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Come & Celebrate With Us!

TODAY, Saturday 28th Ocotber:

Come join us at the Camera Bar, 1028 Queen Street Toronto, from 1-7pm, to celebrate the Second Season of Literature Alive, with A DAY OF SCREENINGS AND DISCUSSION, featuring "The Best Of Literature Alive Season 1".

The programme:

1:00 p.m. Memory Places
Haitian-Canadian Dany Laferriere, Indo-Trinidadian Ramabai Espinet, Toronto's Flow 93.5 DJ and poet Jemeni and Trinidad born-Ottawa raised Andre Alexis: Four contemporary Caribbean writers who in their writing draw on childhood memories to create imaginative modern reflections on Canada today.

3:00 p.m. Fantastic Spaces
Many writers navigating the spaces between the Caribbean and Canada create startling imaginary landscapes that meld the two. This series of docs explores the fabulous worlds of science fiction writer Nalo Hopkinson, magic realist writer Shani Mootoo, and vibrant spoken word artist d'bi Young.

5:00 p.m. In Celebration of Miss Lou
Three half-hour films exploring the power, range and influence of Jamaican poet, writer, broadcaster and comedienne Louise Bennet Coverley, on modern Caribbean Culture from the 40s to the birth of Reggae and through to the spokenword hip-hop generation. Featuring poet publisher and teacher Pam Mordecai (in conversation with her friend the writer Velma Pollard), and spoken-word artist & entrepreneur Dwayne Morgan.
Literature Alive documentaries have been screened internationally including at Fipa 2006 in Paris; Reel Sisters 2006, in NY; The 2006 Festival of Black International Cinema, in St Louis, Berlin, and Paris, and at Carifesta 9, in Trinidad. Memory Places, featuring author Andre Alexis, won Special Acknowledgement in the Best Documentary category at the recent Festival of Black International Cinema.

We Are Celebrating The Launch of LiteratureAlive Season 2

CaribbeanTales is celebrating the launch of Literature Alive Season 2 on October 27, 2006 at the Camera Bar, 1028 Queen Street West at 7pm PM.

We are so very proud of the documentaries that we produced this year! They will begin broadcasting on Bravo! on Thursday November 2nd at 8pm.

The Launch event will feature a sneak preview of some of this year's most exciting documentaries.

HONOR BOUND - a half-hour snapshot of the endlessly surprising creative talents of Honor Ford Smith; as well as IN THE SHADOW OF MY FATHERS, profiling the important work of poet, novelist and biographer Rachel Manley. And CREATION FIRE, an extraordinary profile of Calabash, the dynamic Literary Festival that takes place in Jamaica every year.

On Saturday October 28, we will have A DAY OF SCREENINGS AND DISCUSSIONS featuring "The Best of Literature Alive Season 1". Since this series first aired on BRAVO! last October, several of our documentaries have won awards and been screened at Festivals internationally. We are delighted to bring to the big screen, our award-winning documentaries on the Hon. Louise Bennet-Coverley, Ramabai Espinet, Shani Mootoo, Nalo Hopkinson, and Jemini, among others.

The full program for the event is below.

Many of the writers will be joining us to introduce the documentaries and discuss their work, including Rachel Manley, Honor Ford Smith, Jemini, Shani Mootoo, Nalo Hopkinson, and Ramabai Espinet.

Literature Alive Season 2 Launch - FULL PROGRAM

Friday October 27
7:00 p.m. LITERATURE ALIVE SEASON 2 Sneak Preview
Rachel Manley - My Father's Shadow
Colin Channer - Creation Fire
Honor Ford Smith - Honor-Bound

Drinks and festivities!

Saturday October 28 - A Day of Screenings and Discussion - The best of Literature Alive Season 1
1:00 p.m. Memory Places
Haitian-Canadian Dany Laferriere, Indo-Trinidadian Ramabai Espinet, Toronto's Flow 93.5 DJ and poet Jemeni and Trinidad born-Ottawa raised Andre Alexis: Four contemporary Caribbean writers who in their writing draw on childhood memories to create imaginative modern reflections on Canada today.

3:00 p.m. Fantastic Spaces
Many writers navigating the spaces between the Caribbean and Canada create startling imaginary landscapes that meld the two. This series of docs explores the fabulous worlds of science fiction writer Nalo Hopkinson, magic realist writer Shani Mootoo, and vibrant spoken word artist d'bi Young.

5:00 p.m. In Celebration of Miss Lou
Three half-hour films exploring the power, range and influence of Jamaican poet, writer, broadcaster and comedienne Louise Bennet Coverley, on modern Caribbean Culture from the 40s to the birth of Reggae and through to the spokenword hip-hop generation. Featuring poet publisher and teacher Pam Mordecai (in conversation with her friend the writer Velma Pollard), and spoken-word artist & entrepreneur Dwayne Morgan.

Literature Alive documentaries have been screened internationally including at Fipa 2006 in Paris; Reel Sisters 2006, in NY; The 2006 Festival of Black International Cinema, in St Louis, Berlin, and Paris, and at Carifesta 9, in Trinidad. Memory Places, featuring author Andre Alexis, won Special Acknowledgement in the Best Documentary category at the recent Festival of Black International Cinema.

CaribbeanTales Wants your Stories!

CaribbeanTales is looking for new literary, artistic, video and audio content!

Click here to go to our Newsletter for a description of what we're looking for.

An Award For "What My Mother Told Me"

"What My Mother Told Me", directed by Frances-Anne Solomon, has won the 2006 Award for "Best Film portraying the Black Experience" at the Festival of Black International Cinema, that took place in St Louis Missouri, Berlin Germany and Paris, France in April & May this year.

At the same festival "Memory Places", directed by Frances Anne Solomon and Eugene Paramoer, won "Special Acknoledgement" in the Best Documentary category.

"What My Mother Told Me" was also nominated for the 2006 HBO Award for Best Feature Film at Martha's Vineyard African Amercian Film Festival August 10-13th in Florida.

A UK/Trinidad & Tobago co-production completed in 1996, this beautiful film continues to garner recognition through festivals and screenings internationally. Last year it won the "Producer's Choice" Award at the Women of Color Film Festival in Berkeley.

It stars renowned Jamaican actress Leonie Forbes, with original music by the late Trinidad composer Andre Tankar.

Here is a list of selected recent (2005-2006) screenings of our films:

What My Mother Told Me
2006 Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival (Best Feature Nomination)
2006 Festival of Black International Cinema, St Louis, Berlin, Paris. (Award, Best Film Portraying the Black Experience)
2005 Pan African Festival of Cinema, Ougadougou
2005 Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles, California
2005 Women of Color Film Festival, Berkeley, California (Producer's Choice Award)

Reunion: West Indian Women At War
2006, The Trinidad & Tobago International Film Festival
2006 Festival of Black International Cinema, St Louis, Berlin, Paris
2005 Pan African Film Festival, Colorado
2005 Mpenzi Women's Film Festival, Toronto

Literature Alive
2006, Carifesta, Trinidad.
Literature Alive was screened in it's entirety as part of "Books On Film" at Carifesta IX.
In addition, Blood, Dub and The Matriarch - Dbi Young was screened at the Carifesta IX Film Festival.
2006, The Trinidad and Tobago International Film Festival.
Fabulous Spaces - Nalo Hopkinson,
Miss Lou: Then and Now - Hon. Louise bennet Coverley.
2006, Fipa, Paris
Memory Places - Andre Alexis,
Believe - Richardo Keens Douglas,
Un Homme Dans sa Ville - Dany LaFerriere
Home - Tessa McWatt.
2006, Reel Sisters, NY
My Dinner With Shani - Shani Mootoo,
Man Behind The Mic - Dwayne Morgan,
Blood, Dub and the Matriarch - Dbi.young,
Her True True Name - Pam Mordecai,
Fantastic Spaces - Nalo Hopkinson
2006 Festival of Black International Cinema, (St Louis, Berlin, Paris)
Her True True Name - Pam Mordecai,
Miss Lou Then and Now - Louise Bennet,
Memory Places - Andre Alexis (Special Acknoledgement Award)
2006 San Diego Women's Festival
Blood, Dub and The Matriarch - D'bi Young

Lord Have Mercy!
2005 African Diaspora Film Festival NY
2005 Best of the ADFF, BAM Center New York
2005 Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles
2005 Atlanta Women of Color Film Festival

I Is A Long Memoried Woman
2006 African Diaspora Film Festival

Bideshi
Carifesta IX Film Festival, Trinidad

Thank you "Auntie Rita"

Dr. Rita Cox ("Auntie Rita" to many), was honored at the Parkdale Library on July 26th.

While she was the Librarian in Parkdale, Rita created an amazing collection of books, which has been renamed the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection.

An endowment fund set up to protect and maintain the fund - The Rita Cox Endowment Fund - is receiving contributions from the community. Please support this important initiative!

Rita has been an Advisor and supporter of CaribbeanTales from the beginning. She believed in what we were setting out to do before it existed, and said she saw the Audio Books project in particular as an extension of her own work, because of the way it connects oral storytelling and literature.

Like many in her extended family, I remember well as a young person running around the city, helping out with Kumbayah, the annual Storytelling Festival that she ran. All the amazing storytellers that came here from around the world to perform at the Festival blew my mind and gave me a great respect for the power of the oral tradition. And for Auntie Rita.

Born in Trinidad, author and storyteller Rita Cox received the Order of Canada for her active role in promoting storytelling, multicultural education and literacy. Weaving together the oral and written word, Rita opened the magic world of books to her listeners,giving them tools to pursue their hopes and dreams. Rita was Children's Librarian and head of the Parkdale Branch of the Toronto Public Library.

LiteratureAlive Film Festival This Weekend

CaribbeanTales and Leda Serene Films
in association with the IRIE Music Festival, the National Film Board of Canada, and the CBC
present

the 1st Annual
LITERATURE ALIVE Film Festival
18 original documentary profiles of great Caribbean-Canadian authors.

"...provocative, inspiring, revealing..."

August 4th, 5th and 6th
at the NFB Cinema, 150 John St.

CLICK HERE for the full schedule.