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More venues, a shorter and different time period and new partners are some of the interesting features of the T&T Film Festival (TTFF) 2019. This year’s Festival, dubbed the Carifesta Edition, will run from August 17 to 23, with the theme Look at Action.

Festival Founder Bruce Paddington said the Festival welcomes a new sponsor, Shell, to their lineup of leading sponsors, as well as the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts and Carifesta XIV. He also said TTFF has partnered with the Filmmakers Collaborative of T&T to administer the Festival.

There will be four major venues: two screens at NAPA in Port-of-Spain; a screen at SAPA; another at the Naparima Bowl; and a fourth at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, Tobago. Venues which will host special screenings are: the Lord Kitchener Auditorium, NAPA; the Botanical Gardens; San Fernando Hill; Couva Joylanders Panyard; Grundlos Kollectiv; and Medulla Art Gallery. FilmCo co-founder Danielle Dieffenthaller said that the majority of the screenings will be free, with tickets available online at http://www.suntixx.com on August 10 and at the relevant venues on August 17. She urged audiences to buy their tickets in advance, as the demand will be great.

Paddington said the venues offer approximately the same seating capacity as would be available normally. He said the main reason for the shift from MovieTowne is due to the wish of the Ministry to keep the events free of charge to nationals and visitors for Carifesta.

Film TT General Manager, Nneka Luke, said the organisation’s sponsorship for TTFF 2019 will focus on two industry panels, one for filmmaker networking and another on the possibilities for greater regional co-production collaboration. Film TT is also looking forward to the premiere of the three new local productions commissioned by the Take One programme from the MCDCA. Luke also note that the Animae Caribe Animation Festival and the Green Screen Environmental Festival will also have screenings during the Carifesta period.

Dieffenthaller said the industry events will focus on financing, regional cooperation, networking, successful marketing for micro-budget filmmaking and contracts and clearances. Some of the special screenings will include Charlie’s Records, featuring a Q&A with Rawlston Charles and Robin Foster; a presentation by Ray Funke on deceased pan pioneers at Couva Joylanders and at APA; a screening of a collaborative film between Etienne Charles and Maria Nunes, of videos that document the process of putting together Etienne’s Carnival album, accompanied by a Q&A; Bakoso: Afrobeats of Cuba, featuring a Q&A with the featured DJ, who will also play at an afterparty at Grundlos Collectiv; and, Shell’s presentation of The Reggae Boys under the stars at San Fernando Hill.

NGC Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility Myles Lewis said he is excited that the winning film from the recently concluded NGC Shooting Stars Secondary School Film Competition, Tainted Reality by Couva East Secondary, along with the other three entries, will be featured as part of this year’s TTFF lineup. The three schools which participated in the competition were San Juan North Secondary School, Couva East Secondary School, Signal Hill Secondary School, Tobago, and Holy Name Convent, Penal.

MCDMA Corporate Communications Manager Rodelle Phillips-Simmons said the Festival is a mammoth undertaking, with Carifesta adding another layer. She said having the Festival during Carifesta offers an opportunity to speak to how important TTFF is across the region, as there will be regional films presented. Paddington said although there are challenges to having the Festival outside its normal period in September, there are some major benefits as there are over 1,800 persons participating in Carifesta, as well as an estimated 8,000 persons who could possibly attend.

For more information on TTFF 2019, go to www.ttfilmfestival.com, and find them on social media @ttfilmfestival.