T&T Film Festival 2018

I was delighted to get the opportunity to attend the recent opening of this year’s T&T Film Festival (TTFF) at a cocktail reception at NAPA.  The venue was crowded with fashionably-dressed people and we were presented with a drink and a few tasty cutters before being ushered into the auditorium.  After introductory speeches, we were treated to the docudrama screening of ‘HERO: Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr. Ulric Cross’.  This film was an eye-opener for me as I didn’t know that this prominent local judge was the RAF’s most decorated West Indian in World War II, or that he had such an impact on African liberation from colonialism.  I would like to see more such films about other famous Trinidadians, such as George Padmore and CLR James who were prominent in the story.  I gather the film was incomplete as it seemed to end abruptly and made no mention of Justice Cross’s illustrious career in Trinidad afterwards.  The sound system was not up to the standard of MovieTowne’s and I wished I had been able to see the film again there, as I missed some of the dialogue.  It did win the TTFF Caribbean Film Mart Best Pitch award (sponsored by BP Trinidad & Tobago).

Despite best intentions, I did not see as many of the 111 local and Caribbean films on show for that week as I would have liked.  Most were shown only once at each main venue (Port of Spain, San Fernando and Tobago MovieTownes).  I think the TTFF suffered from a lack of sponsorship this year, reflected in the relatively high cost of $40 for entry.  This didn’t seem to deter patrons as many of the showings were sold out.  I was disappointed that I couldn’t get in to see Elspeth Duncan’s (my yoga teacher from Tobago) short film entitled ‘Venus and Magnet’ together with three other popular shorts.  It won Best TT Short Film (sponsored by BP Trinidad & Tobago)!  Luckily Elspeth had shown it to us in Tobago and I was very impressed.

The selection of local films included two that I have already reviewed: ‘‘March of the Mokos’ and ‘The FireWalkers of Kali’ .  I did get to see a few feature-length films and was particularly impressed with ‘Carnival Messiah: The Film and Documentary’ and ‘The Strange Luck of VS Naipaul’.

‘Carnival Messiah’ won The TTFF People’s Choice award for a Narrative Feature Film (sponsored by FILMTT).  There was a short film preceding it in which the film makers and cast members were interviewed re their thoughts on the play’s writer/composer/director, Geraldine Connor, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 59.  I had seen the play in 2004 when it showed for the second time at The Queen’s Hall in Trinidad, and I was blown away by the sheer spectacle of the music, the staging, the costumes, the dancers all around us, and the magic of the Christ story.  The performance was filmed when it showed at Harewood House near Leeds, England, in 2007 to celebrate the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  It captured the majesty of Trinidad Carnival characters such as the Moko Jumbies and the dances associated with different cultures in the island, e.g., wining, Indian, Orisha or Shango.  I loved the part near the end when a large steel band was moved to centre stage and they performed Handel’s Halleluiah Chorus perfectly.  What an experience!  Apparently, Geraldine Connor was hoping to bring the show to Broadway a few years ago, but after two years of discussions, turned this down as they wanted to ‘Americanise’ it too much.  She wanted to retain its authenticity of Trinidad culture.  I hope the show will return to the stage again one day.

I was most interested to see the two films about Nobel Prize winner, VS Naipaul.  I had mentioned the reading his sister, Savi Naipaul Akal, gave from her memoir ‘The Naipauls of Nepal Street’ in a previous blog.  I had also done a writing course for a few months in that house, and I had gone to school with their youngest sister, Nalini.  So I felt a connection.  We have always been given an impression of Sir Vidia as a difficult personality, and it was interesting to hear about his personal life from his own point of view.  I now understand his motives better (though don’t necessarily agree with his actions).

All in all, a wonderful week of excellent local films.  What talent we have in this country!  It passed too quickly as did the European Film Festival which was held for two weeks in May of this year.