Stories from Camilo C. Antonio

Testing Ground For The Oscars: Celebrating vision and cultural entrepeneurship, bringing Caribbean tales to the Toronto Filmfest by Camilo C. Antonio

Reprinted from the Vienna Review 01/10/2010

Mr. Antonio is a lyric poet ; former Director, Human Resources Development Branch and the Asia-Pacific Bureau of UNIDO; recipient of the Millennium Philippine Presidential "Pamanang Pilipino" (National Heritage Award 2000).

On a three-day visit to Toronto in 2000, I was hugely impressed by the scene as the city prepared for the 25th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Re-visiting Toronto ten years later, I had more time to immerse myself in the city’s dynamic features. I went there in the beginning of September to support a group of 25 outstanding Caribbean filmmakers who were selected to pitch their film projects in the world’s biggest and busiest marketplace for films, known by those in the business simply as TIFF.

Caribbean Filmmakers at CTWD Incubator during TIFF 2010

The group was part of a larger vision and strategy to brand the Caribbean region as a market for ventures in the film industry. The exercise included a market development programme with consultant-mentors who coached the participants in the aesthetic as well as business aspects of presenting their strategies and plans to would-be financing partners. Frances-Anne Solomon spearheaded this initiative as CEO of Caribbean Tales Worldwide Distribution (CTWD), a newly established company that was launched during the Festival. CTWD aims to fill the gap and to meet the demand from international investors & distributors for a regional mechanism that promotes and sells Caribbean-themed audiovisual products. Growing up in Toronto, where she also studied and has established networks, the internationally acclaimed Canadian filmmaker of Trinidadian heritage was well placed for this role.

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CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution and New York's Autonomous Entertainmment sign partnership deal.

CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution and

New York's Autonomous Entertainmment sign long-term agreement.

Toronto, Canada – Thursday, November 15, 2010 - - CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, the first film distribution company in the English-speaking Caribbean, and New York-based boutique marketing and distribution consultancy firm Autonomous Entertainment Inc. have entered into a long-term partnership to promote and sell Caribbean films and television programs worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Autonomous Entertainment will handle CTWD's acquisitions, and help with sales, marketing and outreach of CTWD's catalogue in the US and around the world. In addition, CTWD and AEI will collaborate on a number of planned special releases and events featuring Caribbean filmed content over the next months and years.

AEI is led by CEO Michelle Materre, a veteran of the independent film distribution and marketing business. In 1991, as co-founder and Vice President of KJM3 Entertainment Group, Michelle oversaw the theatrical distribution of Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust, the first film by an African American female director to be released theatrically in the United States.

Michelle Materre, CEO of Autonomous Entertainment Inc

Since then she has held management positions across the industry including Curator of the Channel Thirteen/WNET series Reel New York, Executive Director of International Film Seminars at the Robert Flaherty Film Seminars, Associate Director at Women Make Movies, and Director of Distribution for Third World Newsreel. She is the founder and curator of the Creatively Speaking film series at BAM cinematek. In 2009 she formed Autonomous Entertainment with Head of Operations Cedric Beasley and Head of Production Paul Gennaro to bring greater visibility to independent film, illustrating how entertaining and informative work can also be commercially viable, high quality and low cost without compromise.

"We are very pleased to be working with AEI," says CTWD's CEO Frances-Anne Solomon, "It makes alot of sense because of the many synergies we share. Michelle's experience in marketing and distributing films in the US that are specifically targetted to our markets, is invaluable to us. It is a partnership that will provide both CTWD and AEI with immediate growth opportunities in the US and worldwide through our combined networks."

Michelle Materre says: "We are thrilled to form this unique partnership with CTWD, and are committed to bringing the work of Caribbean filmmakers to as broad an audience as possible. I am certain that this collaboration with CTWD, combining community engagement with new technologies, will set a groundbreaking model for how distribution works in the very near future. We look forward to all the possibilities."

ABOUT CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution:

Established in May 2010, CTWD is a full service marketing and distribution company that acquires exclusive, long term rights to Caribbean-themed content for television, educational, home entertainment and Internet distribution. The company also holds marketing events through the CaribbeanTales Film Festival Group, and provides co-production services to producers. Positioned to become the go-to solution for producers and buyers seeking quality content, CTWD is led by Frances-Anne Solomon, founder and Chief Executive Officer, with other principals including Creative Industries specialist Dr Keith Nurse (Chair), celebrated economist Dr Terrence Farrell, Producer Lisa Wickham, and filmmaker Mary Wells. The organization was launched internationally with a Market Development Program for Caribbean producers during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, and already holds the rights to almost 40 projects. CTWD is a member of the Barbados Business Enterprise Corporation that provides Seed and Venture Capital Services.

For more information visit CTWD at www.CaribbeanTales-Worldwide.com, and AEI at www.AutonomousEntertainment.com

CTWD Media Contact:
Kevin Pennant, Pennant Media Group,
Tel: (416) 416.596.2978
E-mail: kp@pennantmediagroup.com