Avatar actress Cch Pounder and Academy Award-nominated producer Paul Garnes will attend the inaugural Cross Continental International Co-production Forum (Ccf) in Barbados.
They’ll join media executives and high level producers from Canada, the UK, South Africa and several Caribbean countries at the event, which aims to encourage collaboration, business development, and co-productions.
Pounder and Garnes will add some heavyweight fire power to proceedings. Known for roles in the likes of ER, NCIS: New Orleans, The X Files and The Shield, she has picked up four Primetime Emmy nominations.
Garnes is best known for his work on 2014 feature Selma, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. He was a producer on Ava DuVernay’s 2023 feature Origin, a drama on the life of Isabel Wilkerson that will be screened at the Ccf.
The CeventCF is being billed as a first-of-its-kind venture established by CaribbeanTales Media Group, Imagine Media International,...
They’ll join media executives and high level producers from Canada, the UK, South Africa and several Caribbean countries at the event, which aims to encourage collaboration, business development, and co-productions.
Pounder and Garnes will add some heavyweight fire power to proceedings. Known for roles in the likes of ER, NCIS: New Orleans, The X Files and The Shield, she has picked up four Primetime Emmy nominations.
Garnes is best known for his work on 2014 feature Selma, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. He was a producer on Ava DuVernay’s 2023 feature Origin, a drama on the life of Isabel Wilkerson that will be screened at the Ccf.
The CeventCF is being billed as a first-of-its-kind venture established by CaribbeanTales Media Group, Imagine Media International,...
- 4/9/2024
- by Hannah Abraham
- Deadline Film + TV
Ariane Labed’s ’Sisters’ and Uberto Pasolini’s ’The Return’, starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, have also received backing.
Documentaries Barbie Uncovered, Justice For Magdalenes and Beast are among the nine titles to receive funding from the British Film Institute (BFI) through the UK Global Screen Fund, via the fund’s international co-production strand.
It is financed through the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms). This round, the awards allocate over £1.2m to support UK producers to work as partners on international co-productions. To date the strand has now awarded over £5m to 33 co-productions.
The awards,...
Documentaries Barbie Uncovered, Justice For Magdalenes and Beast are among the nine titles to receive funding from the British Film Institute (BFI) through the UK Global Screen Fund, via the fund’s international co-production strand.
It is financed through the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms). This round, the awards allocate over £1.2m to support UK producers to work as partners on international co-productions. To date the strand has now awarded over £5m to 33 co-productions.
The awards,...
- 7/25/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
TV documentary “Barbie Uncovered” and an adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey” starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are among the latest projects awarded by the U.K. Global Screen Fund.
On “Barbie Uncovered,” an unofficial majority U.K. co-production with New Zealand, the U.K. producers are Ross Wilson from Rw Productions and Alan Clements from Two Media Rivers who will co-produce with New Zealand’s Daniel Story and Cass Avery from Augusto. It will be directed by Eddie Hutton-Mills and focuses on the unknown history of the global icon Barbie and the dramatic and dark story behind the creation of the world’s most famous doll.
On “The Odyssey” adaptation “The Return,” a minority U.K. co-production with Italy, Greece and France made under the European Convention, the U.K. producers are James Clayton and Uberto Pasolini from Red Wave Films who will co‐produce with Italy’s...
On “Barbie Uncovered,” an unofficial majority U.K. co-production with New Zealand, the U.K. producers are Ross Wilson from Rw Productions and Alan Clements from Two Media Rivers who will co-produce with New Zealand’s Daniel Story and Cass Avery from Augusto. It will be directed by Eddie Hutton-Mills and focuses on the unknown history of the global icon Barbie and the dramatic and dark story behind the creation of the world’s most famous doll.
On “The Odyssey” adaptation “The Return,” a minority U.K. co-production with Italy, Greece and France made under the European Convention, the U.K. producers are James Clayton and Uberto Pasolini from Red Wave Films who will co‐produce with Italy’s...
- 7/25/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The list of candidates for the 2020 Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors election is now out, with the winner in each branch being chosen directly from these entries rather than whittling it down to four finalists in each, as has been done previously. The list of candidates is made up of qualified AMPAS members who actually submit themselves.
Also new this year in the streamlined timetable, as Deadline exclusively reported May 16. The winners for the 17 open slots on the 54-member board will be chosen by preferential balloting, just like Best Picture race at the Oscars. Voting begins Monday and ballots are due back June 5.
The actors branch is the largest in the Academy and it also has drawn the biggest field of contenders for the one spot that is up. Incumbent governor Whoopi Goldberg is running for re-election against past governor Ed Begley Jr. vying to return to the board.
Also new this year in the streamlined timetable, as Deadline exclusively reported May 16. The winners for the 17 open slots on the 54-member board will be chosen by preferential balloting, just like Best Picture race at the Oscars. Voting begins Monday and ballots are due back June 5.
The actors branch is the largest in the Academy and it also has drawn the biggest field of contenders for the one spot that is up. Incumbent governor Whoopi Goldberg is running for re-election against past governor Ed Begley Jr. vying to return to the board.
- 5/29/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Whoopi Goldberg will be facing 18 other actors who want her seat on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors, the Academy revealed to its members on Friday.
The Academy posted the list of candidates for the board from all 17 of its branches, with incumbent Actors Branch governor Goldberg going up against a slate of challengers that includes past governor Ed Begley Jr., as well as Richard Dreyfuss, James and Stacy Keach, Tim Matheson, Joe Pantoliano, Lou Diamond Phillips and Rita Wilson, whose husband, Tom Hanks, served on the board for many years.
Other branches whose contenders hit double digits included Cinematographers (12), Directors (13), Executives (12), Producers (16), Sound (10) and Visual Effects (10).
But the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch, in which incumbent Kathryn Blondell was ineligible to run again, has only a single candidate, Linda Flowers.
Also Read: Oscars Board Election Has New Rules - But Expect the Same Old Results
Blondell,...
The Academy posted the list of candidates for the board from all 17 of its branches, with incumbent Actors Branch governor Goldberg going up against a slate of challengers that includes past governor Ed Begley Jr., as well as Richard Dreyfuss, James and Stacy Keach, Tim Matheson, Joe Pantoliano, Lou Diamond Phillips and Rita Wilson, whose husband, Tom Hanks, served on the board for many years.
Other branches whose contenders hit double digits included Cinematographers (12), Directors (13), Executives (12), Producers (16), Sound (10) and Visual Effects (10).
But the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch, in which incumbent Kathryn Blondell was ineligible to run again, has only a single candidate, Linda Flowers.
Also Read: Oscars Board Election Has New Rules - But Expect the Same Old Results
Blondell,...
- 5/29/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The list of candidates for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2020-2021 Board of Governors has been unveiled to members.
Voting begins on June 1 and ends on June 5.
Candidates run for three-year terms with a maximum of three terms. Each branch has three seats on the board. Only one of those seats is open each year because terms are staggered.
The candidates were posted on the Academy members’ portal on Friday afternoon. Below is the complete list (divided by branch) of those running for spots on the board.
Actors
Michael Lee Aday
Ed Begley, Jr.
Robert Carradine
Nicolas Coster
Colman Domingo
Richard Dreyfuss
Spencer Garrett
Bruce Glover
Whoopi Goldberg (incumbent)
James Keach
Stacy Keach
Peter Wong
Jodi Long
Tim Matheson
Joe Pantoliano
Lou Diamond Phillips
Andrea Riseborough
Andrew Stevens
Rita Wilson
Casting Directors
Kerry Barden
Richard Hicks
Margery Simkin
Debra Zane
Cinematographers
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Richard P. Crudo
Svetlana Cvetko...
Voting begins on June 1 and ends on June 5.
Candidates run for three-year terms with a maximum of three terms. Each branch has three seats on the board. Only one of those seats is open each year because terms are staggered.
The candidates were posted on the Academy members’ portal on Friday afternoon. Below is the complete list (divided by branch) of those running for spots on the board.
Actors
Michael Lee Aday
Ed Begley, Jr.
Robert Carradine
Nicolas Coster
Colman Domingo
Richard Dreyfuss
Spencer Garrett
Bruce Glover
Whoopi Goldberg (incumbent)
James Keach
Stacy Keach
Peter Wong
Jodi Long
Tim Matheson
Joe Pantoliano
Lou Diamond Phillips
Andrea Riseborough
Andrew Stevens
Rita Wilson
Casting Directors
Kerry Barden
Richard Hicks
Margery Simkin
Debra Zane
Cinematographers
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Richard P. Crudo
Svetlana Cvetko...
- 5/29/2020
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
The Opening Night Party of Caribbean Tales Film Festival took place the night before Tiff kicked off.It was a street party, and it was great, beautifully dressed women, fabulous young men and women, the music, people smiling and nice as you walk in…friendly.Frances-Anne Solomon in middle, pointing, next to the MP in beige jacket.
Friendlier perhaps, more open than in the USA, my companion for the evening Alex Bendahan said as we discussed how good it felt to be at the party, in Canada…the end of the Underground Railway.
Alex is in post on what he plans to be the first of five docs on music of certain islands in the Caribbean. We are in Toronto along with Peter Belsito talking with international sales agents and festivals about his film, Parlez-Vous Musique? Of course, he met the founder of this 14-year-old festival, Frances- Anne Solomon and...
Friendlier perhaps, more open than in the USA, my companion for the evening Alex Bendahan said as we discussed how good it felt to be at the party, in Canada…the end of the Underground Railway.
Alex is in post on what he plans to be the first of five docs on music of certain islands in the Caribbean. We are in Toronto along with Peter Belsito talking with international sales agents and festivals about his film, Parlez-Vous Musique? Of course, he met the founder of this 14-year-old festival, Frances- Anne Solomon and...
- 9/29/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
A thought-provoking drama-documentary about Ulric Cross, an Raf pilot and diplomat who was a go-between in several African countries’ independence struggles
Released to coincide with Windrush Day, this engaged drama-documentary pays tribute to Ulric Cross, the Trinidadian who became the most decorated of the Raf’s West Indian recruits during the second world war; he later became a producer-presenter with the BBC, then a go-between in several African countries’ struggles against imperialism.
From the off, writer-director Frances-Anne Solomon strikes a wistful note, wavering between celebration of an extraordinary existence and regret around the aims unachieved in that lifetime. Footage of the actual, ailing Cross prompts daughter Nicola to remark that, to winkle these details out, “it’s just so silly that it takes some dying”. As Britain re-examines where it stands in relation to the Windrush arrivals, it is timely viewing, to say the least, though it finally offers an...
Released to coincide with Windrush Day, this engaged drama-documentary pays tribute to Ulric Cross, the Trinidadian who became the most decorated of the Raf’s West Indian recruits during the second world war; he later became a producer-presenter with the BBC, then a go-between in several African countries’ struggles against imperialism.
From the off, writer-director Frances-Anne Solomon strikes a wistful note, wavering between celebration of an extraordinary existence and regret around the aims unachieved in that lifetime. Footage of the actual, ailing Cross prompts daughter Nicola to remark that, to winkle these details out, “it’s just so silly that it takes some dying”. As Britain re-examines where it stands in relation to the Windrush arrivals, it is timely viewing, to say the least, though it finally offers an...
- 6/21/2019
- by Mike McCahill
- The Guardian - Film News
Durban — Fresh off the success of their inaugural partnership in 2017, the Durban FilmMart and CaribbeanTales – a group of companies dedicated to the production, distribution and promotion of content from the Caribbean region and its diaspora – have re-upped their agreement for CineFAM – Africa 2.0, a training and mentorship program during this year’s Durban FilmMart that looks to build capacity and create leadership opportunities for South African women of color working in TV.
Coming at a time of increased scrutiny of racial and gender inequality in film and TV industries around the world, CineFAM – Africa provides six South African producers with an intensive training course while offering “the knowledge and the tools and the opportunity” to bring their developing projects to market, according to CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution VP Nicole Brooks. “We really wanted to emphasize film and television content by…diverse women,” she said, calling the incubator “a launching pad” for its participants.
Coming at a time of increased scrutiny of racial and gender inequality in film and TV industries around the world, CineFAM – Africa provides six South African producers with an intensive training course while offering “the knowledge and the tools and the opportunity” to bring their developing projects to market, according to CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution VP Nicole Brooks. “We really wanted to emphasize film and television content by…diverse women,” she said, calling the incubator “a launching pad” for its participants.
- 7/19/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Eight women directors from across Canada have been selected to attend the 20th annual session of Women In the Director’s Chair (Widc), which includes the pilot program, Widc Story & Leadership. Over the coming months this top-notch group of content creators will develop their feature films and web series, working with an ensemble of hand-picked professional actors, technicians and other industry experts. A major component of the program takes the form of an Industry Immersion at the 15th anniversary Whistler Film Festival (December 2-6), and culminates with a three-month mentorship tailored to advance each director’s project.
Mounting their sophomore feature films are East coast favorites, Mary Walsh ("A Christmas Fury," based on the characters from the riotously-funny TV series "Hatching, Matching and Dispatching"), Anita Reilly McGee ("Black Mammy"), and Widc Feature Film Award-winner, Jordan Canning ("Suck It Up"). Weaving fiction into their prolific body of documentary works from Ontario are, Maya Gallus ("Nights in the Underground"), and Frances-Anne Solomon ("Hero"). Also from Ontario is Nicole Dorsey , developing a debut feature "Black Conflux," along with BC-based actress Ana De Lara ("The Virgin Mary Had a Little Lamb"). Multiple award-winner Marie Clements is developing a new interactive web series "Crooked Bones," based on the true story of First Nations artist, Connie Watts.
"Widc understands that being committed to bringing women’s voices to the screen means investing in the storyteller. Not simply as a “one off” but as a continued partnership between stakeholders who recognize that the development of skill, process, and creation has lasting and profound value,” states Metis actor/ writer/director, Marie Clements. “I am honored to be in this year’s Story & Leadership Program with some of Canada’s most talented and innovative filmmakers."
Award-winning director Rachel Talalay ("Dr. Who," "Tank Girl") will be one of this year’s key mentors focusing on directing action. This year’s line up also includes peer mentors, award-winning Widc alumnae, writer/directors Siobhan Devine ("The Birdwatcher," which premieres at the Whistler Film Festival), and web series creator Karen Lam ("Mythos"), along with popular Widc instructors, writer and Jungian expert, Dr. Carolyn Mamchur , and screen-writer / story consultant Linda Coffey ("These Arms of Mine"). Industry guests include, John Galway (Harold Greenberg Fund), Maureen Levitt , (Super Channel), independent producer, Lael McCall , (Principia Productions), and Telefilm Canada’s Lauren Davis .
“Taking part in this Widc workshop makes me excited about the possibility of someday having television and film represent the perspectives of women, “ states Mary Walsh, a recipient of the Order of Canada and the Governor General’s Lifetime Achievement Award in the Performing Arts. “Although women make up 51% of the Canadian population, they comprise less than 20% of the directors and screenwriters working in Canadian Film.”
The Women In the Director’s Chair (Widc) program has earned an international reputation for propelling over two hundred Canadian women directors’ skills, stories and careers to the next level of excellence. Creative Women Workshops Association, The Banff Centre and Actra (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) have been Widc collaborators, and Telefilm Canada has been a major sponsor since the program’s 1997 inception. Widc and the Whistler Film Festival collaborate again through the Widc Wff Industry Immersion.
The Festival’s online box office is now open for Industry Passes, Festival Passes and Ticket Packages allowing you to select your films in advance and share them with friends and family.
New for 2015 , Wff has introduced a Festival Credential that provides access to the Music Café, ShortWork Showdown and Festival Lodge, and is included in select ticket packages if purchased by October 31.
Air travel and ground transportation deals as well as best accommodation rates starting from $89 per night are now available. The Westin Whistler Resort and Spa is Wff’s official host hotel. Wff has 20 accommodation partners to choose from that offer special rates to Whistler Film Festival attendees. Book your accommodation early to ensure your perfect match and price. For information, go to whistlerfilmfestival.com.
Mounting their sophomore feature films are East coast favorites, Mary Walsh ("A Christmas Fury," based on the characters from the riotously-funny TV series "Hatching, Matching and Dispatching"), Anita Reilly McGee ("Black Mammy"), and Widc Feature Film Award-winner, Jordan Canning ("Suck It Up"). Weaving fiction into their prolific body of documentary works from Ontario are, Maya Gallus ("Nights in the Underground"), and Frances-Anne Solomon ("Hero"). Also from Ontario is Nicole Dorsey , developing a debut feature "Black Conflux," along with BC-based actress Ana De Lara ("The Virgin Mary Had a Little Lamb"). Multiple award-winner Marie Clements is developing a new interactive web series "Crooked Bones," based on the true story of First Nations artist, Connie Watts.
"Widc understands that being committed to bringing women’s voices to the screen means investing in the storyteller. Not simply as a “one off” but as a continued partnership between stakeholders who recognize that the development of skill, process, and creation has lasting and profound value,” states Metis actor/ writer/director, Marie Clements. “I am honored to be in this year’s Story & Leadership Program with some of Canada’s most talented and innovative filmmakers."
Award-winning director Rachel Talalay ("Dr. Who," "Tank Girl") will be one of this year’s key mentors focusing on directing action. This year’s line up also includes peer mentors, award-winning Widc alumnae, writer/directors Siobhan Devine ("The Birdwatcher," which premieres at the Whistler Film Festival), and web series creator Karen Lam ("Mythos"), along with popular Widc instructors, writer and Jungian expert, Dr. Carolyn Mamchur , and screen-writer / story consultant Linda Coffey ("These Arms of Mine"). Industry guests include, John Galway (Harold Greenberg Fund), Maureen Levitt , (Super Channel), independent producer, Lael McCall , (Principia Productions), and Telefilm Canada’s Lauren Davis .
“Taking part in this Widc workshop makes me excited about the possibility of someday having television and film represent the perspectives of women, “ states Mary Walsh, a recipient of the Order of Canada and the Governor General’s Lifetime Achievement Award in the Performing Arts. “Although women make up 51% of the Canadian population, they comprise less than 20% of the directors and screenwriters working in Canadian Film.”
The Women In the Director’s Chair (Widc) program has earned an international reputation for propelling over two hundred Canadian women directors’ skills, stories and careers to the next level of excellence. Creative Women Workshops Association, The Banff Centre and Actra (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) have been Widc collaborators, and Telefilm Canada has been a major sponsor since the program’s 1997 inception. Widc and the Whistler Film Festival collaborate again through the Widc Wff Industry Immersion.
The Festival’s online box office is now open for Industry Passes, Festival Passes and Ticket Packages allowing you to select your films in advance and share them with friends and family.
New for 2015 , Wff has introduced a Festival Credential that provides access to the Music Café, ShortWork Showdown and Festival Lodge, and is included in select ticket packages if purchased by October 31.
Air travel and ground transportation deals as well as best accommodation rates starting from $89 per night are now available. The Westin Whistler Resort and Spa is Wff’s official host hotel. Wff has 20 accommodation partners to choose from that offer special rates to Whistler Film Festival attendees. Book your accommodation early to ensure your perfect match and price. For information, go to whistlerfilmfestival.com.
- 10/15/2015
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
For the fourth consecutive year the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (Ctff),which takes place in Toronto,Canada, will present a program titled Queer Caribbean, an exploration of the contemporary Queer Caribbean experience. A total of seven films (three features and four shorts) in this years 10-day festival, will throw a spotlight on issues of sexuality and gender from a Caribbean perspective. This year's Queer Caribbean is co-presented by MasQUEERade, Toronto's premier Caribbean and diaspora Lgbtqqia+ community organization.
“CaribbeanTales continues to have its finger on the pulse of a dynamic movement of evolving film expression across the region and its Diaspora,” said founder and filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon. “In just ten years, a very short period of time, our film stories have matured to become stunningly assured, explosive, transgressive, probing, beautiful and urgent. And this is what we see represented on screen in this year’s selections.”
The film selection includes Venezuelan feature "Pelo Malo," a provocative film about a young boy's search for beauty, the short film "You. Me. Bathroom. S*x. Now.," and the Canadian Premier of the extraordinary and moving documentary about the Peurto Rican trans community, "Mala Mala."
Jamea Zuberi, founder of MasQUEERade, saids "It's great to have the opportunity to use film as a medium to educate and celebrate Caribbean arts, culture and experiences to the MasQUEERade community and beyond."
Ctff 2015 kicks off its 10th Anniversary with a Gala Caribbean Reception and Screening on Wednesday September 9th, at the Royal Cinema, 608 College Street in Toronto.
Festival screenings will continue at The Royal Cinema, Sunday - Friday, September 13 - 18 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. daily. On Closing Night, Saturday September 19, there will be three screenings at 3:50 p.m., 6:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
Schedule: Queer Caribbean Programming
Tuesday September 15
9:15 p.m.
Theme: “Caribbean Masculinities”
Feature: "Pelo Malo"
Mariana Rondón, Venezuela, 2013, 93 min, Spanish, R
Turmoil is created when a nine-year old boy's obsession with straightening his "bad hair" for his school picture causes his single widowed mother to worry about the boy's identity. Junior is a nine-year-old boy who has stubbornly curly hair, or "bad hair" that he wants to have straightened for his school picture, like a fashionable pop singer. This puts him at odds with his mother Marta, a young, unemployed widow. Overwhelmed by what it takes to survive in the chaotic city of Caracas, Marta finds it increasingly difficult to tolerate Junior's fixation with his looks, fearing that it also means that her son is homosexual. This film tackles issues of race and sexual identity through external appearances in the Venezuelan society.
Awards: Bronze Alexander, Thessaloniki 2013; Fipresci Award, International Film Critics, Thessaloniki 2013; Best Director, Best Screenplay, Mar del Plata Film Festival, 2013; Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Torino Film Festival 2013; Best Caribbean Film, Puerto Rico Film Festival 2013; Best Director, Vina del Mar Film Festival 2013; Best Performance, Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal 2013.
Short: "Going Beyond"
Damien Pinder, Barbados, 2014, 15min, English, PG
Wednesday September 16
9:15 p.m.
Theme: “Borders of Love"
Feature: "Sand Dollars"
Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán, Dominican Republic/Mexico, 2014, 83 min, Spanish/English, R
"Sand Dollars" is a delicate examination of the relationship between a local woman, her wealthy, expatriate lover and her boyfriend. This film is a nuanced portrait of an older, well to do European woman, Anne (Geraldine Chaplin) who is in love with Noeli (Yanet Mojica) in the idyllic seaside town, Samana, in the Dominican Republic. Their relationship is complex, a mixture of real affection also tainted by the money that Anne gives Noeli regularly, which makes Noeli’s boyfriend encourage the relationship. In this complex inter-web Anne (sensitively played by Chaplin) falls hopelessly in love with Noeli (who lives with her boyfriend), even as Noeli is torn between leaving with Anne and staying with her man. Love brings a flow of entanglements in a drama which unfolds like palm trees in an irresistible storm.
Awards: Cairo International Film Festival, Fipresci Prize; Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo Best Actress Geraldine Chaplin Cine Cearo - National Cinema Festival - Feature Film Trophy Best Sound; Havana Film Festival, Best Actress Geraldine Chaplin; Nashville Film Festival Best Actress Geraldine Chaplin.
Short: "Glass Bottom Boat"
Kyle Walcott, Tobago, 2014, 15 min, English, PG
Saturday September 19
9:15 p.m.
Closing Night & Awards
Theme: “Queer Caribbean”
Co-presented by Jamea Zuberi of MasQUEErade
Feature: "Mala Mala"
Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles, Puerto Rico, 2014, 89 min, Spanish, R
"Mala Mala" is a feature length documentary exploring the lives of Puerto Ricans in the trans-community. It is an evocative examination of the transgender world in Puerto Rico; from the glam and glitter of the drag queens to the strong desire to be accepted as part of the mainstream community in Puerto Rico, as themselves. The oldest member of the cast of characters, Soraya Santiago Solla, is a pioneer of the gender change movement in Puerto Rico and makes the distinction that people do not have to be dolls to be women, while Sophia Voines simply wants to be accepted as herself, a woman. This film is at times graphic in its presentation to a general audience but leaves no doubt that in the end, that there is a human rights issue at stake when it comes to the transgender community being a welcome and legal part of the wider society, in the supermarket, on the street and especially in the workplace.
Short: " You, Me, Bathroom S*x, Now"(Canadian Premiere)
Francisco Lupini Basagoiti, USA, 2012, 17 min, Spanish, R
Three days before Christmas, Antonio finds out that his boyfriend of 8 years is cheating on him. Heartbroken, he looks for solace in his favorite dive bar where a mysterious visitor has a keen interest in him. A comedy about a man who tries to forget about love, in all the wrong places.
Short: "Chham Chham"
Maneesh, Canada, 2014, 4 min, English, PG14
In this digital story Maneesh explores how his own culture and gender queer-ness are expressed and reinforced across borders. From memories that span childhood days in Trinidad to performances on Canadian stages, Sheesha looks at how she celebrates her femininity and Indo-Caribbean heritage on colonized lands. It is in that exquisite sound – resonating from tiny pieces of metal rhythmically clashing into each other – where discovery begins.
Tickets can be purchased online Here...
“CaribbeanTales continues to have its finger on the pulse of a dynamic movement of evolving film expression across the region and its Diaspora,” said founder and filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon. “In just ten years, a very short period of time, our film stories have matured to become stunningly assured, explosive, transgressive, probing, beautiful and urgent. And this is what we see represented on screen in this year’s selections.”
The film selection includes Venezuelan feature "Pelo Malo," a provocative film about a young boy's search for beauty, the short film "You. Me. Bathroom. S*x. Now.," and the Canadian Premier of the extraordinary and moving documentary about the Peurto Rican trans community, "Mala Mala."
Jamea Zuberi, founder of MasQUEERade, saids "It's great to have the opportunity to use film as a medium to educate and celebrate Caribbean arts, culture and experiences to the MasQUEERade community and beyond."
Ctff 2015 kicks off its 10th Anniversary with a Gala Caribbean Reception and Screening on Wednesday September 9th, at the Royal Cinema, 608 College Street in Toronto.
Festival screenings will continue at The Royal Cinema, Sunday - Friday, September 13 - 18 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. daily. On Closing Night, Saturday September 19, there will be three screenings at 3:50 p.m., 6:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
Schedule: Queer Caribbean Programming
Tuesday September 15
9:15 p.m.
Theme: “Caribbean Masculinities”
Feature: "Pelo Malo"
Mariana Rondón, Venezuela, 2013, 93 min, Spanish, R
Turmoil is created when a nine-year old boy's obsession with straightening his "bad hair" for his school picture causes his single widowed mother to worry about the boy's identity. Junior is a nine-year-old boy who has stubbornly curly hair, or "bad hair" that he wants to have straightened for his school picture, like a fashionable pop singer. This puts him at odds with his mother Marta, a young, unemployed widow. Overwhelmed by what it takes to survive in the chaotic city of Caracas, Marta finds it increasingly difficult to tolerate Junior's fixation with his looks, fearing that it also means that her son is homosexual. This film tackles issues of race and sexual identity through external appearances in the Venezuelan society.
Awards: Bronze Alexander, Thessaloniki 2013; Fipresci Award, International Film Critics, Thessaloniki 2013; Best Director, Best Screenplay, Mar del Plata Film Festival, 2013; Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Torino Film Festival 2013; Best Caribbean Film, Puerto Rico Film Festival 2013; Best Director, Vina del Mar Film Festival 2013; Best Performance, Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal 2013.
Short: "Going Beyond"
Damien Pinder, Barbados, 2014, 15min, English, PG
Wednesday September 16
9:15 p.m.
Theme: “Borders of Love"
Feature: "Sand Dollars"
Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán, Dominican Republic/Mexico, 2014, 83 min, Spanish/English, R
"Sand Dollars" is a delicate examination of the relationship between a local woman, her wealthy, expatriate lover and her boyfriend. This film is a nuanced portrait of an older, well to do European woman, Anne (Geraldine Chaplin) who is in love with Noeli (Yanet Mojica) in the idyllic seaside town, Samana, in the Dominican Republic. Their relationship is complex, a mixture of real affection also tainted by the money that Anne gives Noeli regularly, which makes Noeli’s boyfriend encourage the relationship. In this complex inter-web Anne (sensitively played by Chaplin) falls hopelessly in love with Noeli (who lives with her boyfriend), even as Noeli is torn between leaving with Anne and staying with her man. Love brings a flow of entanglements in a drama which unfolds like palm trees in an irresistible storm.
Awards: Cairo International Film Festival, Fipresci Prize; Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo Best Actress Geraldine Chaplin Cine Cearo - National Cinema Festival - Feature Film Trophy Best Sound; Havana Film Festival, Best Actress Geraldine Chaplin; Nashville Film Festival Best Actress Geraldine Chaplin.
Short: "Glass Bottom Boat"
Kyle Walcott, Tobago, 2014, 15 min, English, PG
Saturday September 19
9:15 p.m.
Closing Night & Awards
Theme: “Queer Caribbean”
Co-presented by Jamea Zuberi of MasQUEErade
Feature: "Mala Mala"
Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles, Puerto Rico, 2014, 89 min, Spanish, R
"Mala Mala" is a feature length documentary exploring the lives of Puerto Ricans in the trans-community. It is an evocative examination of the transgender world in Puerto Rico; from the glam and glitter of the drag queens to the strong desire to be accepted as part of the mainstream community in Puerto Rico, as themselves. The oldest member of the cast of characters, Soraya Santiago Solla, is a pioneer of the gender change movement in Puerto Rico and makes the distinction that people do not have to be dolls to be women, while Sophia Voines simply wants to be accepted as herself, a woman. This film is at times graphic in its presentation to a general audience but leaves no doubt that in the end, that there is a human rights issue at stake when it comes to the transgender community being a welcome and legal part of the wider society, in the supermarket, on the street and especially in the workplace.
Short: " You, Me, Bathroom S*x, Now"(Canadian Premiere)
Francisco Lupini Basagoiti, USA, 2012, 17 min, Spanish, R
Three days before Christmas, Antonio finds out that his boyfriend of 8 years is cheating on him. Heartbroken, he looks for solace in his favorite dive bar where a mysterious visitor has a keen interest in him. A comedy about a man who tries to forget about love, in all the wrong places.
Short: "Chham Chham"
Maneesh, Canada, 2014, 4 min, English, PG14
In this digital story Maneesh explores how his own culture and gender queer-ness are expressed and reinforced across borders. From memories that span childhood days in Trinidad to performances on Canadian stages, Sheesha looks at how she celebrates her femininity and Indo-Caribbean heritage on colonized lands. It is in that exquisite sound – resonating from tiny pieces of metal rhythmically clashing into each other – where discovery begins.
Tickets can be purchased online Here...
- 8/21/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
At a recent media launch held at the Consulate General for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto on July 8th, CaribbeanTales unveiled its 2015 Program. The standing- room-only event featured many Toronto luminaries, and was Mc'd by the Honourable Jean Augustine, PC, Cm with speakers including T&T Consul General Dr. Vidya Gyan Tota-Maharaj, CaribbeanTales founder and Executive Director Frances-Anne Solomon, Programmer Christopher Pinheiro, Partnerships Coordinator Emmy Pantin, and Incubator Chair Dr. Rita Shelton-Deverell. “CaribbeanTales continues to have its finger on the pulse of a dynamic movement of evolving film expression across the region and its Diaspora,”...
- 7/20/2015
- by CaribbeanTales
- ShadowAndAct
Announced this morning by Frances-Anne Solomon, CEO of the CaribbeanTales Group of Media Companies - the official launch of its new video-on-demand (VOD) platform CaribbeanTales-TV, an online project specializing in Caribbean-themed film and television content. Ct-tv is part-funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and aims to target regional and global audiences for Caribbean film, which includes many of you I'm sure. There aren't exactly a lot of web portals where one can go and watch a curated selection of films from the Caribbean. The online platform has developed from a year-long collaboration between Solomon and German filmmaker and entrepreneur Cay Wesnigk, CEO of...
- 9/12/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Full details via press release from CaribbeanTales... Frances-Anne Solomon, CEO of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution (Ctwd), the region’s premier film marketing and distribution entity, has announced that eleven of the Caribbean Diaspora's most promising filmmakers will participate in Ctwd’s highly effective Market Incubator Program that will take place as part of the 8th Annual CaribbeanTales Toronto Film Showcase. The Incubator will be held from September 3-8 at the University of Toronto, and the Tiff Bell Lightbox. Now in its fourth year, the Program brings together established producers and mentors from Canada and the Caribbean Region who will school Caribbean content...
- 8/28/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Having just finished with the Berlinale, the Talent Campus project manager Christine Trostrum and I were surprised to see each other on this side of the world! But here we were sitting next to each other at the Talent Campus in Guadalajara.
In collaboration with the Berlinale Talent Campus of the International Film Festival of Berlin and the Goethe-Institut Mexico, Ficg is currently presenting the fourth edition of Talent Campus Guadalajara (Tcg.04), from 1 to 5 March 2012. The fourth edition of Stc focuses on promoting the quest for a true narrative of the emerging American filmmakers. This year's motto: Emerging Narratives: Facing the reality . This theme is guiding the campus activities.
For 27 years Ficg (Festival de Cine de Guadalajara) has sought to build a solid film industry in Mexico and Ibero America. For this purpose, the Festival created a section to serve as platform for learning and enhancing young filmmakers' abilities regarding different aspects of audiovisual creation. The Education section strives to promote and provoke the development of young filmmakers by bringing future talents the experience and knowledge of international film experts. Dialogue, teaching, collaboration and the sharing of concepts, ideas and methods contribute to the professional instruction of future audiovisual creators.
I went to a panel that my friend Christine Davila (Associate Programmer for Sundance, former mentor at The Literacy Project and all around film festival activist) was participating in called Stories on Everyone's Lips: Dialogue about distribution and the new ways to take advantage of social networks and new technologies in order to distribute films. Along with Christine Davila on the panel were Cynthia Kane of Itvs which is a part of Public Broadcasting System providing funding for 10 international documentaries a year out of around 500 submissions. She stressed that Latin American submissions were low and they were seeking more submissions. They fund up to $100,000 a film as a co-producer (the money is not a grant), assist in finding the best international documentary broadcasters, digital platforms and community outreach. Also on the panel were Leonardo Zimbrón, an independent producer from Mexico who has also worked with major studios and as a result has some experience of how Mexican films travel abroad, Patrice Vivancos from Media in Brussel and Frances-Anne Solomon from Caribbean Tales in Toronto and Barbados. The moderator was Claas Danielsen the Artistic Director of Dok Leipzig, Europe's oldest documentary film festival.
Panels are delicate events which need to offer realism but not the sort of realism that so often warns young filmmakers "Don't go here, it's not possible, etc." The social networking aspect, as always, creates the most dynamic discussions because the fact is, very few know its actual monetary results and everyone has a hope and an opinion. This panel skirted the dangerous area of discouragement when the dialogue between the panelists and the audience began. The big question, as always, was how to make money through new digital media. There was too little talk about the crowd sourcing methods now in vogue and too little knowledge from the participants to give accurate accounts of films that did make money on the internet such as Margin Call which grossed $4 million at the box office and another $4 million on digital platforms. And the contrast between U.S. and Mexico with their New World optimism and Europe with its Old World stance was marked by the 4 to 1 participation, the 1 being European Patrice Vivancos from Media who repeatedly referred to his age as a factor in his own negative reaction to new media platforms.
One of the most interesting topics was brought up by Frances-Anne Solomon when she told of iTunes searching the Caribbean for films so it could make a brand similar to the very one she is building of Caribbean Tales, voices from the diaspora and from the islands themselves. They pulled the typical major co-option option on her. I often write of the indie successes being co-opted by majors. iTunes warned her that they were bigger than she was, so she should give up hope. However, when they go to the Caribbean (and other places I'm sure) looking for films, they do not have the ability to make a film stand out by creating brands that fit below their iTune moniker. Nor do they take on individual films. Rather, they advise the filmmakers to go to aggregators such as Cinetic, New Video, Imagination or The Film Collaborative. No Caribbean brand exists with these aggregators and yet Frances-Anne was unkindly told she was too small to become an iTunes aggregator. Those are fighting words, especially since she and her company's films serve a much larger and more diverse audience than individual consumers who may or may not be searching for Caribbean culture. Caribbean Voices creates larger educational projects for schools, universities, libraries and community groups. iTunes is even eyeing the educational world. Caribbean Tales serves as an object lesson for what is happening today in the new media world for new voices which have been so separated from the possibility of being heard until this digital era.
How are the Davids of the world (the 99%) going to bring the 1% Goliaths to account for their well-being?...
In collaboration with the Berlinale Talent Campus of the International Film Festival of Berlin and the Goethe-Institut Mexico, Ficg is currently presenting the fourth edition of Talent Campus Guadalajara (Tcg.04), from 1 to 5 March 2012. The fourth edition of Stc focuses on promoting the quest for a true narrative of the emerging American filmmakers. This year's motto: Emerging Narratives: Facing the reality . This theme is guiding the campus activities.
For 27 years Ficg (Festival de Cine de Guadalajara) has sought to build a solid film industry in Mexico and Ibero America. For this purpose, the Festival created a section to serve as platform for learning and enhancing young filmmakers' abilities regarding different aspects of audiovisual creation. The Education section strives to promote and provoke the development of young filmmakers by bringing future talents the experience and knowledge of international film experts. Dialogue, teaching, collaboration and the sharing of concepts, ideas and methods contribute to the professional instruction of future audiovisual creators.
I went to a panel that my friend Christine Davila (Associate Programmer for Sundance, former mentor at The Literacy Project and all around film festival activist) was participating in called Stories on Everyone's Lips: Dialogue about distribution and the new ways to take advantage of social networks and new technologies in order to distribute films. Along with Christine Davila on the panel were Cynthia Kane of Itvs which is a part of Public Broadcasting System providing funding for 10 international documentaries a year out of around 500 submissions. She stressed that Latin American submissions were low and they were seeking more submissions. They fund up to $100,000 a film as a co-producer (the money is not a grant), assist in finding the best international documentary broadcasters, digital platforms and community outreach. Also on the panel were Leonardo Zimbrón, an independent producer from Mexico who has also worked with major studios and as a result has some experience of how Mexican films travel abroad, Patrice Vivancos from Media in Brussel and Frances-Anne Solomon from Caribbean Tales in Toronto and Barbados. The moderator was Claas Danielsen the Artistic Director of Dok Leipzig, Europe's oldest documentary film festival.
Panels are delicate events which need to offer realism but not the sort of realism that so often warns young filmmakers "Don't go here, it's not possible, etc." The social networking aspect, as always, creates the most dynamic discussions because the fact is, very few know its actual monetary results and everyone has a hope and an opinion. This panel skirted the dangerous area of discouragement when the dialogue between the panelists and the audience began. The big question, as always, was how to make money through new digital media. There was too little talk about the crowd sourcing methods now in vogue and too little knowledge from the participants to give accurate accounts of films that did make money on the internet such as Margin Call which grossed $4 million at the box office and another $4 million on digital platforms. And the contrast between U.S. and Mexico with their New World optimism and Europe with its Old World stance was marked by the 4 to 1 participation, the 1 being European Patrice Vivancos from Media who repeatedly referred to his age as a factor in his own negative reaction to new media platforms.
One of the most interesting topics was brought up by Frances-Anne Solomon when she told of iTunes searching the Caribbean for films so it could make a brand similar to the very one she is building of Caribbean Tales, voices from the diaspora and from the islands themselves. They pulled the typical major co-option option on her. I often write of the indie successes being co-opted by majors. iTunes warned her that they were bigger than she was, so she should give up hope. However, when they go to the Caribbean (and other places I'm sure) looking for films, they do not have the ability to make a film stand out by creating brands that fit below their iTune moniker. Nor do they take on individual films. Rather, they advise the filmmakers to go to aggregators such as Cinetic, New Video, Imagination or The Film Collaborative. No Caribbean brand exists with these aggregators and yet Frances-Anne was unkindly told she was too small to become an iTunes aggregator. Those are fighting words, especially since she and her company's films serve a much larger and more diverse audience than individual consumers who may or may not be searching for Caribbean culture. Caribbean Voices creates larger educational projects for schools, universities, libraries and community groups. iTunes is even eyeing the educational world. Caribbean Tales serves as an object lesson for what is happening today in the new media world for new voices which have been so separated from the possibility of being heard until this digital era.
How are the Davids of the world (the 99%) going to bring the 1% Goliaths to account for their well-being?...
- 3/6/2012
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Frances-Anne Solomon, CEO of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, the region’s premier film marketing and distribution entity, this week announced that 15 top Caribbean filmmakers will participate in Ctwd's highly effective Market Incubator Program. The Program, now in its second year, trains Caribbean content creators in the all-important packaging and marketing of films, and will take place as part of the CaribbeanTales Toronto Film Showcase, from Sept 7-17tth at Harbourfront Centre. This year’s Core Faculty consists of: Ctwd CEO and Program Director Frances-Anne Solomon; Creative Industry Specialist, Dr. Keith Nurse; and Media Personality and Producer, Lisa Wickham. They are supported by a…...
- 8/23/2011
- Sydney's Buzz
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