CaribbeanTales celebrates the success of its 2nd Barbados Festival.

Bridgetown – March 21, 2011
The much buzzed about CaribbeanTales 2011 Film Festival came to a close last Sunday night following seven event-filled days that celebrated the exploding film and television industry across the Caribbean region and it's Diaspora. Filmmakers and film enthusiasts from around the region and the world come together for a week of cultural celebration, that took place at the Island Inn, and George Washington House.
The festival's Gala Opening on March 16th at Frank Collymore Hall was held before a packed to capacity audience of 500 patrons.
And at the closing night screening of Raoul Peck's "Moloch Tropical" , CaribbeanTales CEO Frances-Anne Solomon thanked all participants and sponsors for making this year’s theme “Vision Momentum Action! ” a huge success.
"Even though it was very hard work, in a lean year, the support we have had has been tremendous." She continued: "The pay off is a satisfied and nourished audience base, stimulated by rich dialogue about our industry. This will carry our team forward for a long time to come."

The festival's highlight was the unique CT Content Incubator , facilitated by US Marketing and Distribution consultant Michele Matterre, with a special animation incubator led by Camille Selvon Abrahams of Anime Caribe. Selected filmmakers participated in an intensive immersion in the creative, business and marketing aspects of the industry, with support from international industry experts, culminating in a pitch session.

Another highlight was the CT Symposium that provided a comprehensive overview of the regional industry, starting with a wonderful and inspired keynote adress delivered by Mia Mottley.

Many special guests travelled from abroad to take part in the activities including: Hollywood Director Neema Barnette, Berlinale Talent Campus Director Mattijs Knol, World Cinema Fund Director Sonja Heinen, Africa Channel EVP of Corporate Affairs Mark Watson, Kethiwe Ngcobo, Head of Drama at the South African Broadcasting Corporation and award-winning Canadian composer John Welsman who delivered a master class  on sound and music for film.

Also present was a stellar contingent from the Caribbean region including EZONE's Lisa Wickham and Sheldon Felix,  Antigua's HAMA TV - Mitzi and Howard Allen,  Dominica's Alwin Bully and Film Commissioner for Dominica Anita Bully, Guadeloupe Film Commissioner Tony Coco-Viloin and FEMI Director Frank Solvet.
Diaspora filmmakers also were present in numbers including Faisal Lutchmedia  from Montreal, and Dawn Wilkinson from Toronto,
Another high point took place on Saturday evening with the Awards Ceremony honoring Special Guest Hollywood Director Neema Barnette,
This was followed by the world premiere screening of Howard and Mitzi Allen's eagerly anticipated fourth feature film THE SKIN, followed by a talk back session with the filmmakers.
Ms Barnette who came from Los Angeles  to receive the Award, spoke movingly of the importance of the CaribbeanTales. "For someone who has worked hard for everything I have ever got, it is wonderful to see what this festival provides for filmmakers" she said.

Mitzi Allen said that it was important to herself and her husband, filmmaker director Howard Allen to present the film at CaribbeanTales, even though it was not quite finished. “I really liked the feedback we got from industry folks. It was honest and constructive. A pre-screening outside of Antigua was the best thing we ever did,” said Mitzi who is the Executive Producer for the film.
Most of the films screened to sold out audiences at the George Washington House cinema. These featured some local regional and international premieres  including Miquel Jalofre's extraordinary exploration of Jamaican dancehall music Hit Me With Music, and the stunning series premiere of Dominion by Bajan dream team Sean Michael Field and Rodney Smith
CaribbeanTales 2011 Film Festival  was sponsored by: Island Inn, The Starcom Network, Ultimax TV, Lisa Wickham's Ezone, the Commonwealth Foundation, SFa Communications, Hall-e-wood Productions, Morenamedia, HAMA Productions, Barbados Government Information Service, Caribbean Tourism Organisation, The United Nations Development Program, Caribbean Media Corporation, US Embassy, Animae Caribe, Merville Lynch Prods, Creative Junction, Barbados National Bank, Steinhill Studios, Blue Light Media, and Autonomous Entertainment.
CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution the region's first full-service film distribution company, is founded by award-winning filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, and principals are creative industries expert Dr Keith Nurse (Chair), economist and businessman Dr Terrence Farrell, media personality and producer Lisa Wickham, and filmmaker and writer Mary Wells.
CTWD is a member of the Barbados Business Enterprise Corporation that provides Seed and Venture Capital Services.
For further information, please contact: SFA Communications Inc, info@sfacommunications.com

Students exposed to Film Festival

By John Sealy | Mon, March 14, 2011 - 3:47 PM

School children from across the island got a taste of what is expected at  the upcoming Caribbean Tales Film Festival 2011 when they met for a showing of the American film “All You Got” at St. George Resource Centre, St. George this morning.

United States Chargé d’Affaires Dr Brent Hardt, expressed delight at having the students and teachers who represented schools including Alexandra, Ellerslie, Foundation, Garrison, Grantley Adams, Lester Vaughan, and St. Winifred’s.

Multi-award winning film and television director Neema Barnette was on hand to be part of the opening agenda for the festival which runs until March 20.

Barnette is one of the featured artists for Caribbean Tales Film Festival 2011.

More support needed for regional film industry

2011-03-18

Film Makers Need To Roll Up Their Sleeves

The Caribbean film industry can be a viable and profitable industry, but it lacks the support needed to take it to the next level.

Chief Executive Officer of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, Frances Anne Solomon, made the point at the opening of the second annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival and Symposium, at the Frank Collymore Hall last night.

"We don't have the broadcasters on board, we don't have what countries like the UK, US and Canada have, [which are] incentives across the board, across the region to support the region to make the product and make it viable... and make it work as an industry," she said.

Solomon admitted it was difficult to start CaribbeanTales, as well as stage the film festival, but the team pressed on in order to create a structure to assist other film makers to work and make money.

However, she urged that the film makers must be ready to put their hands to the plough to reap the rewards.

"We have to be prepared to roll up our sleeves and do the dirty work. It is a very tough industry, but it is going to deliver returns..."

Manager of Island Inn and platinum sponsor of the film festival, Peter Odle, said he believed the industry could be beneficial to the region.

Noting that CaribbeanTales came at a "critical juncture" for the region, he said: "The prevailing global economic challenges require that our region exploits all opportunities available to provide greater economic benefits to the people of the region. Film and tourism, or film tourism can help to reposition our regional economies by being a key growth industry."

Odle asserted the film industry could result in increased foreign spending and jobs in both the tourism and non-tourism sectors.

But more than the economic benefits, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Celia Toppin, linked the regional film industry's benefits to the issue of identity.

"We see that having an indigenous film industry goes a long way towards helping us enforce that Caribbean identity that we have... Being able to see ourselves reflected back at us for a change makes a very big difference."

At the opening, the audience was treated to a snippet of new comedy series by Rommel Hall, Keeping Up with the Joneses, as well as web series Dominion, starring Sean Michael Field.

The evening closed with A Hand Full of Dirt, a full-length feature by Russell Watson. (LW)

Antiguan Actors Lauded at CaribbeanTales 2011 Film Festival

The performances of newcomers Aisha Ralph and Brent Simon of Antigua were praised during the Barbados preview of The SKIN, this past weekend. Ralph and Simon play a young couple who discover an ancient artifact, which changes their lives and unleashes a soucayant in The SKIN, a film written and directed by Howard Allen. Read More...

Media Studies Faculty Member to Present at CaribbeanTales Film Festival

Michelle Materre, Media Studies faculty member and associate director of the Bachelor's Program at the New College in Manhattan New York,  was a key facilitator at the  CaribbeanTales 2011 Festival, Symposium, and Marketplace in Bridgetown, Barbados, from March 14–20. The CT Content Incubator, is a program that aims to provide participants with support to develop their new projects through intensive analyses and interventions by international consultants.

Ms Materre was one of several high level industry facilitators working with a group of hand-selected Caribbean filmmakers during the four-day incubator that took place during the festival alongside a public workshop series, the CT 2011 Symposium and Marketplace. Ms Materre also presented two programs during the festival from her annual “Creatively Speaking” Film Series including the Closing Night Feature, Raoul Peck's 2009 masterpiece "Moloch Tropicale".

Other presenters at the event included Mia Amore Mottley, who delivered the Feature A

dress at the opening of the 2011 Symposium; Hollywood director Neema Barnette; EVP of the Africa Channel Mark Walton; Director of the Berlinale Talent Campus Mahttijs Knol; Director of the World Cinema Fund Sonja Heinen; Head of Drama at the South African Broadcasting Corporation Kethiwe Ngcobo; Director of the UK Media Desk Agnieszka Moody; Caricom's Malcolm Spence; Roman Tolic from Unido in Austria; CBC General Manager Lars Soderstrom; Guadeloupe Film Commissioner Tony Coco-Viloin; Dominica's film Commissioner Anita Bully; and HAMA TV's Mitzi and Howard Allen whose eagerly anticipated 4th Feature film THE SKIN was the Centerpiece Special, screening to rave reviews in to a large audience.

The couple made the bold step to preview the film at CaribbeanTales film festival rather than wait for the scheduled June premiere at home.

“I really liked the feedback from the industry folks. It was honest and constructive. A pre-screening outside of Antigua was the best thing we ever did,” said Mitzi Allen, who is the executive producer for the film.

For more information, visit caribbeantales-worldwide.com.

 

GOING GLOBAL - CT 2011 Brings Business Leaders and International Partners To Table

The film industry of the Caribbean has major export potential and with strong ties and partnerships, the stories of the Caribbean can be exported to the world while making a viable living for regional film makers.

This is the theme of GOING GLOBAL - the CaribbeanTales 2011 all-day Symposium event scheduled to take place on March 17th at the Island Inn. Featured speakers include Mia Mottley, MP, QC and former leader of the Oposition in Barbados, and Derwin Howell, CEO of the Barbados National Bank, as well as international visitors like Sonia Heinen, Director of the World Cinema Fund and Co-Production Market of the Berlinale Film Festival,  Michelle Materre, US Marketing and Distribution Consultant, and Mark Walton EVP of the Africa Channel in the US.

CaribbeanTales 2011 @ Island Inn Barbados - The Schedule is online now!

Festival Quick Links:

FILMS  TICKETS  FILMS BY DAY  EDUCATIONAL SCREENINGS  OPENING GALA  GUEST: NEEMA BARNETTE  PARTICIPANTS  INCUBATORS  WORKSHOPS  MASTER CLASS  SYMPOSIUM  VENUES  CONTACT

CaribbeanTales 2011 - MAS MAN by Dalton Narine

 Dalton Narine's stunning elegaic tribute to the art of Trinidadian Mas Designer Peter Minshall.

March 17th, 6.30pm - George Washington House

Mas Man has won awards and critical acclaim at festivals around the world - click here to view the trailer and read more about this wonderful film.

 

Russell watson and Lisa Harewood faced obstacle while making local Barbadian film "A Hand Full of Dirt"

Russell Watson and his team battled for several years against the tremendous obstacles that are commonly faced by Caribbean film makers in order to complete the film. With a minimalist budget, and a lot of determination the movie is an example that against all odds, with creativity and a will, there is a way.

CaribbeanTales 2011 invites you to join us for the Gala Screening of A Hand Full of Dirt on March 16th at 6pm, Frank Collymore Hall.

Russell Watson and Lisa Harewood will talk about their experiences at Case Studies, on Sunday 20th March  at 10 am at Island Inn.

 

 

NEEMA BARNETTE HOLLYWOOD TV DIRECTOR will be CaribbeanTales 2011 @ Island inn!

Many international guests will be visiting Barbados to attend CaribbeanTales 2011 @ Island Inn, Barbados, that wil take place between 14th - 20th March.

Our special Guest is Hollywood Television Director NEEMA Barnette Through the kind support of the US Embassy, Ms Barnett will deliver a special DIRECTING MASTER CLASS on Sunday 20th March @ Island Inn Hotel. Two of her films will screen as part of the festival including ZORA IS MY NAME an PBS/American Playhouse Special about African American author Zora Neale Hurston, and starring Ruby Dee.

My Barnette, one of the first directors on the ground-breaking Cosby Show, and a lecturer in film at the renowned UCLA Film School, will also be a special Tutor at the CT2011 Television and Movies Incubator that will take place at the Island Inn from 14-19th March.

To register for all these events, check our website, and email registration@CaribbeanTales-Worldwide.com.

See you there!

 

 

The Count Down is on : 2 weeks 2 go b4 CaribbeanTales 2011 @ Island Inn!

Check the website :  http://CaribbeanTales-Events.com often for info and updates! Russell Watson's critically acclaimed, award nominated debut film A HAND FULL OF DIRT will have it's Barbados Premiere as the OPENING GALA on March 16th 2011. Please Join us for this very special event.

VENUE : Frank Collymore

TIME: 6PM