22oCMore focus on human rights films
THE trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) and Canadian High Commission are teaming up to encourage the making of local short films on human rights issues, as part of a film-makers development programme that began in 2017.
The Human Rights on Film training programme encourages film-makers and writers who participated in a scriptwriting workshop with Canadian-Jamaican film professional, Annmarie Morais, last year, to put their training into practise. The link with Morais will continue as she mentors them through the writing of a five minute narrative or documentary film, on a human rights issue of concern to TT, or the wider Caribbean, said a media release.
A panel of three judges – including a representative from The National Film Board of Canada and from the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad, will select the best three scripts.
Trinidadian-born, National Film Board of Canada producer - Selwyn Jacobs, will then conduct a two-day workshop on how to move from the scriptwriting phase to production and post-production. The completed films will screen at ttff/18.
Annabelle Alcazar, programme director of the ttff said in the release, “This programme marries our interest in developing the skills of local film-makers and writers, with advancing the conversations on human rights in Trinidad and Tobago. We are excited about this project and look forward to seeing how film-makers rise to the challenge of using their artistic knowledge and skill to bring these important issues alive.”
Speaking of the project, Canada's High Commissioner Carla Hogan Rufelds said, “Human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The promotion of human rights is an integral part of Canada's engagement in the world.
"Canadian human rights efforts include advancing the rights of women and children, LGBTI persons and human rights defenders and freedom of expression, including internet freedom and civil society space.
"Human rights cinema is an extremely powerful medium that can touch and inspire audiences. It can challenge us as individuals to expect and demand justice for all, and remind us that personal commitment can make a difference.”
The film-makers participating in the workshop are Eric Barry, Keon Francis, Francesca Hawkins, Thais Henry-Ramos, Barbara Jenkins, Ayesha Jordan, Jason Marcano, Oswald “Ozy” Merrick, Siobhan Millette, Brendan O’Brien, Josiah Persad, Andreii Pierre, Kavita Rajpath and Kwasi Shade.