Caribbean Filmmakers Telling Our Story – Many to be Featured at Soualiga Film Festival on St. Maarten
Filmmaking is taking a different turn in the Caribbean, as native sons and daughters are picking up the camera and telling the stories that clearly show who we are and the lives we live.
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (PRWEB) October 22, 2006 –
The Caribbean is no newcomer to the film industry. Our picturesque sunsets, majestic mountains and pristine waters have long been a staple in many Hollywood films, including the three installments of Pirates of the Caribbean.
But filmmaking is taking a different turn in the Caribbean, as native sons and daughters are picking up the camera and telling the stories that clearly show who we are and the lives we live.
“If you watch any Hollywood film shot in the Caribbean, you can be sure to find the staples of our beaches, white sand, gorgeous sunsets and the fabulous villas, and usually a very bad accent or two,” said Nerissa Golden of goldenmedia, an integrated media and event management firm based in the Northeast Caribbean. “It is refreshing to see our own people on film, hear our accents, and watch our lives unfold in comedies, dramas, and documentaries.”
Mathurine Emmanuel of St. Lucia is presently filming her third feature film “Narnia’s Paradise. She said almost 30 years of teaching and watching the downward spiral of her island’s youth was one of the main impetus for turning to films to spread a more positive message.
“I was inspired to do this work because my heart was bleeding for the challenges, problems and the hopeless lives of our youth. It pains me greatly to see so many of them facing early graves. This is not God's plan for the youth. He said in his words that it is his good pleasure that we would be happy and be in health but we are sad and we are dying horrible deaths,” the filmmaker explained.
She added that film production is new to the Caribbean people and therefore poses many challenges and problems. “One of the main problems we face is financial support. Piracy of our products is also a serious setback. (My films have been pirated in Dominica extensively).”
Golden, who is also the president of Truly Caribbean Network said she is supporting this renaissance of the Caribbean film industry by launching the first Soualiga Film Festival this December on the island of St. Maarten. The festival is slated to be held around the Dutch capital of Philipsburg on December 15 and 16.
“This is our way of promoting this new avenue of empowerment for Caribbean people but also a powerful tool to influence future generations,” Golden said. “It has been wonderful to receive the film submissions from regional as well as international filmmakers. This first event we will celebrate the work of our Caribbean directors and producers and the actors that bring the work to life.”
Expected to attend are Anderson Quarless of Grenada, Mathurine Emmanuel and Gandolf St. Clair of St. Lucia, Elspeth Duncan of Trinidad & Tobago, David Lea and Natalie Edgecombe from Montserrat as well as Howard and Mitzi Allen, the most prolific filmmakers in the Northeastern Caribbean.
The festival will also feature animations from Jim Keeshen and Cecilia Aranovich and film shorts from Chris King and Ari Spett from the USA.
“We have a diverse group of entries which deal with human issues of love, loss, sexuality, tragedy and resilience. Each entry provides new and unique perspectives on the human spirit.” explained the festival coordinator. ‘What is wonderful is that many of the directors stayed away from the formulaic Hollywood plot lines and endings, instead drawing the viewers in to make their own determination as to the outcome. They are all entertaining and will provide many topics for discussions later on.”
Soualiga which means “Salt Island” is the Carib name given to St. Maarten, which is home to two distinct nations St. Maarten-Dutch and St. Martin-French. The Dutch side capital of Philipsburg will be the location of this year’s festival. The Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center, Axum Art Café, the Philipsburg Theatres and the Boardwalk will all be locations for viewing feature films, shorts, documentaries and animations.
Details about film submission and attending the festival can be found at www. trulycaribbean. net or contact the SFF committee at info @ trulycaribbean. net.
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