Gemini-nominated Filmmaker to receive T&T Award

TORONTO (January 25, 2011) – Ian Harnarine, the award winning Trinidadian-Canadian filmmaker, will receive an Award of Recognition from the Government of Trinidad & Tobago for his outstanding contribution to film, at the CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival Gala, co-hosted with TIFF, on February 4, 2012.

The Gala celebrates the fiftieth anniversaries of both Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, and will also feature the Canadian premiere of Jamaican film Better Mus Come.

Harnarine’s short film Doubles with Slight Pepper, an official selection at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, won Best Canadian Short at TIFF 2011, and has now been nominated for a Gemini (the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars). The Geminis take place in September in Toronto.

The film tells the story of Dhani, a street vendor in Trinidad, who struggles to reconcile his relationship with his father in Canada before the latter dies. Poetic dialogue and compelling characters shape this story of the contemporary immigrant experience.

Harnarine developed Doubles as an alumnus of the CaribbeanTales Incubator Program (CIPAVE) in 2010. The intensive program, that helps filmmakers to develop market ready content, also introduced the US-based filmmaker to potential partners from around the region. Shortly afterwards, the film was shot with partial funding from the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, starring Trinidadian actors Errol Sitahal, Sanjiv Boodhu, and Susan Hannays-Abraham.

The son of Trinidadian immigrants, Ian Harnarine grew up in Toronto, and attended York University where he earned a BA in Physics and Astronomy. He moved to Chicago for his Master’s degree in Nuclear Physics. Bored with his chosen profession, he settled in Brooklyn and became a filmmaker at NYU’s Graduate Film School. He is currently on the Faculty at NYU in both the Physics Department and the Tisch School of Film.

The Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film will be presented by the High Commissioner for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in Canada His Excellency Philip Buxo on the occasion of the CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival Gala Brunch, co-hosted by TIFF, at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Feb 4, 2012.

The CTYFF Gala  is co-produced with TIFF,  and partners include  404 Media Group, Art of Catering, Carib101, Flyin Monkey Films, Lisaliving.ca,  Manifesto,  MotionLive, Telefilm Canada, Up From The Roots, Ryan Singh Enterprises, First Fridays, Planet Africa Group and Caribbean Camera.

Event details

Name: CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival | Gala, Brunch & Canadian Premiere of Better Mus’ Come
Date: February 4, 2012 at 12pm
Venue: TIFF Bell Lightbox
Tickets: CaribbeanTales-events.com

About CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival

Founded in 2009, The CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival screens Caribbean and Africentric films for audiences of high school and university students, to deepen audiences' understanding of Canada's multicultural communities through screenings, workshops and Q&A’s. Each year, the festival honours a media artist who has made an outstanding contribution to the representation of Caribbean and African-heritage people and culture on screen. Previous CTYFF awardees have included African-American filmmaker Julie Dash, Canadian producer Claire Prieto, broadcaster and writer Fil Fraser and academy award nominated filmmaker Hubert Davis.