Every year the trinidad+tobago film festival hosts several workshops aimed at improving the skills of filmmaking professionals, from directors to screenwriters to actors. The festival also hosts seminars and discussion panels on film financing and distribution, and other hot-button issues affecting independent filmmakers.
Friday 21 September
Jetsam Room, The Carlton Savannah, Cascade, free of charge and open to the public.
9.30am FILMMAKERS’ PANEL + PRESS CONFERENCE The filmmakers panel provides a public platform for local and visiting filmmakers to discuss their craft, from the creative idea to production to the business of financing, marketing and, ultimately, distributing their films. The two filmmakers’ panels (which also double as press conferences) provide an opportunity for local, regional and international filmmakers to come together to discuss the shared experience of making films within an independent industry context.
11.15am HOW TO MAKE A KICK-ASS SHORT FILM ON YOUR CELL PHONE Bafta award-winning British filmmaker John Maclean will discuss his brilliant short film, Man on a Motorcycle, which he made on his cell phone.
Saturday 22 + Sunday 23 September
University of Trinidad and Tobago UTT / APA, Port of Spain, $600 / day. 20 spaces available. Pre-registration required. Call 621.0709 to register.
10:00am–5.00pm CHARACTER ACTING FOR WRITERS, DIRECTORS AND ACTORS For the second year running, this intensive two-day workshop led by Kirk Baltz, a US-based acting coach with 15 years of teaching experience, will focus on developing authentic characters, with a further focus on acting for the screen. The workshop will help writers create truthful characters, and assist directors in understanding how to help actors shape these characters with clarity.
“Students enrolling in this weekend workshop must show up Saturday morning with a well prepared 1-2 minute monologue, or a 2-3 page scene of their choosing with someone they already know signed up in the class. Kirk recommends that this work be prepared sooner than later. Don’t wait till the last minute.”
Saturday 22 September
University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Lecture Room B, Faculty of Food & Agriculture, free of charge. 40 spaces available. Pre-registration required. Call 621.0709 to register.
10.00am–3.00pm THE ART OF THE FILM REVIEW The existence of blogs and the rise in popularity of social media platforms have given a critical voice to filmgoers everywhere. This has made the need for quality film criticism greater than ever. In this workshop award-winning film critic Manoj Barpujari of India will make the case for cinema as an art, and the importance of the well-written film review. Using clips from a range of films, he will discuss the skills needed to write an intelligent, engaging review — whether it’s of a serious drama or the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
NOTE: After the workshop, participants will be invited to write and submit a review of a film screening at the Festival. The writer with the best review as adjudged by a jury headed by Mr Barpujari will win a $5,000 cash prize courtesy the Caribbean Communications Network, and have their review published in the Trinidad Express.
Friday 28 September
Jetsam Room, The Carlton Savannah, Cascade, free of charge and open to the public.
9.30am FILMMAKERS’ PANEL + PRESS CONFERENCE The filmmakers panel provides a public platform for local and visiting filmmakers to discuss their craft, from the creative idea to production to the business of financing, marketing and, ultimately, distributing their films. The two filmmakers’ panels (which also double as press conferences) provide an opportunity for local, regional and international filmmakers to come together to discuss the shared experience of making films within an independent industry context.
11.15am WORLDVIEW/TRIBECA FILM INSTITUTE PRESENTATION The Tribeca Film Institute, founded by Robert de Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in the wake of September 11, 2001, empowers filmmakers through grants and professional development. WorldView is a Commonwealth Broadcasting Association project aimed at supporting filmmakers who seek to bring the richness and diversity of the wider world to UK and international audiences. This session, for both emerging fiction and documentary filmmakers, gives an overview of a new Tribeca Film Institute/ WorldView partnership, which aims to support Caribbean filmmakers in the development of their projects. Filmmakers will be taken through the grant application process, and shown examples of successful, previously funded projects. Other international sources where filmmakers can seek funding will also be highlighted.
12.45pm BREAK / LUNCH
1.30pm GUERRILLA FILMMAKING WITH NEW CARIBBEAN CINEMA PANEL Based in Jamaica, New Caribbean Cinema is a collective of young filmmakers dedicated to making great movies by any means necessary. In this presentation, Storm Saulter and other members of the group will discuss their new feature, Ring di Alarm!, and the tactics they used to make the film.
3.15pm THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDEPENDENT CINEMA IN GUADELOUPE (APCAG) + THE REGIONAL COUNCIL OF GUADELOUPE PRESENTATION APCAG and the Regional Council of Guadeloupe will make a presentation on a Guadeloupe cinema fund and discuss the possibilities of partnerships between Caribbean islands, including in the area of film subtitling.
SATURDAY 29 September
Jetsam Room, The Carlton Savannah, Cascade, free of charge and open to the public.
9.30am WORLDVIEW/TRIBECA FILM INSTITUTE PITCH SESSION Nine pre-selected filmmakers will each have five minutes to pitch a feature-length dramatic film project. Two filmmakers will each win TT$5,000.
11.15am AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC GROUP OF STATES This presentation will give filmmakers an in-depth understanding of the process of accessing and applying for funding from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). ACP support is designed to help the production and distribution of creative products from the developing world that reflect the cultural uniqueness of the countries in question and then make these products available to international audiences on a sustainable basis. acpculturesplus.eu and acp.int
12.45pm BREAK / LUNCH
1.30pm RBC FOCUS: FILMMAKERS’ IMMERSION PITCH SESSION At the end of Focus, a intensive four-day development programme, which gives 10 selected emerging Caribbean documentary filmmakers the opportunity to learn from professional film artists their is a pitch competition, from which the focus facilitators will choose the top five participants. These five participants will then pitch their project to a jury at a public event on 29 September. The participant with the best project and pitch, as determined by the jury, will win a cash prize of TT$20,000.
2.45pm MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE PANEL with:
Sydney Levine from INDIEWIRE, the leading news, information, and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the industry and moviegoers alike. indiewire.com
Leslie Fields-Cruz from the NATIONAL BLACK PROGRAMMING CONSORTIUM, an organisation dedicated to developing and distributing stories of the Black global experience in the new media age. Content distribution takes place online and via broadcast through the AfroPoP: The Utimate Cultural Exchange documentary series. blackpublicmedia.org
Christian Sida-Valenzuela VANCOUVER LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL provides a forum for the promotion of Latin American cinema. This annual festival promotes dialogue between cultures and explores historical and social issues through the eyes of filmmakers. vlaff.org
