Check the schedule below and buy your tickets now. Or click here to purchase tickets from Harbourfront Centre's Box Office. For group rates or to register for our free screenings, call 416 598 1410.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
MAJOR CARIBBEAN FILMS TO PREMIERE IN TORONTO
Trailers available here:
Calypso Rose: The Lioness of the Jungle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtzCPDBA3So
Ghett’a Life: http://www.ghettalifethemovie.com
The Skin: http://theskinahamafilm.wordpress.com
TORONTO (August 23, 2011) – The international curtain goes up in Toronto for three significant Caribbean films at the 2011 CaribbeanTales Toronto Film Showcase.
The trio of major Caribbean cinematic offerings will be screened during the sixth annual action-packed Showcase set for “Hollywood North” at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto from September 7 to 17, 2011.
"Calypso Rose: The Lioness of the Jungle", a documentary about the impact of the Trinidadian queen of soca music; "Ghett’a Life", a new Jamaican film with positive messages of overcoming adversity and ignorance; and Antigua’s "The Skin", a film on Caribbean mythology, will play in Toronto.
“We are overjoyed to present the North American premiere of not just the latest Caribbean films, but the best of the brightest of Caribbean filmmakers at our September 2011 showcase,” said Frances-Anne Solomon, CEO of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution. She added that many other exciting films will be screened during the 10-day showcase which also features a market access incubator for Caribbean filmmakers.
Following the opening reception at Lakeshore Terrace on Wednesday, September 7, patrons will screen the Pascale Obolo-directed documentary about Calypso Rose, followed by a live question and answer session with the uncontested diva of calypso music.
Calypso Rose, the "mother of calypso", is a living legend, and the documentary features the many faces and facets of her life, including her reflective moments, and her great passion for fishing and spirituality. It is a film not only about her vision and ancestral history, but also recounts the journey of a militant and impassioned woman, an Afro-Caribbean soul, an exemplary artiste, who has touched the life of her people at home and many others in distant lands.
On Tuesday, September 13, "Ghett’a Life", by respected director Chris Browne of “Third World Cop”, premieres at the Studio Theatre. Ten years in the making, the wholly Jamaican film – funded by local investors and featuring indigenous talent and music – is a depiction of what life can be like in inner city Kingston. The “against the odds” drama – set in a politically turbulent community - tells the story of Derrick, a determined teenager, struggling to realize his dream of becoming a champion boxer despite a country, community and family riven by divisive politics.
On Friday, September 16, "The Skin", a mythological thriller set in Antigua & Barbuda, will have its Red Carpet launch. A young couple encounters strange occurrences when they unearth and try to sell an ancient artifact. This is the fourth feature film by the industrious husband and wife team of Howard and Mitzi Allen whose work is widely celebrated in Antigua.
The Toronto Showcase, among other goals, aims to raise the international profile of Caribbean film, support the growth of a vibrant world-class Caribbean film and television industry, and serve as a platform for promoting the Caribbean as a premier warm weather travel destination and location for film production.
The Showcase is co-produced with the Harbourfront Centre, and partners are Animae Caribe Animation and New Media Festival, The Consulate General for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto, First Fridays, Green Light Artist Management, the International Development Research Centre, Pennant Media Group, Planet 3 Entertainment, Taffe Entertainment, Toon Boom Animation, the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services at the University of the West Indies, and WHATZHAPPNG.
For tickets, the schedule and general information about the CaribbeanTales Film Showcase and Market Incubator, visit www.caribbeantales-events.com. About CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution
CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution is the first full-service film distribution company in the English-speaking Caribbean, and aims to become the go-to solution for producers and buyers of Caribbean-themed content. The company holds marketing events through the CaribbeanTales Film Festival Group, and provides co-production services to producers. CTWD was founded by award-winning filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, and its principals include creative industries expert Dr. Keith Nurse, economist and businessman Dr. Terrence Farrell, media personality and producer Lisa Wickham, and filmmaker and writer Mary Wells. CTWD, a member of the BIM Ventures family of entrepreneurs, has hosted two film festivals in Barbados, another in New York, produced training workshops for filmmakers, and now has scores of films in its catalog.
For further information, visit www.caribbeantales-worldwide.com.
Contact: Bevan Springer, Marketplace Excellence + 1 201 861-2056
bevan@marketplaceexcellence.com
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Filmmaker In The Newz : Ian Harnarine
Originally from Trinidad, Ian grew up in Toronto, where he attended York University earning a bachelor's degree in Physics and Astronomy. Sticking with the sciences, he moved to Chicago where he earned a master's degree in Nuclear Physics. Eventually he became bored with probing the fundamental building blocks of the Universe so he decided to abandon the sciences, move to Brooklyn and become a filmmaker at NYU's Graduate Film School. He is a faculty member in both the Physics department and Graduate Film School at NYU. Described as a Sound Geek, Ian is the location sound mixer on numerous award winning short films, features, documentaries, special events and commercials. His own films have screened and won prizes at festivals around the world. Currently, Ian is co-writing "Time Traveler" with Spike Lee and an adaptation of David Chariandy's landmark novel "Soucouyant".
MAN ON GROUND hits the ground running at TIFF
Bajan/Nigerian director Akin Omotoso's new feature film MAN ON GROUND has been selected for screening at TIFF.
Based in South Africa where he is well-known as a television actor, Akin explored his Bajan roots in Gathering The Scattered Cousins, a moving cinematic elegy to his Bajan mother, following her death from cancer. This was screened at the opening night of the CaribbeanTales Film Festival in 2009. He has also recently visited and worked in Barbados.
MAN ON GROUND, starring LA-based Nigerian actor Hakeem Kae Kazeem, is "..a bold and exacting portrayal of rising xenophobia in South Africa. Omotoso casts the story of a young Nigerian man living in the African refugee tenements of Johannesburg who disappears against the background of animosity against immigrants flaring into violent rioting. In the span of a single night, his brother, on a short visit from London, tries to elucidate the mystery." (TIFF) If you are in Toronto in September, don't miss it.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
15 Outstanding Caribbean Filmmakers will participate in Unique Incubator Program
Frances-Anne Solomon, CEO of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, the region’s premier film marketing and distribution entity, this week announced that fifteen (15) top Caribbean filmmakers will participate in CTWD's highly effective Market Incubator Program.
The Program, now in its second year, trains Caribbean content creators in the all-important packaging and marketing of films, and will take place as part of the CaribbeanTales Toronto Film Showcase, from Sept 7-17tth at Harbourfront Centre.
The "Class of 2011" includes some of the hottest current and emerging filmmakers from around the Caribbean Diaspora:
- Chris Browne, Jamaican writer / director, whose film “Ghett’a Life” will have its North American Premiere at the CaribbeanTales Showcase. Browne’s first feature “Third World Cop” is the largest grossing Caribbean film to date having played in Jamaican cinemas for over four months.
- Michelle Serieux, St. Lucian producer and director, co- founder of New Caribbean Cinema, a Jamaica-based film collective that includes filmmakers Storme Saulter, cinematographer, Nile Saulter, and filmmaker Joel Burke.
- Rodney Smith and Aubrey Padmore, the team behind innovative, New York / Barbados-based web series “Dominion”
- Nicole Brooks multi-talented Canadian filmmaker, producer, songstress and theatre artist, producer of the series ECHO, and director of “The Orisha Suite” and “Ase”.
- Darren Anthony, Jamaican-Canadian writer of runaway hit play “Secrets of a Black Boy” that has just closed at New York’s ActNow New Voices In Theatre Festival.
- Alison Saunders, award-winning director of "Hit For Six", whose documentary project “Panama Fever” was one of the projects supported by Toronto’s 2010 Incubator Program.
Core Faculty are CTWD CEO and Program Director Frances-Anne Solomon; Creative Industry Specialist, Dr. Keith Nurse; and Media Personality and Producer, Lisa Wickham. They are supported by a stellar team of guest specialists that includes:
- Hayet Benkara, International Festival Consultant
- Johanna Samuel, Distribution Specialist
- Charlotte Rose, CEO, Green Light Artist Management
- Joan Vogelsang, CEO, Toon Boom Animation
- Sonja Heinen, Project Manager, World Cinema Fund and Head, Berlinale Co-production Market,
- Anne Frank, Regional Director of Business Development, Telefilm Canada.
- Anais Clanet, Head of Sales, WIDE Management, France
- Tonya Lee Williams, Actor and President of Canada’s Reel World Film Festival.
The Incubator Program 2011 is funded by the CaribbeanTales Scholarship Fund, that this year is supported by Camilo Antonio, Leroy Crosse, Rita Cox, Terrence Farrell, Fil Fraser, Jay MacPherson, Selwyn Rouse, Jimmy Stewart, Carl Thorpe, Jean Sheen.
For more information about the Incubator Program, the Film Showcase, its Schedule, and to buy tickets please visit: http://caribbeantales-events.com
Thursday, August 11, 2011
TORONTO FILM SHOWCASE HIGHLIGHTS THE POWER OF THE DIASPORA
The half-hour documentary "Forward Home" will have its world premiere on Wednesday, September 7 at 8 p.m. on the opening night of the sixth annual film showcase.
The film's executive producer is economist and creative industries specialist, Dr. Keith Nurse, chairman of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution and director of the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services at the University of the West Indies.
Produced and directed by award-winning Trinidad-based filmmaker Lisa Wickham, with cinematography by Sheldon Felix, "Forward Home" illuminates the findings of Dr. Nurse's ground-breaking research project, "Strategic Opportunities in Caribbean Migration", which studies four Caribbean countries and their counterpart communities in global cities: Jamaica and London; Guyana and Toronto; Suriname and the Netherlands; and the Dominican Republic and New York.
"We have begun to document the uncharted territory of what we call 'Diasporic Tourism,'", explained Dr. Nurse who added "what has been widely known anecdotally, we now have empirical data - solid facts and sound research - to back it up."
The groundbreaking two-year study shows that more than 60 percent of the tourists who arrive in Guyana and Suriname are "Diaspora travelers" or Caribbean nationals living abroad. In Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, these nationals account for between 15 to 20 percent of tourists who travel to the region.
"We have found that Diaspora Tourism is a significant component of Caribbean tourism, and it is not a monolithic construct. These are not just leisure tourists, but people who come for educational and medical reasons, for festivals and other cultural events. We have also found there is an intersection between Diasporic Tourism and the telecommunications, airline, shipping and media industries," he said, noting that the findings have been far more dynamic than expected.
Dr. Nurse, who was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in Trinidad, recommends more strategic planning and marketing on the Diasporic sector to further propel diversification of the Caribbean economy. By so doing, "we can encourage and enlist more Diasporic entrepreneurs, both at home and in the global cities where Caribbean diasporas predominate."
Frances-Anne Solomon, CEO of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution (CTWD), said: "Keith Nurse's film reflects the changing face of the Caribbean. Today's Caribbean person, family and community are dynamic, diverse and international - this is exactly what our contemporary film stories reflect."
The Toronto film screening is sponsored by Canada's International Development Research Centre which joined forces with the Shridath Ramphal Centre to commission the film. The findings of the study will also appear in the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal.
The Toronto Showcase is co-produced with the Harbourfront Centre, and partners include The Consulate General for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto, First Fridays, Green Light Artist Management, the International Development Research Centre, Pennant Media Group, Planet 3 Entertainment, Taffe Entertainment, Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services at the University of the West Indies.
The CaribbeanTales Scholarship Fund is supported by Camilo Antonio, Carl Thorpe, Fil Fraser, Jay MacPherson, Jean Sheen, Rita Cox and Selwyn Rouse.
For information about the CaribbeanTales Film Showcase and Market Incubator, the schedule, and for tickets, visit www.caribbeantales-events.com.
About CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution
CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution is the first full-service film distribution company in the English-speaking Caribbean, and aims to become the go-to solution for producers and buyers of Caribbean-themed content. The company holds marketing events through the CaribbeanTales Film Festival Group, and provides co-production services to producers. CTWD was founded by award-winning filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, and its principals include creative industries expert Dr. Keith Nurse, economist and businessman Dr. Terrence Farrell, media personality and producer Lisa Wickham, and filmmaker and writer Mary Wells. CTWD, a member of the BIM Ventures family of entrepreneurs, has hosted two film festivals in Barbados, another in New York, produced training workshops for filmmakers, and now has scores of films in its catalog.
For further information, visit www.caribbeantales-worldwide.com.
ENDS
Sunday, August 7, 2011
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