Youth Film Festival Targets Educators & Highschool Students During Black History Month!

CaribbeanTales YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL
Celebrating Black History Month - February 2009

Click here to view Program and Schedule.

February 2009, CaribbeanTales will showcase a unique series of films and documentaries, from and about the African diaspora.

Each screening will represent a broad range of experiences that both celebrates and educates on the richness and diversity of African history, deepening audiences' understanding of Canada's vibrant multicultural communities.

FILMS TO BE SCREENED INCLUDE:
THE ROSA PARKS STORY by Julie Dash
AFRICA UNITE by Stephanie Black
THE AGRONOMIST by Jonathan Demme
DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST by Julie Dash
SPEAKERS FOR THE DEAD by Sudz Sutherland
A WINTER TALE by Frances-Anne Solomon
JOURNEY TO JUSTICE by Milton Bryan and Roger MacTair
POOR BOY'S GAME by Clement Virgo

SCREENINGS
February 11-28 2009
10:00 a.m.
Weekdays

Silvercity Yorkdale, 3401 Dufferin Street
Coliseum Scarborough, 300 Borough Drive
Silvercity Yonge-Eglinton, 2300 Yonge Street

TICKET INFORMATION
Students: $7.00
Educators: Free admission per 10 students

BOOKING YOUR CLASS
Educators and High Schools that are interested in making a reservation for their class should contact (416) 598-1410 or ctyfilmfestival@gmail.com.

About CaribbeanTales: CaribbeanTales’ mandate is to foster and encourage intercultural understanding and citizen participation through the creation, distribution and presentation of educational films, videos, new media and resource materials that reflect the diversity and creativity of Caribbean-Canadian and African Diasporic heritage and culture.

Our vision is to contribute to an inclusive Canadian society by celebrating the rich traditions of Caribbean heritage storytelling.

We invite students and teachers to come out and enjoy this one-of-a-kind festival.

For more information please contact:

Miki Nembhard,
CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival Co-ordinator

99 Gore Vale Avenue
Toronto ON M6J 2R5
www.caribbeantales.ca
ctyfilmfestival@gmail.com

416-598-1410



We look forward to seeing you!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

THE 2009 CaribbeanTales 4th ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL

Canada's One and Only Forum Showcasing The Best of Caribbean Cinema, At Home and Abroad, Classical and Creole, Digital and Celluloid, This Year Puts The Spotlight on "Caribbean Film - A Tool For Education and Social Change"

North America's premier stand-alone Caribbean Film Festival is accepting submissions for the CaribbeanTales 4th Annual Film Festival. The upcoming festival takes place from July 8th to the 12th, 2009 in Toronto, Canada, and is produced by CaribbeanTales in association with New College, University of Toronto, and the Caribbean Studies Program at U of T.

This year's focus will be "Caribbean Film - A Tool for Education and Social Change".

Artistic Director and Festival Founder Frances-Anne Solomon says: "We are delighted to be partnering with U of T to produce the 2009 festival which aims to bring together like-minded filmmakers and cultural activists around the important theme of art for social change."

The festival will feature an Academic Conference and a Youth Day, alongside 4 days of entertaining film screenings and thought-provoking talk-back sessions.

With a growing international awareness of the Caribbean's burgeoning media industry, the CaribbeanTales Film Festival aims to entertain and educate through a series of industry panels, filmmakers' discussions and presentations on both historical and contemporary filmmaking throughout the Diaspora.

The CaribbeanTales mandate is to foster and encourage intercultural understanding and citizen participation through the creation, distribution and presentation of educational films, videos, new media and resource materials that reflect the diversity and creativity of Caribbean-Canadian and Caribbean-Diasporic heritage and culture. Our vision is to contribute to an inclusive Canadian society by celebrating the rich traditions of Caribbean heritage storytelling.

The 2008 CaribbeanTales Film Festival: Fokus Jamaica was a huge success with over 20 filmmakers featuring films and videos made in Jamaica, about Jamaica or by Jamaicans. With participants like filmmaker Stephanie Black (Africa Unite, Life & Debt), cinematographer Franklyn "Chappie" St. Juste (The Harder The Come), music video director Ras Kassa (Welcome To Jamrock), Jamaican-Canadian actor Peter Williams (Stargate SG1 and A Winter Tale), award-winning Canadian director Clement Virgo (Poor Boy's Game), producer Gloria Minto (Glory to Gloriana), and Jamaican icon, actress, writer and producer Leonie Forbes, the Fokus Jamaica festival brought CaribbeanTales to the mainstage in the Canadian media and film communities. We plan to build on this momentum with the CaribbeanTales 4th Annual Film Festival, as we continue our work to create a more inclusive awareness of Caribbean culture and the Diasporic communities.

We invite filmmakers of Caribbean heritage, or who have a film with a focus on the Caribbean to participate in this monumental festival, North America's only stand alone Caribbean Film Festival. Please *submit by March 31st 2009 to be considered for the CaribbeanTales 4th Annual Film Festival.

We look forward to seeing your work!

Submissions can be sent to:
Jamaias DaCosta,
Partnerships Coordinator
CaribbeanTales
99 Gore Vale Avenue
Toronto ON M6J 2R5
www.caribbeantales.ca
caribbeantales2009@gmail.com
416-598-1410

*Submission Deadline: March 31st 2009

*Please note that submissions will not be returned

Newz from "A Winter Tale" and "Lord Have Mercy"

Greetings everyone,

A Winter Tale will screen twice at the Antigua and Barbuda Literary Festival this weekend - on Friday 7th at 4pm, and on Sunday 9th November at 11am. Venue is the Jolly Beach Resort.

Actor Peter Williams and I will both be there to "Talk It Out" after the show...

The Festival has established itself, in 3 short years, as a top Caribbean literary and cultural event, and many international artists will be present, including award-winning American author Elisabeth Nunez, Indo-Trinidadian novelist and poet Ramabai Espinet, and hip hop artist Motion (to name but a few).

*****

On October 16th we had a wonderful screening and workshop in Barbados at the Errol Barrow Center for Creative Imagination.

The event was the first International Diaspora Arts Festival, hosted by Professor Gladstone Yearwood, Director of the Center.

The two other films featured were Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation by the great African-American filmmaker Charles Burnett, and Ezra a stunning film on child slavery by Nigerian Newton Aduaka, which won the top award for best film at Fespaco 2007. I had the privelege of meeting both these wonderful artists in Barbados.

And here is a review of my film by prolific blogger Ian Bourne of Bajan Reporter. Visit our website http://awintertale.ca to catch up with all the recent reviews from our Trinidad, Jamaica and Antigua releases.

****

LORD HAVE MERCY, the classic sitcom starring Sprangalang and Rachel Price, as well as Jamaican icon Leonie Forbes, poet/performer Dbi.young.anitafrika and the comic Russell Peters has been picked up by CIN in New York and will begin airing starting November 16, 2008 to February 8, 2009 on Channel 25, Sundays @ 3:00pm.

More soon, love
Frances-Anne

The Grenada Story: 25 Years After the US Invasion

MEMORY AND RENEWAL

25 years After the US Invasion: The Grenada Story
A Series of Performances, Readings, reflections
October 30 – November 1, 2008

Pan-Caribbean Futures 25 years after Grenada
DATE: October 30, 12-2 p.m.
PLACE: History Seminar room, Room 2098, Sidney Smith Building,
University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street
Brian Meeks (Department of Government, University of the West Indies, Mona)
Silvio Torres-Saillant (Comparative Literature, Syracuse University)

Operation Urgent Memory: The Grenada Revolution and the US Invasion Twenty Five Years Later.
DATE: Thursday, October 30, 6pm
PLACE: Eaton Theatre, RCC204, in the Rogers Communications Centre at Ryerson University, 80 Gould Street (at Church Street)
Speaker: Shalini Puri (English, University of Pittsburgh)

Memory and Renewal. The Grenada Story.
DATE: October 31, 7 p.m.
PLACE: William Doo Auditorium, New College, 45 Willcocks Street (1 block south of Harbord, off Spadina)
with Merle Collins, Dionne Brand, Shalini Puri, Jacob Ross, Caldwell Taylor, Roger Gibbs

Against Forgetting: Caribbean Futures 25 years after the Invasion of Grenada
DATE: November 1, 2008, 6pm
PLACE: Jamaican Canadian Association, 995 Arrow Road, Toronto,
Hosted by d’bi young. Music, dance and spoken word with Merle Collins, Jacob Ross, Brian Meeks, Mbala, ABS/Rated Inc Hip Hop and surprise performers.

SPONSORS:
University of Toronto: Caribbean Studies; New College Principal's Initiative
Fund; English; Political Science; Caribbean Continuities Series (History)
York University Community Arts Program of the Faculty of Environmental Studies; Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program of York University; Faculty of Humanities
Ryerson University: The English Department
Jamaica Canadian Association; A Different Booklist

For information contact: Alissa Trotz: da.trotz@utoronto.ca (416-978-8286)
Sandra Pierre (spierre50@hotmail.com)

African-American Artist, Wanda Ewing, Presents Talk on Satirizing Beauty

MorenaMedia and the Women & Gender Studies Institute (University of Toronto)
are proud to present

WANDA EWING
’DOs & DON’Ts
An Artist Talk on Popular Culture,
Beauty & the Black Female Image

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Women & Gender Studies Institute
University of Toronto
20 Willcocks Street, 2nd floor
7:00 p.m. / Reception to follow

Assistant Professor in Art and Art History at the University of Nebraska Omaha, Wanda Ewing is a rising mid-career artist specializing in printmaking. Recently featured in Bitch magazine and New American Painters, Ewing’s satirical and celebratory images serve as a catalyst for discussion among diverse communities.

Following in the tradition of self-portrait-based artists like Renee Cox, Ike Ude, and Cindy Sherman, Ewing's work highlights the everyday affects of media imagery on the self, which tends to focus on female insecurity rather than self-possession. She reasserts the idea of a strong, gendered identity by using humour to poke fun at the idea of recreating ourselves through style and consumption, while at the same time challenging mainstream beauty myths and their impact on black women specifically.

'DOs & DON'Ts is produced to support Wanda's exhibition with Anita Drieseberg, The Ladies Room, opening Friday, October 17 at Whipper Snapper Gallery. This is her first Toronto appearance.

Please view an excellent, three-minute interview with Wanda as posted on-line at: http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=8tHn6beGwQc.

To download more information about the artist or a poster of this event, please visit http://MorenaMedia.com.

Wanda Ewing: 'DOs & 'DON'Ts is co-presented with the Women & Gender Studies Institute and is produced in partnership with the Centre for Media and Culture in Education (CMCE), A is for Orange: Readings by Queer Caribbean Emerging Writers, AfroToronto.com, Leda Serene Films, Toronto Women's Bookstore, and Possession: All that is sacred in contemporary art.

CONTACT
Karen Miranda Augustine
MorenaMedia
T: (416) 263-9835
E: info@morenamedia.com
MORE INFO
http://MorenaMedia.com
http://www.WandaEwing.com
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=8tHn6beGwQc

International Director Stephanie Black attending Canadian Premier of AFRICA UNITE at the Revue Thursday.

>>>>> Purchase Tickets Online <<<
What: Acclaimed film director Stephanie Black will be in Toronto to attend the Canadian premiere of her powerful Bob Marley documentary Africa Unite. This premiere will kick off Toronto’s 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival. Stephanie will also attend the VIP reception preceding the screening.

Where: VIP reception at the River Restaurant (413 Roncesvalles Ave.) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, followed by the Canadian premiere screening of Africa Unite at 7:30 p.m. at the Revue Cinema (400 Roncesvalles Ave.)

>>>>> Purchase Tickets Online <<<

* * *

The 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival’s opening night screening will mark the Canadian premiere of Africa Unite as Toronto joins a long list of international cities to show the film.

This year’s festival, entitled Fokus Jamaica will commence with a VIP reception at River Restaurant at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2008. Africa Unite will be screened at 7:30 p.m. at the Revue Cinema, followed by the film festival’s Opening Night after party, hosted by the Jamaican Consulate General Anne-Marie Bonner.

“We are very excited to be bringing this film to Canada,” said Festival Founder and Curator Frances-Anne Solomon. “Bob Marley has become synonymous with Jamaican culture, and selecting Africa Unite to open our festival seemed like a natural union.”

Focus Jamaica is presented in association with Jamaica Trade & Invest (JAMPRO) and the Consulate General of Jamaica in Toronto. The 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival will run from July 10 – 13, 2008 at The Revue Cinema, Innis Town Hall (U of T), and the High Park Library.

Directed by Black, Africa Unite commemorates the late Bob Marley’s 60th birthday. Part concert tribute, part documentary, this film follows the Marley family on their first trip to Ethiopia in 2005 to attend the annual Africa Unite concert. The film features rare footage of the world-renowned reggae icon, and includes appearances by Danny Glover, Angélique Kidjo, Lauryn Hill and many from the Marley family including his mother Cedella Booker and widow Rita Marley.

In addition to its opening night, Focus Jamaica will highlight some of the island’s most celebrated filmmakers, producers, actors and celebrities. Through blockbuster film screenings, Q&As, live interview sessions and interactive workshops CaribbeanTales will pay tribute to talents such as Ras Kassa, Clement Virgo, Franklyn “Chappie” St. Juste, Perry Henzell, Leonie Forbes and Peter Williams among others.

CaribbeanTales announces a summer screening of A Winter Tale at HARMONY NIGHT – a powerful evening of film, music and performance hosted

With the 3rd Annual Film Festival just days away, CaribbeanTales’ Artistic Director Frances-Anne Solomon announces Harmony Night hosted by Dwayne Morgan. This evening of screenings, discussions and performances will celebrate our Jamaican Canadian connections and engage youth through cinema, music videos and guest appearances. Supported by TD Financial Group, Harmony Night will take place on Friday, July 11, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. The evening kicks off with a Meet & Greet reception at the University of Toronto’s Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave.)

“Dwayne has been doing positive work with young people for many years, and has established himself across Canada as a role model for today’s youth,” said Solomon. “We are extremely honoured to have Dwayne participating in Harmony Night.”

Morgan is a well-known poet, entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. In 1994 he founded Up From The Roots Entertainment to promote the positive artistic contributions of African Canadian and urban influenced artists. Morgan is also founder and producer of the annual spoken word concert When Brothers Speak.

Harmony Night will feature powerful film, documentary and music video screenings including Man Behind the Mic – a television documentary profiling Dwayne Morgan. Following the screening, Morgan will be on hand to answer questions during an intimate talk-back session, and treat audience members to a live performance.

Harmony Night will also be the only chance to see Solomon’s award-winning movie A Winter Tale this summer! This emotional Toronto-based film opened the ReelWorld Film Festival in April 2007, and has spent the last year traveling all over the world, screening to wide acclaim in cities across North America, the Caribbean, Europe and South Africa. Following the screening A Winter Tale actors Peter Williams and Michael Miller will field audience questions and share stories during a special Talk It Out session.

The evening will also feature Mary Wells’ documentary A Winter Tale: Art for Social Change Jamaica 2008 – which gives a behind-the-scenes look at how Solomon’s film impacted audiences in Jamaica. Other screenings include Miss Lou: Then and Now, which profiles famed Jamaican writer and activist Louise Bennett-Coverley. Harmony Night will conclude with an exclusive after party hosted by Leda Serene Films.

The 2008 CaribbeanTales Film Festival, entitled Fokus Jamaica, is presented in association with Jamaica Trade & Invest (JAMPRO), and the Consulate General of Jamaica in Toronto. The festival will run from July 10 – 13, 2008 at the Revue Cinema, Innis Town Hall, and the High Park Library.

The 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival is generously sponsored by: Jamaica National Building Society, Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum, TD Bank Financial Group, Ontario Arts Council, The Art of Catering, SUN TV, Victoria Mutual Building Society, Flow 93.5FM, Now Magazine, b-side, Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto, Big It Up, CKLN 88.1FM, CHRY 105.5FM, CIUT 89.5FM, The Caribbean Camera, We Magazine, Canadian Immigrant Magazine, Caribbean Uprising International, The Ethnic Umbrella and Ackee Tree Jamaican Cuisine.

Invitation to AFRICA UNITE - OUR OPENING NIGHT FEATURE

Legendary Jamaican talents to be honoured, remembered at the 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival’s Night of Tribute

Toronto – July 3, 2008

A number of renowned Jamaican filmmakers and actors will be honoured at a special awards ceremony on Saturday, July 12, 2008 as part of the 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival. Founded by award-winning filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, this year’s festival, entitled Fokus Jamaica, will highlight the works of Jamaican artists and celebrate the island’s internationally recognized culture. CaribbeanTales’Night of Tribute honourees and award recipients includeLeonie Forbes, Perry Henzell, Clement Virgo, Ras Kassa, Franklyn “Chappy” St. Juste and Peter Williams. The ceremony takes place at River Restaurant (413 Roncesvalles Ave.) at 5:30 p.m.

Beloved long-time Jamaican actress Leonie Forbes will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award, which she will accept in person. Known as Jamaica’s First Lady of Theatre and Film, Forbes’ extensive film and television career have made her a cultural icon with fans all over the world. She has graced the silver screen in major Hollywood pictures, performed in dozens of theatrical productions, and worked as a radio broadcaster and programmer in Jamaica. Forbes’ film and television credits include: Shattered Image, Milk and Honey, Passion and Paradise, What My Mother Told Me,Children of Babylon and A Winter Tale.

Also receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award is famed Jamaican cinematographer and director Franklyn St. Juste. “Chappy”, as he is popularly known, is one of the most experienced cinematographers working in the Caribbeantoday. Chappy has worked alongside great filmmakers like Horace Ove and Lennie Little-White, and on a number of films including The Harder They Come, King Carnival andChildren of Babylon.

In addition to Forbes and St. Juste, CaribbeanTales will pay tribute to another trailblazer in Jamaican cinema – the late Jamaican filmmaker Perry Henzell. Made famous for directing, producing and co-authoring Jamaica’s first feature film The Harder They Come, Henzell will be remembered by his fans and peers when the festival screens his film at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 12.

Henzell is to be honoured with a Pioneer Award during the tribute ceremony. His award will be accepted by friend and colleague St. Juste, who worked closely with the late director on The Harder They Come.

World-renowned film, television and music video director Ras Kassa will also be at the festival to receive his Innovation Award. A widely respected industry professional, Kassa earned international recognition for directing Damian Marley’sWelcome to Jamrock music video in 2005. Today, Kassa’s resume boasts nearly 100 music videos, in addition to establishing Jamaica’s cable music station Music Plus and his successful production company Guru Films.

Other award recipients will include Jamaican-Canadian film and television director Clement Virgo and Jamaican-Canadian film and television actor Peter Williams.

Virgo’s selected directorial credits include Soul Food, ReGenesis, Lie With Me, and most recently, the Genie Award nominated Poor Boy’s Game. For his work, Virgo will be awarded with the Jamaica National Building Society Award for Achievement in Cinematic Art.

Peter Williams’ acting credits include the Gemini-nominated television series Neon Rider, Catwoman, Da Vinci’s Inquest,The Chronicles of Riddick, Stargate SG-1 and Dead Like Me. He most recently starred as Gene Wright in Solomon’s award-winning feature A Winter Tale, for which the Montreal Gazette dubbed him “one of the country’s finest actors”.CaribbeanTales will acknowledge Williams’ work with anExcellence in Dramatic Performance award.

* * *
Festival Founder Frances-Anne Solomon is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, director and producer. She is the President and Artistic Director of the two companies she founded: Leda Serene Films and CaribbeanTales.

The 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival is generously sponsored by: Jamaica National Building Society, Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum, TD Bank Financial Group, Ontario Arts Council, The Art of Catering, SUN TV, Victoria Mutual Building Society, Flow 93.5FM, Now Magazine, b-side, Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto, Big It Up, CKLN 88.1FM, CHRY 105.5FM, CIUT 89.5FM, The Caribbean Camera, We Magazine, Canadian Immigrant Magazine,Caribbean Uprising International, The Ethnic Umbrella and Ackee Tree Jamaican Cuisine.

Once more with feeling...

Sorry folks, I forgot two very important workshops: with Ras Kassa and "Chappy" St. Juste. This should be complete... Enjoy.

>>>>> Purchase Tickets Online <<<

FESTIVAL PROGRAM

Thursday July 10, 2008

Opening Night Gala
$20.

6:00 pm: Wine & Cheese VIP Party, River Restaurant
7:30 pm: Shorts Program
Opening Night Feature - Africa Unite by Stephanie Black, The Revue Cinema
11:00 pm: After Party hosted by Jamaican Consulate General, River Restaurant

Friday July 11, 2008

Youth Day hosted by Ras Kassa
$20 for the whole day. Subsidized tickets available for youth & community groups. Call 416 598 1410 for more info

12:00 pm: Literature Alive - Creation Fire
Life & Debt by Stephanie Black, Innis Town Hall - #1
Talk Back
12:15 pm: Literature Alive - Blood Dub and The Matriarch - D'bi.young
Africa Unite by Stephanie Black, Innis Town Hall - #2
Talk Back
3:00 pm: Literature Alive - Fabulous Spaces - Nalo Hopkinson
Wondrous Oblivion starring Delroy Lindo, Innis Town Hall - #1
Talk Back
3:30 pm: Literature Alive - Miss Lou: Then & Now
Raisin' Kane by Alison Duke, Innis Town Hall - #2
Talk Back with Alison Duke

Directing Workshop with Franklyn "Chappie" St. Juste (The Harder They Come)
(Pre-registration required. Please call 416-598-1410)

Harmony Nite
Innis Town Hall. Hosted by Dwayne Morgan
$15 for the entire evening! Subsidized tickets available for youth & community groups. Call 416 598 1410 for more info

5:30 pm Meet & Greet Reception
6:30 pm: Literature Alive: Dwayne Morgan - The Man Behind the Mic
7:00 pm: 'Miss Lou' - Then and Now
Talk Back and Performance by Dwayne Morgan

8:00 pm: A Winter Tale: Art for Social Change - Jamaica 2008 by Mary Wells
8:30 pm: A Winter Tale by Frances-Anne Solomon
Talk It Out! with stars from the award-winning feature - Peter Williams, Michael Miller, Leonie Forbes

11:00 pm After Party hosted by Leda Serene Films

Saturday July 12, 2008

An Afternoon With “Miss Lee” (Leonie Forbes)
$25 for the entire afternoon!

12:00 pm
Lunch with Leonie Forbes @ River Restaurant
1:45 pm Miss Forbes introduces a number of her favorite films.

Miss Lou - Then & Now
Lord Have Mercy!
What My Mother Told Me
Milk & Honey

Music Video Workshop with Ras Kassa (Welcome To Jamrock)
(Pre-registration required. Please call 416-598-1410)

Jamaican-Canadian Media Icons hosted by Andrew Moodie
River Restaurant FREE

2:30 pm :

In Conversation with....Joan Jenkinson
In Conversation with....Hamlin Grange

Night of Tribute
River Restaurant and the The Revue Cinema. $ 35 for the evening.
$10 per film.

5:30 pm : Tribute Ceremony @ River Restaurant

7:00 pm : HeartBeat - Music Is My Life - Tanya Mullings
Life & Debt by Stephanie Black, The Revue Cinema
9:00 pm : Shorts Program
The Harder They Come by Perry Henzell, The Revue Cinema

11:00 pm After Party hosted by CaribbeanTales @ River Restaurant

Sunday July 13, 2008

12:00 pm HeartBeat - The Satalittes.
Glory to Glorianna produced by Gloria Minto. The Revue Cinema $10.00
Talk Back with Executive Producer Gloria Minto

The Art of Clement Virgo.
Hosted by Garvia Bailey
The Revue Cinema $10.00

3:00 pm : Literature Alive - Creation Fire Pt 2 - The Calabash Festival
Poor Boy's Game by Clement Virgo
Talk Back with Clement Virgo

Jamaican Blockbusters
5:00 pm: Literature Alive - HonorBound - Honor Ford Smith
Dance Hall Queen by Rick Elgood The Revue Cinema $10.00
7:00 pm: Literature Alive - In the Shadow Of My Fathers - Rachel Manley
Third World Cop by Chris Browne The Revue Cinema $10.00

9:00 pm: Closing Party. Hosted by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum
>>>>> Purchase Tickets Online <<<

BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE NOW for CARIBBEANTALES 3rd ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL: 'FOKUS JAMAICA'!

This years film festival, FOKUS JAMAICA, is just 2 weeks away, featuring the best of Jamaican cinema past and present.

Tickets are now available online at the
FOKUS JAMAICA website.

Buy your tickets for our Opening Night Gala: the Canadian premiere of Stephanie Black's award-winning musical feature documentary AFRICA UNITE.

Made to commemorate Bob Marley's 60th birthday - It is the story of the Marley family's first trip to Ethiopia. After the screening there will be a Talk Back session about African Unity!! and we are hoping that Stephanie Black will be able to join us from NYC.

At the Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Avenue, on Thursday July 10th at 7pm. Tickets $20, including After Party at River Restaurant hosted by the Jamaican Consulate, Toronto.

"AFRICA UNITE is a singular and masterfully executed film that is at once concert tribute, Marley family travelogue, and humanitarian documentary, igniting the screen with the spirit of world renowned reggae icon BOB MARLEY in its every frame. ...There in the capital city of Addis Ababa three generations of Marleys take part in a 12 hour concert like no other, attended by more than 300,000 people from around the world, with the ultimate purpose of inspiring the young generations of Africa to unite for the future of their continent... Includes appearances by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, actor Danny Glover, world music sensation Angelique Kidjo, Bob Marley’s mother Mrs. Booker, and Princess Mary, granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie. Produced and directed by Stephanie Black, Life & Debt; H 2 Worker, and Executive Produced by Rita Marley, Cedella Marley, Danny Glover, and Joslyn Barnes."

In Other Newz:

** CaribbeanTales launches its Youth and Community Program, inviting inner-city youth to meet celebrity role models and participate in an exciting program of events at the Fokus Jamaica Film Festival

** Tune into Canoe Live (SUN TV) this Friday, July 27 at 5:30pm and catch executive chef Selwyn Richards talk about the great food and drinks attendees will enjoy at the 3rd annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival

** Pick up a copy of The Caribbean Camera, or visit http://www.ccn365.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1608&Itemid=2 to read the paper's interview with festival founder Frances-Anne Solomon

** Check out the CaribbeanTales Film Festival on the front cover of WE magazine's June issue! Pick up your free copy on news stands now!

** Grab a copy of Caribbean Uprising International and The Ethnic Umbella to read their Fokus Jamaica festival previews

** Listen to CIUT 89.5 FM, CHRY 105.5 FM and CKLN 88.1FM starting June 30 to hear our 30-second CarbbeanTales Film Festival radio spots

** Pick up a copy of The Canadian Immigrant's July issue to read an interview with Frances-Anne Solomon

** Tune into Flow 93.5 beginning July 1st to hear our 30-second CaribbeanTales Film Festival radio spot

** Listen to Michael Yarde's show Take 5 on CIUT 89.5 FM the week of July 1st to hear his series of interviews with festival attendees: Leonie Forbes, Clement Virgo, Peter Williams and Frances-Anne Solomon

** Be sure to watch Island Style (Rogers Television Toronto) on July 5th at 3pm to see Jamaican Consul General Anne-Marie Bonner talk about this year's festival.

The 3rd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival presents "Fokus Jamaica", and announces an exciting lineup of Jamaican films, special guests and workshops

The CaribbeanTales Film Festival is set to hit Toronto again this summer!

Created by award-winning filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, the event is Canada's one and only forum showcasing the best of Caribbean cinema, at home and abroad, classical and creole, digital and celluloid. And this year's focus is on the internationally recognised film and television productions of Jamaica.

Produced in assocation with the Jamaican Consulate, Toronto and Jamaica Trade and Invest (JAMPRO), the 4-day celebration will showcase the rich and vibrant cultural traditions that have made "Brand Jamaica" synonymous with world class cultural innovation, and timeless iconic images of spirited rebellion.

"I never doubted that Caribbean culture had international appeal, because I grew up with the huge impact of Bob Marley on the world’s imagination,” said Frances-Anne Solomon, Artistic Director of CaribbeanTales and Founder of the film festival. “This is why we have chosen to spotlight the importance of Jamaican cinema on the world stage.”

Opening night features the Canadian premiere of AFRICA UNITE. Made to commemorate the late Bob Marley’s 60th birthday the film is a compelling music documentary centered around the Marley’s first family trip to Ethiopia. Following the screening there will be a Talk Back session on African unity

Other highlights will include screenings, Talk Back sessions, and educational workshops aimed at youth and community groups.

CaribbeanTales pays tribute to talents such as: famed music video director Ras Kassa (Welcome to Jamrock), Jamaican-Canadian actor and director Clement Virgo (Poor Boy's Game), cinematographer Franklyn "Chappy" St.Juste (The Harder They Come) Jamaican-Canadian film and television stars Leonie Forbes (Lord Have Mercy, A Winter Tale), and Peter Williams (A Winter Tale, Chronicles of Riddick) and many more..

CaribbeanTales is proud to present a "Perry Henzell Evening", in honor of the late iconic director who created the Caribbean's cult cinematic materpiece "The Harder They Come".

The festival will also include work by new and emerging directors from Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. These will be announced shortly and we are also still accepting submissions for this.

The festival will run from July 10-13, 2008 at the Revue Cinema, and at Innis Town Hall.

THANK YOU from A Winter Tale

Just a big thanks to those who came out to see A Winter Tale in Trinidad, and to everyone who wrote me to say they liked it... it's due to your support that its been extended @ MovieTowne & Trincity despite stiff competition - (Hollywood's biggest hitters for the season, Indiana Jones and Narnia). THANK YOU.

To those who havent seen it yet - you can still catch it before May 27th.

A Winter Tale opened to an enthusiastic audience in Antigua on Thursday night with a Gala Premiere hosted by HAMA TV, and will continue its run there at Deluxe Cinema - Peter Williams and Michael Miller attended.

A Winter Tale will have it's South Africa Premiere at the SABC Africa on Screen Film Festival - with a special screening & Talk It Out at Maponya Mall, Soweto, and VIP Reception hosted by the Canadian Consulate on May 27th.

Actor/comedian Desmond Dube will host the Talk back session, which will focus on Black Men in South Africa, and include students from the Soweto Imagination Lab, and Funda Center and reps from the SAPS Crime Prevention Unit...Lucky Ejim (Sam in the movie) will be there.

Love, Frances-Anne

A Winter Tale stands out amid stiff competition and gets held over in Trinidad cinemas!

MEDIA RELEASE
For Release: Immediately

A WINTER TALE, the award-winning feature film by Frances-Anne Solomon, has been held over for another week by Movie Towne and Cinemas 8, Trincity. The Movie which premiered at a glamorous 40-foot Red Carpet Launch at the historic Globe Cinema in the heart of Port of Spain on May 14, has been receiving rave reviews from patrons for its well-written and relevant storyline, strong character acting and high production values.

'A WINTER TALE opened commercially and held its own against the two biggest Hollywood releases of this year - Indiana Jones and The Chronicles of Narnia. This is an incredible achievement for a small independent movie. I am grateful to the cinemas - Trincity, MovieTowne and Hobosco for their faith in the film, and especially to the Trinidad public for showing that local films have an audience here.' Says Solomon.

Last week, patrons attending the film were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Lead Actors, Peter Williams (of Stargate SG 1, Chronicles of Riddick and Cat Woman fame) and Michael Miller who flew in from Canada for the first week of screenings, and signed posters for fans.

Hundreds of high school students also had the opportunity to see the film during a special series of Ministry of Education-sponsored school screenings, where Williams and Miller along with Director Frances-Anne Solomon signed posters and held "Talk It Out" sessions on the content and impact of the film.

A WINTER TALE also stars well-known Trinidad actor Dennis 'Sprangalang' Hall in is his first serious role in a feature film. In the story, his 10-year old grandchild is murdered in a drug deal gone sour and the film looks at the community's response to this heinous crime.

Sponsors for A WINTER TALE are T&T Film Company, T&T Entertainment Co, E-ZONE Entertainment Ltd., Gayelle the Channel, Synergy TV, CNMG, NCC TV Channel 4, Digicel, Caribbean Beat, Skywritings, Script J, COTT, Rent-A-Amp, Brydens, 2001, Carpet House, E-Z Car Rentals, Kalloos Car Rental and Maria Habib.

END

Contact:
Lisa Wickham
750-6014

A tale to make you weep

The Guardian, Trinidad,
Sunday May 18

BY ATTILLAH SPRINGER

"We got to build a better nation
Clean up Jah creation
Or there will be no future for you and me"
—Fools Die, Peter Tosh

What good is a community without stories? What value is a society without storytellers? I mean beyond crick crack. Beyond the loss of douens to electric lights and Anansi replaced by the World Wide Web.

The carrier of the stories is the carrier of the wisdom and a sensibility that you can’t and never will get from the Red House.

The carrier of the stories is both the revolutionary and the peacemaker. Who shows the community its beauty and its dirt and its light.

A storyteller is a shape-shifter who uses every tool, every image, every sense to draw you in, capture your imagination.

So where the hell are our stories? Who is fictionalising our lives? Who is fashioning our superheroes?

All these questions plagued me before, during and after I went to see A Winter Tale, which everyone should see really.

Because in the absence of our own storytellers our children grow up in awe of someone else’s mythology.

Imagine in all my 30 years on this island, this is the first time I was sitting in Globe cinema to watch a local film.

And it might be set in Canada but I have to take ownership of those emotionally scarred men and the women shouldering too much weight of dying boy children.

And we have too many frustrated artists walking around this town to not understand that the loudness of our self-doubt has a startling ability to drown out our desire to speak our truths.

Aside from the embarrassment, aside from the frustration, I am so glad that A Winter Tale is being shown here and now.

And I’m glad too that they chose the Globe, in the heart of my beautiful stinking city, to show it, as opposed to going to that place in the murdered mangrove.

It’s not a pleasant film. It’s not a kicks t’ing. It’s not the loud, effects-filled, slap-stick foolishness that usually numbs our brains.

And this is not a review but A Winter Tale is bloody brilliant. Especially because you’re not going to leave the theatre feeling all warm and fuzzy.

And especially because you will weep for a fictional dead child in ways that you do not weep when you watch the news.

Frances Anne has all the marks of a good storyteller in that you will feel more sorrow for a place and time and people fashioned out of living truths.

Because everybody knows our men are in crisis. Everybody knows but who wants to take responsibility for finding or creating solutions?

The audience titters uncomfortably at inappropriate times. They steups at the gangsta boy who falls apart when the little boy dies.

They are scandalised at two beautifully naked bodies embracing in grief. They have a problem with the cuss words as if the F word is more obscene than a generation of boys who will never know what it is to be men outside of owning a gun.

We should feel more scandalised by the fact that we have a nation of children growing up absorbing somebody else’s mythology. Who do not know that they too can be superheroes, let alone be on a big screen, playing themselves with a depth and truth that is just plain shattering.

The procrastinating writer in me winces because there are so many other stories like this that need to be told.

And I hear a lot of talk these days about developing a film industry. And it’s important, yes, to industrialise the way we operate our creative potential. Beyond oil or gas or goddamned smelters, our creativity is our real nation-building potential.

But we also have to be able to see the value of the stories that we have to tell and train our storytellers wisely so that the films we make don’t end up looking like the Port-of-Spain waterfront. Tall and empty and bright imitations that are irrelevant to the landscape.

A Winter Tale is now showing at Globe, Cinemas 8,Hobosco and MovieTowne until Tuesday.

Winter Tale cast arrives for premiere

Newsday, Port Of Spain,
Friday, May 9 2008

CAST MEMBERS of Frances-Anne Solomon’s A Winter Tale are set to arrive in Trinidad on Tuesday, in advance of the film’s premiere. Jamaican-Canadian stars Peter Williams and Michael Miller will join co-star and famed Trinidadian comedian Dennis “Sprangalang” Hall and Solomon at the film’s red carpet launch screening and reception on Wednesday, at 6:30 pm at the Globe Cinema.

A Winter Tale will go into general release across the island on May 15 at Cinema 8, Trincity Mall; Hobosco Cinema, San Fernando; and for school screenings only at Globe Cinema, Port of Spain.

The movie’s Trinidad premiere is sponsored by the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, Skywritings, Caribbean Beat, COTT, Gayelle TV, NCC TV, CNMG, Red 96.7FM, Digicel, Kalloos Car Rental, Synergy TV, E-Zone Entertainment Ltd, EZ Rental, Maria Habib and the TT Entertainment Co.

A Winter Tale’s brilliant cast includes Jamaican icon Leonie Forbes, in addition to Hall, Williams, Miller and a host of other Caribbean and Canadian talents.

Peter Williams, who was dubbed “one of Canada’s finest” actors by the Montreal Gazette, portrays Gene Wright in the film — a concerned social worker who takes it upon himself to start a local Black men’s support group, after a young boy is accidentally killed by a stray bullet. Michael Miller plays opposite Williams as a local high school kid named DX.

In addition to the theatrical release, A Winter Tale’s community distribution project Talk It Out will continue in Trinidad, as the film screens to groups of young people through local schools and community organisations. Solomon, Williams, Miller and Hall will be in attendance during the film’s daily Talk It Out school screenings, to answer questions and interact with students. Frances-Anne Solomon is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, director and producer. She is the president and artistic director of the two companies she founded: Leda Serene Films and CaribbeanTales.

Recent projects include A Winter Tale (for Telefilm Canada/CHUM Television); Heart Beat (Bravo!); Literature Alive; and the Gemini-nominated Lord Have Mercy!, Canada’s landmark multicultural sitcom, for Vision TV, Toronto1, APTN and Showcase. Peter Williams was born and raised in Kingston, but left Jamaica to attend university. He broke into acting through modelling, and was lucky enough to “learn on the job” through some of his early projects, such as his starring role in the Gemini Award-winning series Neon Rider. His selected credits include: Catwoman, Da Vinci’s Inquest, The Chronicles of Riddick, Stargate SG-1 and Dead Like Me.

Michael Miller was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and has been acting for ten years. He has been featured in commercials for McDonalds, Northwest Airlines and Reece’s Pieces.

Miller has also worked on many Alliance Atlantis productions such as Due South, Straight Up and Drop the Beat.

His selected film and television credits include the Fox Television pilot for Save the Last Dance, as well as Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Animal 2 and Playmakers. Dennis “Sprangalang” Hall is a popular comedian, historian, producer and singer/composer from Trinidad.

He has previously worked with CaribbeanTales in the Gemini-nominated sitcom Lord Have Mercy!

A Winter Tale launches in Trinidad this May.

A Winter Tale Hits The Shores of Trinidad - May 15, 2008!

Hot on the heels of its critical success with Jamaican audience, Trinidadian director Frances-Anne Solomon takes her award-winning feature A Winter Tale home, to open in theatres across Trinidad. The film makes its premier with a red carpet launch screening and reception on May 14 at 6:30pm at the Globe Cinema. A Winter Tale will go into general release across the island on May 15 at Cinema 8, Trincity Mall; Hobosco Cinema, San Fernando; and Globe Cinema, Port of Spain.

The Trinidad premier marks the second stop in a string of theatrical releases scheduled to take place across the Caribbean. A Winter Tale opened in Jamaica to rave reviews from media and audiences young and old. The film will launch in Barbados on May 21 and in Antigua on May 23.


To RSVP for the red carpet launch screening and reception on May 14 at 6:30pm, contact E-Zone Entertainment Ltd at 868-628-5797.

‘A Winter Tale’ impresses Jamaica audiences

NEWSDAY, Port of Spain.
Saturday, April 12 2008

A Jamaican student Talks It Out with actor Peter Williams and director Frances-Anne Solomon at the premiere of A Winter Tale.

WHEN Trinidadian Frances-Anne Solomon’s award-winning feature film opened at a VIP preview in Jamaica on April 3, audience members weren’t the only ones to take notice. Media across the Caribbean have been raving about A Winter Tale, and coverage of the film has been abundant.

During the premiere, Robert Gregory of Jamaica Trade and Invest described A Winter Tale as “a compelling story of struggle, survival and healing” calling it “a quality production, relevant to the times.”

Gregory also said he’s awaiting the DVD release: “I look forward to watching this film over and over again.”

The Canadian Consulate paid for 100 inner-city youth to attend the screening and in the Talk Back session after the screening, the audience witnessed a riveting and heart wrenching outpouring of emotion as the young people expressed their appreciation of the film’s relevance to Jamaica. As a result of the success of the first screening the Winter Tale team has been inundated with requests from local schools and communities to make the film available to their young audiences.

The film is now on general release in Jamaica. Throughout May and June it will travel across the region, opening at cinemas in Trinidad, Barbados, Antigua and St. Lucia.

A Winter Tale tells the moving story of a black men’s support group that forms at a local Caribbean takeaway restaurant after a young boy is killed by a stray bullet. With a plot that revolves around the universal issues of gun violence and drug use, the film beautifully captures the day-to-day emotional struggles of this group of individuals.

Last September, the film took home the People’s Choice Award for Best Caribbean Feature at the 2007 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. A Winter Tale features a brilliant cast including Trinidadian comedian and actor Dennis “Sprangalang” Hall and famed Jamaican icon Leonie Forbes. It will open in TT next month.

Over the past year A Winter Tale has travelled the world, garnering rave reviews and international recognition through film festivals in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, New York, Trinidad and England.

The film’s Jamaican release was sponsored by JMMB, Air Jamaica, Hype TV, The Gleaner, The Jamaica Observer, High Commission of Canada, Trinidad and Tobago Consulate, Roots FM, Jamaica Trade & Invest (JAMPRO), National Council on Drug Abuse, Grace Kennedy Corp, CTV, Caribbean Beat, Bank of Nova Scotia and Budget Rent-A-Car.

Frances-Anne Solomon is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, director and producer. She is the president and artistic director of the two companies she founded: Leda Serene Films and CaribbeanTales, and has also worked as a film and television drama producer for the BBC.

Recent projects include A Winter Tale (for Telefilm Canada/CHUM Television); Heart Beat (Bravo!) which profiles Caribbean musical creators; Literature Alive, a multi-facetted multimedia project profiling Caribbean authors; and the Gemini-nominated Lord Have Mercy!, Canada’s landmark multicultural sitcom, for Vision TV, Toronto1, APTN and Showcase.

Photos: Some of the youth who attended the Jamaican Premiere of A Winter Tale at Sovereign Mall on April 3.

'A Winter Tale' tells of manly chill

published: Wednesday | April 9, 2008

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Leonie Forbes in a scene from 'A Winter Tale'. - Contributed

A Winter Tale, set in the biting cold of Canada, is about a certain manly chill. A certain black manly chill.

It is not the chill of young adult 'DX' (Michael Miller), a pretty 'fly' young man who struggles with the choices he has to make between lucrative drugs and a sense of 'nobodiness'. It is not the chill of a mid-30s looking 'Lloyd' (RO Glasgow), a drug dealer whose snappy dressing is pretty cool. And it is not the chill of an older 'Professa' (Dennis 'Sprangalang' Hall), who lets witty comments fly off the cuff.

It is the chilling silence of black men, migrants all in a strange and not so strange land (depending on when they got there), about the pervasive violence that thins their ranks and sets an unspoken limit on their life expectancy.

A Winter Tale, directed by Frances-Anne Solomon, revolves around the efforts of 'Gene' (Peter Williams) to thaw this chill and let emotions, if not cascade, then at least flow, by forming a support group for men after the murder of young Andrew, Professa's grandson. (There is a chilling scene when, after the fatal gunshots are heard, the bearer of bad news to Professa comes into the room where he is and sits without speaking, as the older man plays his banjo.)

And in this 'thawing out' process, filled with tensions, anguish, laughter, love and life, Solomon tells a good tale well, getting far beyond the regular interpretations of an all-too-regular situation.

Chill of a murder

Andrew's murder affects the entire community, but in a movie which relies much more on interplay between characters to hold interest than fast-paced action and violence (when those scenes come they are relevant and not thrown in for heart-thumping effect), it is gradually revealed what the estrangement between 'Miss G' (Leonie Forbes) and her son, 'Ian' (Peter Bailey), is. It is the chill of a murder which lies between them, that of Miss G's other son, 'Julian'.

A Winter Tale does have its points of humour, mainly through Clip (Barrington), whose hop-along gait and mannerisms (including a tendency to smoke sideways) lend themselves to laughter. And it does have a piece of bright Jamaican fabric (the general 'cloth' kind) in it.

But the touch of humour is balanced well against the dominant concerns of breaking through the chill of silence (or the surface chatter, which skirts the real issues).

Nude scene

While A Winter Tale is concerned mostly with men, it is far from being a 'bull session' and the women do far much more than provide arm and eye candy. So Ian's girlfriend, Julie (Nicole Stamp), is privy to his pain on a driving tour of the old neighbourhood, as he points out where Julian was killed. And yeah, there is a sole nude scene, shot from above, but not erotic, as Gene is held by Elaine (Valerie Buhagiar) when the stress of trying to release the emotions of reluctant men gets too much.

Who actually killed Andrew and why are revealed close to the end, as the initial empty support group meeting in a different place comes to a full, violent confessional in Miss G's place. Close to than end, too, 'Sam' (Lucky Ejim), a rare African in a mostly Caribbean tale, rails in his controlled manner about the ludicrous violence, which he had sought to leave behind in his country of origin, in a rare but very effective indictment on the source of the 'chill'.

A Winter Tale goes into general release islandwide today.

'A Winter Tale' makes Jamaican debut

published: Monday | April 7, 2008

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Veteran Jamaican actress Leonie Forbes (centre) with Ryan Ishmael who plays Sibeka in the movie 'A Winter Tale' and Nicole 'Passion' Weller at the private showing at Sovereign Centre last Thursday.

As the rainy season sloshed its way into the dry spell, a film from a foreign season but inextricably linked to Jamaica made its 'yard' debut at the Palace Cineplex, Sovereign Centre, Liguanea, on Thursday evening.

The hordes, many speaking theatrically, on the landing outside the cinemas' entrance, where the cocktails were more than ample, indicated the importance of A Winter Tale and the cinema was duly crammed.

And director Frances-Anne Solomon, speaking before the tale was told on big screen, spoke simply about the importance of the Jamaican premiere to her and the cast, even after A Winter Tale has traveled far and wide.

"Wow! I am really overwhelmed," she said. Solomon noted that the film, set in Canada and which weaves the often unspoken effects of persistent violence on black men around the nucleus of the killing of a child, had been shown in Canada, the United States and England. However, she and members of the cast were more excited about Thursday night's premier than all the previous ones combined, "because of the importance of Jamaica in terms of our identity as Caribbean people".

There were bouquets from Solomon for Mary Wells, who did the groundwork for the premiere, and film commissioner Del Crooks, then a big hug for Leonie Forbes, who plays 'Miss G' in A Winter Tale.

Earlier, as Brian St Juste, who hosted the launch, had welcomed "the filmmaker and her team, including Leonie Forbes", the squeals had gone up. Also present in the flesh as well as magnified on big screen on Thursday evening were Peter Williams (Gene), Michael Miller (DX) and Ryan Ishmael (Sibeka).

Robert Gregory of Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI) described A Winter Tale as "a compelling story of struggle, survival and healing" and hoped that it would soon be out on DVD as "I look forward to watching this film over and over again".

"It is a quality production and credible story which is relevant to the times," he said.

Blair Bonnick, political and economic counsellor, Canadian High Commission, made the link with the maple leaf land where the wintry tale was told. "What a glorious evening to be here," he said.

"Canadian films have established a reputation for excellence," Bonnick said, noting that although the filmmaker and persons in A Winter Tale were not from Canada "we consider them our own".

Bonnick said that in Canadian films "less emphasis is placed on special effects" and their approach "proves that captivating stories can be told with small budgets".

And Elaine Campbell-Grizzle of the National Council on Drug Abuse made a connection of a different kind, speaking to the drug trade, which led to the murder of the young boy. "It is so closely related to what we do at the council, to stop the abuse of illegal drugs as well as the abuse of legal drugs," she said.

The audience got a chance to get involved, as there was an interactive session after A Winter Tale had finished and the credits had been run.

A Winter Tale goes into general release islandwide on Wednesday, April 9.
Canadian High Commissioner Denis Kingsley with producer/writer/director of 'A Winter Tale' Frances-Anne Solomon at the special showing hosted by the high commission and Jamaica Trade and Invest at the Palace Cineplex last Thursday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

"Winter" in April

'Winter' in April
published: Sunday | April 6, 2008

Ladies with film in their blood (from left), Justine Henzell, Dell Crooks of Jamaica Trade and Invest and film maker Natalie Thompson, hang out before the movie. - Photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Guests experienced 'winter' in April on Thursday at a special showing of A Winter Tale.

The movie is the creation of Frances-Anne Solomon, an English-born filmmaker of Trinidadian heritage. The movie stars Jamaican film, TV and radio icon Leonie Forbes; Jamaican-born actor Peter Williams, and up-and-coming Afro-Canadian actor Michael Miller. Those stars, and a few others from the film team, were joined by guests from the local film community at the Palace Cineplex in Sovereign Centre for a special showing.

Guests out included Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner Yvonne Gittens-Joseph, Lennie Little-White, Alma Mock Yen, Grace McGhie, Franklyn 'Chappy' St. Juste and sons Brian and François, Carol Hart, Alwyn Scott and wife Donna Duncan-Scott, Morin Seymour, Nardia McKenzie, Judith Alberga, Sheila Graham, Angela Patterson and others.

Veteran Jamaican actress, Leonie Forbes (centre), with Ryan Ishmael who plays Sibeka in the movie 'A Winter Tale' and Nicole 'Passion' Weller at the private showing at Sovereign Centre last Thursday.

The President of Jamaica Trade and Invest, Robert Gregory, is seen here with A Winter Tale's writer/producer/director Frances-Anne Solomon (centre) and Jamaican actress Leonie Forbes who stars just before the presentation.

Canadian High Commissioner Denis Kingsley (left) jokes with Deborah Duperly-Pinks and Michael Miller, an actor in the film.

Peter Williams finds 'Wright' role in 'A Winter Tale'

Peter Williams finds 'Wright' role in 'A Winter Tale'

Published: Sunday | April 6, 2008

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

No stranger to the screen, Jamaican-born and raised actor Peter Williams remains focused on his career in film.

With a Genie Award nomination and more than 50 film credits to his name, this Jamaican-Canadian star was dubbed "one of the country's finest actors" by the Montreal Gazette. Williams was enjoying his return to Jamaica for the premiere of his most recent project, A Winter Tale, when The Sunday Gleaner caught up with the busy star.

Although he pursued geography at the Nottingham University, once Williams experienced the stage first-hand he was an instant addict. "I didn't start acting 'til I came to Canada in a play called Whose Life Is It Anyway. I got the bug from there; that was when I was in my 20s," he said.

Williams got his bearings in theatre at the community theatre centre at the Jamaican-Canadian Association, acting in plays such as Big Yard I and Big Yard II by famed playwright Devon Haughton. According to Williams, the Jamaican crowd is one of his favourites, which gives him the "purest response".

Since getting 'hooked' on his acting career, Williams has constantly been going to workshops and practices with an acting teacher in his home in Vancouver on a weekly basis.

Various roles

Williams has played an array of various different roles, drawing on a vast wealth of personal and acting experience. He has made appearances in the television shows MacGyver and The X-Files to Da Vinci's Inquest, Sci-Fi's Stargate SG 1 and Showtime's Dead Like Me. His work also includes film roles, ranging from Jungleground and Soul Survivor to appearances on the big screen, like the Halle Berry film Catwoman and The Chronicles of Riddick.

Williams considers his role in MacGyver to be his first big break. "MacGyver was a huge internationally syndicated show which was very popular worldwide," he said. Another touchstone for the actor was the movie Soul Survivor, which was written and directed by his brother Stephen Williams.

His most recent work, A Winter Tale, received the Tonya Lee Williams Award for Outstanding Canadian Feature at the Seventh Annual ReelWorld Film Festival. Directed and produced by Frances-Anne Solomon, A Winter Tale will open to moviegoers across Jamaica on April 9. Williams portrays one of the film's central characters, Gene Wright, a concerned social worker who takes it upon himself to start a local black men's support group after a young boy is accidentally shot and killed.

Williams raved about the film. "It's fantastic. I can't tell you how happy I am to be in it. The roles are great, especially the one for Leonie Forbes. Everyone in it is especially good. It depicts the true Caribbean culture in Canada," he said.

Over the last year A Winter Tale has travelled the globe, opening and closing numerous film festivals, winning awards and garnering favourable reviews along the way. It took home the 'Outstanding Canadian Feature Award' at the 2007 ReelWorld Film Festival, the 'People's Choice Award' for Best Caribbean Feature at the 2007 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, and the award for Best Foreign Film at the San Diego Black Film Festival.

While Williams doesn't have any project at present on his plate, he is looking forward to a fruitful career in the business to "build a bigger body of work like A Winter Tale".

Leonie Forbes - On becoming myself

Leonie Forbes - On becoming myself published: Sunday | March 30, 2008
Forbes shows little sign of slowing down. She says "I believe in doing everything in moderation."

Avia Collinder, Outlook Writer

Leonie Forbes, flitting from spot to spot as swiftly as a hummingbird, in her bougainvillaea-covered cottage in Kingston, during this March interview, is the elegant epitome of herself. Later, you will understand more of what we mean.

Forbes, who was, on November 20, 2007, recognised by the United States Congress and the Jamaican community in New York for her five decades of professional excellence in broadcasting, theatre and film, is today a petite, energetic woman, eyes glinting above smiling, bow lips.

The silvery strands of her close-cropped hair each testify to the decades of experience garnered in becoming Jamaica's first lady of film and theatre.

In December, Forbes attended the premiere of her 20th film, A Winter Tale, a Leda Serene production shot in Toronto, and which also opened the 15th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival in New York.

The film is the emotional story of a black men's support group, which is formed in a Caribbean takeout restaurant in Toronto, Canada, after a young boy is killed by a stray bullet. It will be launched in Kingston on Thursday, April 3.

In prior productions, Leonie appeared in Glory to Gloriana (2006), Lord Have Mercy! (2003), Tangled Web (2003), Guttaperc (1998), Shattered Image (1998) and Mother (1998).

Her major films - prior to A Winter Tale - were Shattered Image (1998), Soul Survivor (1995), What My Mother Told Me (1994), Milk and Honey (1989) and Children of Babylon (1980).

She has also filled leading roles in 12 national pantomimes and numerous plays.

In acknowledging her outstanding body of work, Acting Consul General Lincoln Downer presented Forbes with her certificate of merit from the consulate general of Jamaica in New York, and a citation from Congressman Ed Towns (Brooklyn), stating that Forbes had blazed a trail of excellence and has also paved the way for aspiring Jamaicans and Caribbean actors and actresses.

Leonie Evadne Forbes was born on June 14 at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston, daughter of Roderick Wedderburn and G. Forbes-Wedderburn. She was educated at St George's Girls' School, Kingston Senior School and Excelsior High School.

"I was adopted by an aunt and raised by herself and her husband. It was all I knew.

"You can't miss what you don't know," she says bracingly about her parenthood, stating that her biological mother lives in New York and they share a good relationship.

"I never felt left out. I was always in the top five at school. The teachers at the time were extremely encouraging of my little writings and poems. I loved Miss Lou, but I never wanted to be anyone but myself."

Entering acting

Forbes states that she always knew that she liked to make people laugh. She even got caught by the pastor at church mimicking him.

But, for her, it never was a thing about 'I am going to be an actress'. "Things happened," she says in her usual cryptic manner.

Leonie's first exposure to broadcasting came through Sir Philip Sherlock of the University College of the West Indies (UWI), whom she describes as a "humble, wonderful man who shared".

She worked as a typist for him and then went to work with Barry Reckord, a playwright for whom she would type plays and at times accompany him to the studios of the Government Information Service (now Jamaica Information Service) to watch the recording sessions.

Leonie would do parts in the programmes produced for Government broadcast and in 1955 began work as an announcer at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC).

The late Rita Coore, Leonie reflects, was the first one to say to her, "You have a very nice voice, but you can't talk. Come and see me." Coore was one of several individuals who assisted her in developing her voice and craft.

She also credits Alma Mock Yen, formerly of the UWI's Radio Education Unit, with improving her skills. "She would see my little scribbles and say, come, pointing out little ways to do things." Whatever strides she made in voice and speech in the early years, she says, "that was Alma".

Unusual skills in voice

Meanwhile, Forbes also connected with the Pantomime of Maas Ran (comedian, the late Ranny Williams) and Miss Lou (Louise Bennett-Coverley). Maas Ran, she remembers, "was a great gentleman who looked out for us. We used to have fun provoking him, but it never disturbed him."

Her unusual skills in voice came to the attention of Robin Michelin (who came to Jamaica to help set up the JBC) and he assisted her in securing a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in England.

Excited and willing to give the theatre everything she had, Leonie left for London, spending six years of study and practice at the RADA, where she pursued a diploma course in Radio Television and Stage. Leonie also worked on scripts for the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Caribbean Service.

Leonie appeared in several RADA productions, including the pantomime Cinderella. She also played in Unknown Woman of Arras, Days of the Lion, and Antony and Cleopatra in which she was the lead female actor. She has also featured in television drama series on the BBC and Independent Television networks such as Z Cars, Odd Man, Public Eye, Hugh and I, Desperate People and Harper's West.

London critic, Kenneth Tynan, reviewed her first appearance in professional theatre, Busha Blue Beard, a Lloyd Reckord production, in April 1962, that Leonie put on "a bewitchingly ingenious performance".

Forbes declares, "My confidence in acting grew as I saw the response of people who I respected."

Making her characters real

But, she notes, that she never uses the word 'act' in reference to what she does. "I try not to act. Try to become the character. Acting is for comedy, but for drama, you become. I use my experiences in life and observe people. No matter what happens, no matter how painful, how extremely joyful, you observe, look and listen to find things which will make your character real to whoever is going to watch."

This is the reason why, she says, she has little if any regret in relation to any experience in life, as they all contributed to who she could become onstage.

In Old Story Time in which she later played with Charles Hyatt, by the time the rest of the cast came in they knew enough to greet them by saying, "Evening Miss Aggie, evening Pa Ben," because they were already in character.

Leonie remembers, "By 4:30 in the afternoon, I am no good to anybody. I am becoming."

Drama, she says, does not involve running away from reality. "The more you live, the more you experience and the more you have to draw on."

Leonie returned to Jamaica in 1966 after she completed training with RADA, but left again for Australia in 1968 with her husband, Dr Keith Amiel, who at the time was doing research in veterinary science at Queensland University.

In Australia, she appeared in the production of the Shakespearean play Merchant of Venice. She also took part in ABC radio plays, taught drama at three Brisbane schools and worked as a librarian too.

On her return to Jamaica in 1970, she went back to JBC where she worked as a producer/presenter for television. In 1972 came Radio Two JBC FM Stereo Service and the JBC TV Drama Workshop.

Out of the Drama Workshop came A Scent of Jasmine, and Let's Say Grace - a screenplay which she wrote and produced herself. In May 1976, Leonie was appointed to the post of director of radio broadcasting for the JBC.

Participating in numerous plays and several films, Forbes also authored a book called The Re-Entry Into Sound, along with Alma Mock Yen - a text used to train broadcasters all over the Caribbean. She also wrote and directed What's Food For The Goose; Let's Say Grace for TV and Radio.

Terrifying roles

Every role presents its challenges, the actress now says, but the one which was truly terrifying was Night, Mother - a play about a mother losing her child to suicide - which was done with Makeda Solomon.

"I still don't understand why I did it."

At around the same time, a friend of hers had lost her daughter in similar circumstances. "I thought the play would help, but my nerves stayed taut until the final curtain in February 2007."

A few months later, her son, Moyo, went to bed one night and did not awake, just days before his first wedding anniversary. Forbes believes that her experience in Night Mother assisted her tremendously in coping with his death.

On marriage

Leonie, who married three times, is mother of four, and says she has a friendship with her surviving children, which she treasures.

About her marriages she notes, "I don't know that I had a single great love. It is perhaps sad, but none of my marriages lasted. But, I have fabulous memories. I believe in living and let live."

Her youngest daughter, Dianne, works with Air Jamaica, while her older, Keren, is an account executive in advertising. Her surviving son, Robert, lives in North Carolina. Leonie has three grandchildren.

In the threatre, she declares, she has also mothered many, as sharing is a critical part of the experience.

For a lifetime of dedication to her craft, Leonie Forbes was awarded the My Life in the Theatre medal by the Mexican Theatre Centre, for outstanding theatre personalities of Latin America and the Caribbean (2001); the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) Government of Jamaica (1980), a Silver Musgrave Medal, a Centenary Medal, a Bronze Musgrave Medal (1973) and many more.

She also won seven Actor Boy awards (six best actress and one best supporting) and several gold medals for craft.

An adjudicator at the Festival Commission since 1973, Leonie loves the resurgence of interest in local theatre, although she says she would love to see "more of the world" on the Jamaican stage. There are also many emerging Caribbean writers who Jamaicans would certainly enjoy seeing, were their work to be produced locally.

A winter tale

She is never afraid of change and, in A Winter Tale, she was to experience this and embrace it. Forbes notes that preparation started long before the shooting.

"There were workshops and retreats for over two years."

The cast members were integrally involved in development of the characters and were able to become very familiar with community in the depressed area in which the movie was eventually made.

A Winter Tale was shot on a shoestring budget, but many members of the West Indian community helped in any way they could to see it happen - something she would like to see embraced in the staging of Jamaican productions.

Completed in early 2007, A Winter Tale premiered at the Reel World Toronto Film Festival, opening the festival and garnering an award for excellence.

Today, Forbes shows little sign of slowing down. She says "I believe in doing everything in moderation."

The 71-year-old woman admits that she still smokes and is a diabetic. But, it is a situation where she has the condition, it does not have her, she declares. Occasionally, she indulges in ice cream, and still loves ginger bear, bulla and potato pudding.

"I love Jamaican things," she notes. Leonie Forbes enjoys crocheting, collecting art, attending productions of the Carifolk Singers and the University Singers, and doing readings at church.

Every day delivers its own pleasures. An avid gardener, Leonie adores the morning sound of birds who swarm her bougainvillaea.

She says, "God decided that I should be born in the sun. I never wanted to live in Hollywood. I will go anywhere while working but, after, I am coming back home."