The story of a Haitian man looking
for spiritual peace has taken the main prize at the trinidad+tobago film
festival 2011 (ttff/11), presented by Flow.
The Festival, in its sixth annual edition, ran from 21 September to
04 October. The awards were presented at a ceremony on Sunday 02
October.
Jean Gentil, directed by Israel Cárdenas of Mexico and Laura
Guzmán of the Dominican Republic, took the jury prize for the overall
best narrative feature film.
A documentary about the Black Power uprising that took place in
Trinidad and Tobago in 1970 won the prize for best local feature film.
Entitled ’70: Remembering a Revolution, the film was directed by Alex de Verteuil and Elizabeth Topp.
Hit Me with Music, a documentary about Jamaica’s dancehall
culture, proved a popular film on the night. The film, directed by
Miquel Galofré, picked up two awards: the jury prize for best overall
documentary feature and the people’s choice award for best documentary.
There were also people’s choice awards for the Jamaican feature-length urban drama Better Mus’ Come, directed by Storm Saulter, and the short documentary Chinee Girl, a film by Natalie Wei about Chinese women in T&T.
In addition to the prizes for films, a number of other awards were
given out. They included posthumous awards recognising some of the
pioneers of the cinema industry in T&T, and an award for a
university film graduate who has made an impact in the local film
industry.
The night also saw the ttff/11’s inaugural lifetime achievement award
being presented. The award went to Harry Belafonte, for his
contribution to the arts and activism around the globe. Mr Belafonte’s
daughter, Gina Belafonte, producer of a documentary film about her
father that screened at the ttff/11, collected the award on his behalf.
The full list of the ttff/11 awards
Jury awards
Best narrative feature: Jean Gentil (Dominican Republic, Mexico); directed by Israel Cárdenas and Laura Guzmán
Best documentary feature: Hit Me With Music (Jamaica, Spain); directed by Miquel Galofré
Best short film: 10 Ave Maria (Aruba); directed by Juan Francisco Pardo and Ryan Oduber
Special mention, best narrative feature: Boleto al Paraíso (Cuba); directed by Gerardo Chijona
Special mention, best documentary feature: When the Drum is Beating (Haiti, USA); directed by Whitney Dow
Special mention, best short film: Classical Steel (T&T); directed by John Barry
Best local feature: ’70: Remembering a Revolution; directed by Alex de Verteuil and Elizabeth Topp
Best local short: Sweet Fries; directed by Renée Pollonais
Best actor in a local film: Gerry Bednob, The Rise and Fall of John Tesoro
Best actress in a local film: Dionese Sylvester, Sweet Fries
People’s choice awards
Best narrative feature: Better Mus’ Come (Jamaica); directed by Storm Saulter
Best documentary feature: Hit Me with Music (Jamaica, Spain); directed by Miquel Galofré
Best short: Chinee Girl (T&T, Canada); directed by Natalie Wei
Social awareness award
Positive & Pregnant (T&T); directed by Stacy Lela
Pioneers of T&T cinema
Lionel Belasco, William Pettigrew Humphrey, Timothy Roodal, Sarran Teelucksingh, Gokool Meah and Ranjit Kumar
Focus: Filmmakers’ Immersion pitch session winner
Maria Govan
Graduate film development award
Francesca Hawkins
Lifetime achievement award
Harry Belafonte
The ttff receives leading sponsorship from RBC Royal Bank, and is
supported by the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company, the National Gas
Company, bpTT, the Tourism Development Company and the Tobago House of
Assembly.
Visit www.ttfilmfestival.com for more information.
05.10.2011 | Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival's blog
Cat. : actor actress Alex de Verteuil Ave Maria Canada Classical Steel Contact Details Dominican Republic Elizabeth Topp Entertainment Entertainment Family Relation Flow Francesca Hawkins Gerardo Chijona Gerry Bednob Gina Belafonte Gokool Meah Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte Hit Me With Music Israel Cárdenas John Barry John Tesoro Juan Francisco Pardo Laura Guzmán Lionel Belasco Maria Govan Mexico Music Natalie Wei Person Career Person Location Producer Ranjit Kumar Renée Pollonais Royal Bank Ryan Oduber Sarran Teelucksingh Spain Stacy Lela T cinema Technology Technology Timothy Roodal Tourism Development Company Trinidad & Tobago Film Company Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival United States Whitney Dow William Pettigrew Humphrey www.ttfilmfestival.com