One morning late in September, I woke up to the wonderful news that the short film “Charlotteville Tails” had won ‘Best Film Made in Trinidad & Tobago’ at the 2025 T&T Film Festival that had ended the day before. The film maker is my good friend, Elspeth Duncan, who won best short film in that film festival a few years ago, with “Venus and Magnet“.
In their citation, the members of the T+T Films Jury said that Charlotteville Tails is “a film which rejects easy pity and shows its audience how care and commitment both cost and count. Tough and tender, this film doesn’t shy away from dark images and hard truths about our society, and ultimately honours the virtue of taking responsibility. It distinguished itself through the uniqueness of its concept and the profound emotional impact it left on us.“
A genuine creative, Elspeth is not only my yoga teacher and an artist, published author, regular newspaper columnist, acclaimed chef, musician, sometime DJ, but most famously, she’s a passionate animal rescuer. Her drive to help abused and abandoned animals in Tobago led her to found the NGO, Venus Doggess of Love (VDOL). This organisation feeds stray animals around the island, arranges medical care if necessary, and works to find them forever homes, if possible. VDOL even arranges for dogs to be adopted overseas, often by animal-loving visitors. The NGO has organised several spay/neuter events for both cats and dogs, and are constantly trying to encourage the population to be kind to all animals.
You can donate online to this worthy cause at https://www.facebook.com/VenusDoggessOfLove/posts/2769611879922446/
Elspeth has a vision. She wants to spread this message of kindness to animals, particularly to youngsters. She decided to film a group of children in the tiny fishing village of Charlotteville, on the north coast of Tobago, who were caring for the stray dogs on the beach. There was no choreography, just an honest recording of events. It was horrendous to watch how these dogs suffered sometimes, but at the end of the 35 minute film, you felt good about how the children really worked to care for them.
Vet Dr Gordon and her children, Zakii and Kaija, stars in the film
The completed film was first shown in a private viewing to its participants, and then Elspeth decided it needed to be viewed by many in a big screen cinema. So, she booked a Tobago MovieTowne theatre, and got sponsorship to pay for it and also to cover the cost of bringing villagers all the way from Charlotteville. She paired the movie with her other award-winning short film, Venus and Magnet, and I helped her get many donated door prizes to increase the fun for the event.
We filled that theatre with record numbers. MovieTowne had never experienced anything like it. From all the feedback that we got, the show was clearly a hit. People loved both films. Money was raised for VDOL, but more importantly, there was now a growing awareness of the need for kindness to dogs, even stray ones.
VDOL is still greatly underfunded, so more fund raising must be done to cover vet bills, etc. These two films were featured at the IMAX cinema at One Woodbrook Place in Port of Spain, and recently at The Mt. Irvine Bay Resort in Tobago. Elspeth is looking forward to presenting “Charlotteville Tails” at different international festivals. I am sure it will do well.
If you wish to view these excellent short movies in Trinidad, there is another opportunity on Sunday 16th November. Don’t miss it!
