T&T’s first-ever Film and Folklore Festival will take place on April 28. Founded by Annisia Cadogan and Leslie Ann Wills-Caton of FIXERfilm Studios, the launch of the Festival will feature an immersive experience and a film screening.
Wills-Caton said the Festival came about through the production company’s passion for telling the Caribbean narrative. “In 2017, we started with producing one-minute online shorts. Since then, we have produced 11 short stories with four episodes featuring folklore. In 2019, the company produced a 45-minute film entitled The Hike as well as six anthology shorts entitled Tell Me a Story, also produced for online and television. This year, we decided that the love of folklore and true Caribbean narratives need to be more at the forefront of the film conversation and launched the first Film and Folklore Festival, with a combination of film, music, art & storytelling. The intention is for the festival to grow over the years to become a must-attend event for persons all over the world. We would also expand to accept film submissions for the second Festival. The event is for persons 18 years and over and for those who enjoy suspense and intrigue.”
She said since the Festival is being held for one evening as an introduction into the possibility of Caribbean stories being the main attraction. “It’s a red carpet affair showcasing local wines and pairings while also immersing the audience in the folklore settings. Based on the theme of the films, we wanted to have the audience visually experience the world as much as possible via their five senses. We chose Lady Chancellor Hill as it sits on the edge of a forest with an amazing view of the city. Parking will be at the base of the hill with security and we have a shuttle service that will be taking persons to the top of the hill. We’ll be screening the movies Midnight and The Hike, both of which have never been showcased anywhere. The screenings will take place on a large screen underneath the city night sky. There will also be a short question and answer session and an after party.”
Wills-Caton said she hopes that nature, folklore and cultural enthusiasts will attend the event. “We are also targeting persons who would love to be more aware of the different types of folklore elements that our twin island has to offer. We also want non-Trinidadians to experience our culture and narrative atop our iconic Lady Chancellor Hill. We would love the audience to see the potential of a folklore festival and gain a new appreciation for how we can integrate both folklore and carnival characters into other forms of entertainment.”
Wills-Caton and Cadogan are also producers for The Hike film, as well as screenplay writer and director respectively. The film stars Renaldo “Red” Frederick and Jiselle Huggins as Neal and Alyssa respectively. The producers conceptualized a forest folklore story which modernises the traditional characters and takes place surrounding two characters on a hike in T&T. Cadogan said, “I hope audiences will be able to identify with the characters, and enjoy the journey they will take into the forest. I am hoping that it would build on the conversation in their own minds, as to whether these characters exist or not, as well as appreciating our own folklore and see it as still relevant today.”
Wills-Caton said folklore representation in film is important to create identity and awareness. “We would also love for local film-makers to feature our fictional characters, just like other societies do with theirs, like Dracula, zombies and vampires for example, and show that in the Caribbean there are a host of other characters that can also become household names due to the constant representation. We do know a few other film-makers working on folklore stories and we also encourage others to do the same. We absolutely intend on expanding this method of film-making. We love the creativity of film-making and thinking outside the box. We have six anthology short stories to also premiere very soon on television and have several projects in development.”
The Festival will take place from 6:30 pm to 11 pm on April 28 at Lady Chancellor Hill, Port of Spain
The event is open to the public and all inclusive tickets are $250. Persons can find more information on Facebook at 1st Film & Folklore Festival, call 356-7753 to purchase tickets and RSVP at https://the-hike-film-premiere.eventcreate.com/
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