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  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-m

Turtle Meat and Popcorn. Caribbean Tales Film Festival goes down the Eden River with a paddle It all begins on Wednesday. The Annual Caribbean Tales Film Festival kicks off its 2023 program at Harbourfront, showcasing "Eden River," a creepy, eerie, suspenseful American movie made on a river. It is 1961, and three poachers are paddling along a swampy river in Belize in a boat that has seen better days. They have no food, only a bottle of what looks like homemade hooch. They are illegally hunting for green turtles, hoping to score big by selling poached turtle meat. However, there are no turtles to be found. There is no mosquito repellent, and there is no motor at the stern of the single mast dinghy. Oh yes, and there is no love lost between the three men, even though one of them swears he is the half-brother of one of the other sailors, and the third claims he believes in love, peace and the Bible. Arguments and a man overboard, accompanied by a musical score about Zombies, le

New Play by Blakka’s Son is Fun, Mystical and True By Stephen Weir,   for Caribbean Camera   Daniel Jelani Ellis in Speaking of Sneakers It was a rare experience for me to attend live theatre and have the writer and star of the play I am about to see check my ticket, escort me to my seat and suggest I read the programme because I will probably have trouble with the dialect!  It was opening night for Speaking of Sneaking and the room was packed with people wanting to see what the buzz about Daniel Jelani Ellis, (the son of famed Jamaican comedian Owen Blakka Ellis), is all about. The 28-year old Jamaican Canadian actor has been working since 2010 on a one-man play that he describes as being “a mash-up of dance, poetry and pantomime”, Last week the theatre world got to see how the project is progressing; based on the audience response at Opening Night, this is a winner.   Speaking of Sneaking has a limited run at the Theatre Centre on Queen Street West; it will be closing