BAJAN FILM MAKERS IN CARIBBEANTALES 2012 GALA

Two Barbadian film makers – Penny Hynam and Alison Saunders – will share the spotlight during the Opening Gala of CaribbeanTales Film Festival 2012.

Hynam is the producer of a ten-part series entitled, “A Day in a Bajan Life”, which features short films on the lives of “interesting but not necessarily famous Bajans”. One of those segments will be shown at next Wednesday’s screening at Frank Collymore Hall.

Film director Saunders will be offering a ten-minute teaser, “Panama Fever”, which is a sneak peek of the documentary “Panama Fever: A Caribbean Journey” which she has been working on for some time, having already shot footage in Barbados, Cuba and Panama.

Saunders – the great-great niece of a Barbadian Panama Canal worker – traces her journey of discovery of the sacrifices, challenges and achievements of her ancestor and other West Indian workers on the Panama Canal and their descendants.

“I’m honoured to be showcased at the gala. I’m telling a story for everybody because most Bajans – and other West Indians – have a relative who went to Panama to work on the construction of the (Panama) Canal. It’s something we should be proud of because they made one the seven wonders of the modern world.

“A lot of work has gone into this project already and we’re now trying to raise funds to complete it,” said Saunders, thanking her editor and local camera person, Rachelle Mayers, for her diligent work on the teaser.

 Meanwhile, “A Day in a Bajan Life” enters the world of talented Rastafarian artist, Izebo, who paints wall murals. The 17-minute piece will not only show patrons this colourful aspect of his life but also the trials and tribulations he faces as a homeless person who sleeps in Queen’s Park.

“This is a slice of life in Barbados. If you put all ten segments together, you would have a real mosaic of Bajan life,” observed Hynam, adding that another piece will be shown later in the Festival.

The April 10-15 Caribbean film extravaganza, she noted, is an opportunity to show the local audience “quality Barbadian work being produced”.

“We don’t get much chance to see ourselves on the big screen and this is priceless.”

Several other Bajan filmmakers will be profiled during the festival. The festival line-up includes new films by up and coming as well as established Bajan filmmakers including Menelik Shabazz, Andrew Jemmot, Nicholas King Douglas Newton, and Liesje Cole Pragnell.
 
Photos - A still from "A Day in A Bajan Life" produced by Penelope Hynam, and Alison Saunders, producer and director of "Panama Fever"

EVENT DETAILS

Name: CaribbeanTales 2012 @ Island Inn - FIlm Festival, Symposium, Incubator

Date: April 10 - 15, 2012

Venue: Venues around Barbados: Island Inn, Aquatic Gap; Frank Collymore Hall, Bridgetown; George Washington House; Olympus Cinemas, Sheraton Mall;

Tickets: CaribbeanTales-events.com, and at selected venues:

Pro Photo (Sheraton Centre)
Mpowered (Mall Internationale)
Big B Supermarket
Super Centre Sunset Crest

Media and Information : Frances-Anne Solomon, Director 266-7779; Nancii Yearwood, CaribbeanTales@gmail.com.

CaribbeanTales@Island Inn Barbados is sponsored by: CaribbeanTales 2012 @ Island Inn, Barbados is sponsored by: André Woodvine, Bajan Reporter, Barbados Film and Video Association, Barbados Today, Barbados Tourism Association, Benjamin Drakes Photography, Blue Waters Productions, Bridgetown Film Academy, Caribbean Broadcasting Union, Caribbean Development Bank, Caribbean Media Corporation, Creative Junction, Curtis Padmore, France-Caraïbe Broadcast, Frank Collymore Hall,iRebel Films, Island Inn, Jo Spalberg, National Cultural Foundation, Olympus Cinemas, Rose Rapley, Sea Weaver Productions Inc., SFa Communications,  St Nicholas Abbey Rum, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU (CTA), Wenty Bowen, wonland design.