing more of her fellow female film students to see beyond the obstacles they regularly face. "Most of them just go to class and hope to learn everything there, but in reality you have to be a driven go-getter because it's a tough industry to break into. Experience is really important."

Chitunya is bringing A House of Stone to the 2012 CaribbeanTales Incubator Program. The film's backdrop is seething racial and political unrest as Paul's flashback narrative, at the request of his grandchildren, recalls the war for liberation fought in Zimbabwe. Loosely based on the life of her own grandfather, this journey to personal redemption fits neatly into Chitunya's goal of creating "groundbreaking projects that transcend cultures and genres."

Up-to-the minute details of the CaribbeanTales Film Festival and the Incubator Program are available on Twitter and Facebook. Tickets are available at the Harbourfront website by clicking on the film of your choice.

jph

Untitled

2012-08-24T07:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Bee at '83 To Infinity is hosting a contest for 2 tickets to the Caribbean Tales Opening Gala & screening of Menelik Shabazz' The Story Of Lovers Rock on September 5th!

Spread the details and get your entries in before August 30th!

TIME TO WIN: Enter The Caribbean Tales Gala Giveaway!

Photo source: The Examiner

Happy Thursday, y’all! I’m sooooooo excited for this post, because I’m doing my very first giveaway on the blog! Sorry to all who were inquiring after my FB post last night – I am NOT preggo, but I’m clearly overly excited about doing a blog giveaway…lol!

Remember yesterday’s post about the Caribbean Tales Film Festival, opening on September 5th? Well, get ready – the lovely people at Caribbean Tales have graciously given me a pair of tickets to the opening gala, and I want to give them to one lucky ’83 To Infinity reader!

The Prize:

Tickets for you and a friend to the Caribbean Tales Opening Gala and screening, hosted by the Toronto Consulate General for the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. The gala and screening will be held in Toronto on September 5th starting at 6:30pm, and the film screening begins at 8:30pm. Live music will be provided by Kobo Town – a Toronto-based, Trinidad-influenced calypso band, and DJs giving us the best in Caribbean music. Among the scheduled attendees are Motion (spoken word poet, emcee, and playwright – did y’all catch Aneemah’s Spot?), Cameron Bailey (Artistic Director of the Toronto Int’l Film Festival), Frances-Anne Solomon (founder of Caribbean Tales), and obviously, the Toronto Consulate General for T&T. The main feature of the night will be the screening of The Story of Lovers Rock by Menelik Shabazz, and all this is goin’ down at the beautiful Harbourfront Centre Lakeside Terrace!

How To Win:

Step 1: Follow Caribbean Tales on Twitter and/or Facebook (provided you have Twitter/Facebook and aren’t following them already )

Step 2: Email me at bee@83toinfinity.com or comment below and let me know YOUR favourite Caribbean movie – Shottas? How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Pirates of the Caribbean? If the Caribbean is involved, I wanna know!

WANT BONUS POINTS? Visit the Caribbean Tales Schedule at a Glance, and let me know which feature film you would be most interested in watching!

Get it? Got it? Good! The lucky winner will be announced on August 30th, so get involved, tell a friend to tell a friend, and get those entries in!

Good luck y’all!