Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Hope the other festivals won’t get into a tiff over Yardie's Canadian premiere tonight in Toronto thanks to Caribbean Tales Festival First time director Idris Elba By Stephen Weir Don’t tell TIFF but The Caribbean Tales Film Festival (CTFF) has scored a big one! Thursday night – July 4th - the CTFF is showing Yardie at the downtown Royal Cinema. This is the Canadian debut for a feature length thriller that was directed by British film star Idris Elba. “We tried for it last year, but, they wanted to make a big splash and tie Yardie into a screening with a distributor, it never happened” explained Dianne Webley Co-Director of the CTFF. “We continued to push to get the movie for Toronto and a year later here we are having the Canadian premier at the Royal Cinema this evening (Thursday July 4th). We are using the showing to introduce the line-up of films for this year’s Festival, so Yardie will get a terrific splash!’ The movie’s plot takes viewers from Jamaica to E

Winning viewers for Caribbean Movies in Toronto and Trinidad By Stephen Weir The biggest news for the just completed Caribbean Tales Film Festival (CTFF), took place not at home in Toronto but in Port of Spain, Trinidad. It was announced last week that  Frances-Anne Solomon, the head of the CTFF, and a filmmaker herself had just won the People’s Choice Award at the Trinidad and Tobago International Film Festival Francis-Anne Solomon Ms. Solomon, in addition to spearheading the Toronto festival, has been hard at work all spring and summer completing her own film.    That movie,   HERO -- Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Ulric Cross ,  was previewed and premiered at the CTFF in Toronto and then rushed down to Port of Spain to be shown in competition in their T&T film festival a week later. The film is the first Trinidad / Canadian feature length film to be premiered and previewed in both country’s keynote festivals in the same year.    The movie tells t

The Trinidadian Name Game: Nang by Nang By Stephen Weir I suggested to award winning Canadian filmmaker Richard Fung that his new documentary about 94-year old Nang could be called Travels with my Trinidadian Aunt. “No!” he said.  “Everyone seems to think that Nang is my aunt, but, even though we are 30-years apart, she is my cousin!” Fung – an award winning Trinidadian born filmmaker and a professor at the OCAD University in downtown Toronto – is premiering his 40-minute documentary  Nang by Nang , next Wednesday evening (September 12) at the Royal Cinema as part of the Caribbean Tales Film Festival.  Nine days later he will be premiering the movie again in Trinidad as part of their Film Festival.  He spoke to me last week about the movie at his home in Toronto.   Fung’s film is the story of his aunt who now lives in the US and how they meet and travelled together back to Trinidad to explore their shared family tree.  The documentary is told for the most part by Nang – Fung

Nickolai Salcedo readies to climb aboard the world stage for  his role in the new Trini-Canadian flick By Stephen Weir It is not just actor Nickolai Salcedo who is waiting for a bus to arrive.   It is the whole cast and crew of the new Canadian / Trinidadian movie, Hero , that are anxiously wondering when and where their soon-to-be previewed film is going to take them. Salcedo plays Ulric Cross, the famed Trinidadian World War II airman. The Hero is a full-length docudrama that tells the story of the life and times of Cross. He was squadron leader for the Brits and went on after the War to become a jurist and diplomat. His life spanned key events of the 20th Century when independent African and Caribbean nations came of age.   It is all going to happen quickly.   Next week, at the September 5 th gala kick-off of Toronto’s Caribbean Tales Film Festival, Hero will be shown for the very first time.   Salcedo in Bloor St West coffee shop   “I am ready to go where-eve

Natalie Perera and Machel Montano in Bazodee huffington post blog - pending The King of Soca and perennial star of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Machel Montano, has a mission.  Black. White. Brown. Yellow. Montano feverishly believes that Soca Music is the beat of the 21st century This weekend the Trinidadian singer is seeing his new movie Bazodee, opening in theatres across Toronto.  The feature film -- a musical -- is a fusion of Soca music and Bollywood movie styling. Fresh from a sell-out premiere at the just completed Caribbean Tales Film Festival in Toronto, Bazodee is being booked into Canadian theatres by Serafini Films.  They are billing Bazodee as "a 'Come Alive' Caribbean Musical featuring Machel Montano in his debut and the heartbeat of his Soca music, influenced by the traditional sounds of India and electronica." The movie will be shown at three theatres in Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga this weekend. 45-year old Machel Montano, the