The Toronto International Film Festival is just around the corner, but so is the Caribbean Tales Film Festival! Check an exerpt of a post below from ’83 To Infinity that gives you a bit of background on the Caribbean Tales Film Fest! Also, keep an eye out for a special edition of Fashionably Late during the Film Festival season!
ARTSY FARTSY: The Caribbean Tales Film Festival Is On Its Way
Last week, I shared the news (via Twitter and Facebook) that I was teaming up with the Caribbean Tales Film Festival here in Toronto. While the city is abuzz in September for the Toronto International Film Festival(TIFF), I thought I should let y’all know that another festival will be making the city hot!
Let’s backtrack. Caribbean Tales is a multimedia company which was founded by wonderwoman Frances-Anne Solomon in 2001. Offshoots of the company include an educational media company, the annual film festival, and Caribbean Tales Worldwide Distribution – the first film distribution company in the English-speaking Caribbean. With bases in Barbados and Toronto, Caribbean Tales’ vision is to “contribute to an inclusive Canadian society by celebrating the rich traditions of Caribbean heritage storytelling”. Upon meeting with Frances-Anne and the Caribbean Tales team, I learned so much about the heart of the movement – which centres around the tenets of celebrating diversity, telling our own stories, and educating Caribbean filmmakers on navigating the international market.
Photo source: Stud Life Tumblr
So – let’s get to the film festival details! The festival kicks off on September 5th with a gala and film screening at Harbourfront’s Lakeside Terrace, sponsored by the Toronto Consulate General for Trinidad & Tobago. The opening film will be The Story of Lovers Rock by Menelik Shabazz, an incredible veteran Black British filmmaker. I love me some Alton Ellis and John Holt, so you know I’ll be up in that piece on the 5th! Films continue from the 10th-15th at Harbourfront’s Studio Theatre, and schedule highlights include The Batty Boy’s Revenge by Alison Duke and Stud Life by Campbell X (with a panel discussion on queer Caribbean cinema), A Day In A Bajan Life by Penny Hynam, and – wait for it – I’m Santana The Movie by Roger Alexis! If you don’t know about the hilarious Trinidadian puppet shorts featuring the one and only Santana, get thee to YouTube and get familiar!
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