Curacao IFFR

Damian Marcano, winner of the Yellow Robin Award 2014 for his film God Loves the Fighter, about life in the eastern part of Port of Spain Trinidad, invited as artist in residence at A View with a Room, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from October till December.

The cultural project A View with a Room, is a cooperation between International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and Theater Zuidplein, in which international artists contribute in making a chronicle about the city of Rotterdam. As artist in residence, Marcano will make a short film about life in the southern (Zuid) district of one of the largest cities in the Netherlands. Local students from the district between the ages of 16 and 23 will function as his crew.

Local youth was invited to audition for the project as location scouts, musicians, DJs, actors, helping out with the catering, or act as city guides. The end result will be screened during the upcoming IFFR in January and the youth that formed part of his crew will be invited as VIPs during the festival.

As a young boy, Marcano moved from Trinidad & Tobago to the US. After a short stint studying medicine, he first became a webdesigner and programmer and ultimately a filmmaker. After his short film The Little Boy and the Ball (2011), he made his first feature length film God Loves the Fighter.

Winning the Yellow Robin Award last April opened the doors for Marcano to the European market. In addition to the cash prize of USD 10,000, his film will be screened at next IFFR the Netherlands in January where he will also have the opportunity to participate and network in the CineMart and RotterdamLab.

Other contenders for 2014 Yellow Robin Award were:

• Abo so – Juan Francisco Pardo (Aruba)
• Difret – Zeresenay Berhane Mehari (Ethiopia, USA)
• Filosofía natural del amor – Sebastián Hiriart (Costa Rica, Mexico)
• Al sur de la inocencia – Héctor M. Valdez (Dominican Republic)

(source in Dutch language only) http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/nl/nieuws1415/zuidplein/