Mas Model At the Door of the Caribbean Tales Film Festival greets Open Night Guests

 The Curtain Rises, The Show is About to Start. Cue Marcus Garvey’ Ghost


       Greeter in Mas costume welcomes people to the start of the CTRR opeing party

By Stephen Weir

Caribbean Camera Sept. 4 If all went well last night, after The Caribbean Camera was put to bed, the 19th annual Caribbean Tales Film Festival (CTFF) is now well underway. Get ready, Toronto— from now until late night on Sunday, September 25th, the city will be buzzing with virtual movies, short films, and several not-to-be-missed in-person events.
This is not your typical film festival. Unlike previous years, most of the 50 or so movies, short films, and television shows will be screened online. However, there are still several in-person events that are expected to pack the Harbourfront Centre’s film theatre and the CTFF West Studio at their Dundas Street West headquarters.
Last night’s opening was held at the CTFF Hub, featuring films from Canada, St. Lucia, and France, including the documentary Brave. This 25-minute film tells the story of Cébé, a modest housekeeper living in France, who returns to Haiti to perform a ceremony she should have completed 24 years ago, following the death of her mother, a Vodou priestess.
The Caribbean Camera was granted early access to watch the first episode of Garvey’s Ghost, a Canadian-made television show scheduled for its world premiere at CTFF’s Opening Night.
Garvey’s Ghost is a comedy based on the life of Denham Jolly, the man who launched Flow Radio and was a prominent figure in many Black activist movements in Toronto. In this new TV show, created by the Festival’s Founder Frances-Anne Solomon, a young Denham Jolly arrives in Toronto in 1995 and boards at the rooming house of Violet Williams, Lady President of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. The show captures the boarding house experience that many new Caribbean immigrants endured in the 20th century.
The interactions between Jolly and the strong-willed homeowner Miss Violet are especially funny if you’ve ever met the real-life Denham Jolly. Played by Richard Walters (Degrassi), the character arrives in Canada naïve, timid, and very subservient around Miss Violet Williams (Melanie Nicholls-King) and her daughters. The six-part series is supported by the Bell Fund, Ontario Creates, and the Canada Media Fund, and is a must-see.
Want to attend a birthday party? The next live event for CTFF takes place Saturday night at Harbourfront Centre, where Jean Augustine, Canada’s first Black woman Member of Parliament, will celebrate her 87th birthday with an evening of film and music alongside the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival audience.
“The highlight of the evening will be the screening of Iconography: Mungal Patasar, a documentary directed by Mikhail Gibbings and Teneka Mohammed. The film chronicles the life and work of Indo-Trinidadian musician Mungal Patasar, renowned for his unique fusion of the sitar and steelpan, blending Eastern and Western musical traditions. Patasar, who resides in Trinidad, will be present at the screening, accompanied by his pannist, Professor Harold Headly, for a special live performance,” wrote Caribbean Camera arts reporter Lincoln DePardine in last week’s paper.
The evening will end with a toast to Jean at this ticketed film/birthday/live music event.
The next live events include a night of LGBT films next Friday at the Festival’s Hub, followed on Saturday by a 7:30 pm showcase of standout Caribbean short films. It all culminates with the Gala Awards Night on Sunday, September 15th.


There are many more Caribbean movies to watch online via your phone, computer, or other communication devices from September 4th-30th. This year’s theme, HOME, explores self-care, healing, and the preservation of Caribbean traditions through the lens of home and sanctuary. “This year’s films offer powerful insights into the vital connection between our cultural roots and personal well-being, capturing the essence of resilience and renewal within the diaspora,” says the CTFF. “Watch it online.”


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

America Wild. The name of a movie, a metaphor for the star!

Image
. Recent Huffington Post Film Story by Stephen Weir   http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/../../stephen-weir/america-wild-interview_b_11397002.html Rachel Pohl - photo by George Socka “ I don’t work out.   I don’t diet.   I don’t prepare before climbing,” confessed 23-year old mountain climber Rachel Pohl.   “ Why can I (climb up a near vertical rock face) do it?   Thank my mother and father for their DNA!” The modest adventurer is starring in   "America Wild: National Parks Adventure".   She doesn’t simply climb mountains, she preternatural ly finds pinkie sized breaks in sheer rock faces. One foot on one side of a stone crevice, the other on a different rock face altogether. And between her legs? The great abyss.   publicity still - Devil's Tower America Wild, a new Imax movie narrated by Robert Redford, recently had its Canadian premiere in Toronto.   It has begun showing at museums, galleries and Science Centres all across North America. The 50-minut
Read more

Sublimnos - Muse for James Cameron

Image
. . Sublimnos No Longer Out Of Sight … And Definitely Not Out of Mind By Stephen Weir It will take a long long time for a piece of Canadian dive history to rust into dust. Given the hard feelings surrounding the historic Sublimnos Project, the deteriorating, remains of that underwater habitat could well be an above-water Lake Ontario eyesore for years until rust indeed becomes dust. Back in the summer of 1969 Sublimnos was set down in the waters of Georgian Bay near Tobermory, Ontario the self-described "fresh water scuba diving capital of the world" .It was a bargain basement underwater research station. Constructed from a railroad tanker for just $10,000.00, Sublimnos became Canada’s first subsurface research laboratory. From 1969 to 1971 the Sublimnos project, funded and spearhead by physician, author, explorer and frequent Diver Magazine contributor Dr. Joe McInnis, was headline news around the world. Built to accommodate up to four divers at a time, in its first two-ye
Read more

SCUBA DIVING INSPIRES UNDERWATER TATTOOS (AND TOE NAIL POLISH)

Image
 . Chasing Ink With Camera! One Day On A Little Cayman Dive Boat The compass has a dive flag. Celtic ink with 3 waves for the dive world Stripping down in Little Cayman's only food store Little Cayman Island, population 200, attracts only two types of visitors.  Ornithologists. Experienced Scuba Divers. Ornithologists because of the birds. The largest colony of Red Footed Boobies in the Caribbean is found on Little Cayman's Booby Pond. Scuba Divers go there because of the sheer wall of coral found in the island's underwater preserve, just north of the island. My wife and I returned from Little Cayman Island on Sunday.  We weren't there for the birds. Flamingo is the logo for dive haven Bonaire. We spent most of our week on a couple of dive boats. One large scuba boat was operated by Reef Divers out of the Little Cayman Resort.  The other, a small Boston Whaler operated by three divers, was out on the reef hunting the invasive lionfish.
Read more