Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

On The Road With Grace & Saleem Director Jian Hennings found his actors on Facebook and then took them on a Trinidad road trip. Hennings, director and writer of Grace & Saleem , concedes that it is damn hard to make a “road movie” in Trinidad. “It is a small island, you can drive around our little world in 3 or 4 hours.” Everyone has seen a road movie, from Thelma and Louise to Dumb and Dumber ; the genre has been a cinema staple for over 60 years. These are films where the main characters are usually unknowingly on a journey of self-discovery. The destination is rarely as important as the experience of getting there. Move over Hollywood. While most road movies are Made-in-America, Hennings has lensed this all in Trinidad making it the Caribbean’s first authentic On The Road movie. It is a good one. Grace & Saleem is a love story of an unlikely couple told via three distinctive chapters of their relationship together. They have a soul changing road tri...

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...

The grand world tour for HERO begins next Thursday By Stephen Weir / Caribbean Camera For local filmmaker   Frances-Anne Solomon,   the best outcome for next week’s Canadian premiere of her new movie is that audiences in Toronto and Hamilton will give the feature a Hero’s welcome.  After a successful launch late last year in Trinidad, HERO,"   inspired By The Extraordinary Life & Times Of Mr. Ulric   Cross ," is about to be screened at theatres in the GTA and across Canada.     Filmed in Trinidad, Ghana, the United Kingdom and Canada, HERO is the  full-length docudrama  about Ulric Cross (played by Trinidad and Tobago singer  Nickolai Salcedo ) ,  t he famed Trinidadian World War II airman. This is a big vision film that tells the story of  the West Indies’ most decorated war veteran. Cross was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force and went on after the war to become a jurist and an African diplo...

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...