Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Sit back. Relax. Turn On Your Smartphone.  Caribbean Tales Film Festival goes online in September 2020 Generation Lockdown By Stephen Weir Break out and bags of Orville Redenbacher's popcorn. You will need a shopping basket full to get through this year’s Caribbean Tales Film Festival  (CTFF) - and, oh gosh you are going to have to make it yourself.  The festival is going online this year, so all the movies will have to be enjoyed at home on computers, phones and pads. Last night the CTFF held a digital media launch for the coming virtual film fest. They announced the names of nine feature films and hinted at a coming lineup of 25 short movies that will be part of the 15th annual CTFF. CTFF runs from September 9th to October 2nd and will take place on the Video-On-Demand CaribbeanTales-TV (CT-TV) platform with livestream entertainment.  The film festival describes “CT-TV is an innovative subscription-based digital streaming platform that provides ac...

Caribbean Tales Film Festival is going online!   The theatres were booked, the movies picked and the stars were making plans to come to the city and walk the Caribbean Tales International’s (CTFF) red carpet this September.  On Wednesday the CTFF advised the Caribbean Camera’s Stephen Weir that while the show must go on, it will not be taking place in any bijous in the year of COVID 19! “It is not happening in theatres this year. It will be a live-stream festival,” spokeswoman Fennella Bruce told the Caribbean Camera. “ It won't (be held in any movie house), unless there is a drastic change in COVID-19 protocol from Provincial and Toronto Health Officials.” The 15th annual movie fest will now run from September 9th until October 2nd and will take place on-line with eight individual nights of films and 25 short films of live-stream entertainment.  As well, during the summer months there will be community programming made available thr...

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 ye...