ttff/ 2021 is here and watch meh!

Hello September! One of the highpoints of our year at CULTUREGO, because it’s a creative season and especially – film festival season!  We’re excited to discover another year of the trinidad+tobago film festival as it “punches above its weight” with a second year entirely online.   

Throughout the years, we’ve loved (and we do truly do miss a festival in real life!…) the Movie Towne seats, cozy coffee dates with friends, meeting like minded movie aficionados, filmmakers from the world over, the parties #watchmeh (yes and of course !) but most of all – the excellent programme of films every time.  

This year, once again – ttff/ 21 has put together a schedule of over 100 refreshing and eye-opening  films from the Caribbean and its diaspora. We’ve already got our eyes on a few!  We’re happy to share our selection with you…

Disruptor Conductor

Award-winning Canadian Film Director, Sharon Lewis has done it again! and she is back with her newest documentary Disruptor Conductor  which will make its Caribbean premiere at ttff 2021 this month. Disruptor Conductor is an award-winning documentary about the first openly gay, black orchestral Conductor in Canada: Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser. “In the film we follow Bartholomew-Poyser, the child of a working-class Trinidadian single mother, as he  partners up with Ru Paul’s Drag Race TV star Thorgy Thor, on a mission to create live orchestral shows that aren’t just for the rich and fancy”. 

Sharon Lewis, the Director of the film, is an award winning Canadian-Trini Film Director based in Canada. Disruptor Conductor screens on September 25,  follow this link to reserve your spot.  Trailer here!

Santo Domingo Waltz

Three teen ballet students — Raymundo, Angel and Victor — are the only boys in a class of twenty. In a country where dance is mostly considered an activity for women, they are determined to follow their dreams and challenge traditional gender roles. Like a waltz, music played in triple time, the three boys move through Santo Domingo while confronting, yet sometimes abiding by, the Dominican machismo culture.

Tatiana Fernández Geara is the Director of Santo Domingo Waltz (Vals de Santo Domingo) from the Dominican Republic. The film will be screened at ttff/2021 on September 26 and at the Festival international du film de Guadalajara (FICG) the first week of October.

Check out the trailer:

Bantú Mama  

After making its World Premiere at SXSW 2021, and then at the Third Horizon Film Festival in June this year,  Bantú Mama, directed by Dominican director, Ivan Herrera, will have its Caribbean Premiere at ttff/21! TRINIDAD + TOBAGO FILM FESTIVAL 2021.

Bantú Mama tells the story of Emma, an Afro- European woman whom fate unexpectedly brings together with Afro-Caribbean children in the Dominican Republic. 

« We wanted to tell a contemporary tale with characters descendants of the African diaspora and show a different kind of re-encounter between the Caribbean and the Motherland. »

Ivan Herrera, Film Director

The filming took place in the Dominican Republic, France, and Senegal. French actress Clarisse Albrecht, together with young actors, Scarlet Reyes, Euris Javiel and Arturo Perez are the leading cast of the film. The film will be available online, on September, 24th.

Ivan Herrera previously received the Judge’s Choice Awards at TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival in 2016 with his short film « La Pasión Original ». Produced by Point Barre, a Dominican independent film production company; Bantú Mama is its first feature film. https://www.bantumama.com

Watch our interview with Bantu Mama’s Director, earlier this year: 

Behind the Scenes with Ivan Herrera, Director of BANTU MAMA – CULTUREGO (culturegomag.com)

Issa Local Director’s Debut!

In addition to the variety of films that will be showcased from the Caribbean and its diaspora, the 2021 trinidad+tobago film festival will present over fifteen screenings by Trinidad and Tobago filmmakers  in categories such as New Media Work, Narrative Film, and Documentary Film. The festival’s roster of Trinidad and Tobago filmmakers will also include 5 Student Films (world premieres), depicting the work of young talent and aspiring industry professionals.

Watch out for the Director’s Debut throughout the programme featuring films from Trinbagonian Directors: Dion Boucaud, Nicola Cross, Ian Harnarine, Andil Gosine, Alexandra Warner, Elizabeth Ramjit and Ryan Lee. 

Have a great film Festival folks !

ttff/21 – A commitment to the global elevation of local and Caribbean cinema

The festival approaches its 16th edition this month and maintains its commitment to the global elevation of local Cinema, by providing filmmakers with access to a range of industry programmes, networking events and opportunities to share and discuss their work.  ttff/21 will also offer a number of talk sessions, Q&As and masterclasses from 22 to 28 September, be sure to register / mark your calendars.  

Run by the non-profit Filmmakers Collaborative of Trinidad and Tobago (FILMCO), the ttff continues the annual celebration of film through a series of related screenings and activities. 

ttff 2021 runs from 22-28 of September 2021. Festival is entirely online, so get your tickets here! Trinidad+Tobago Film Festival