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The success of Home Again augurs well for regional producers as well as investors. Examples of such investment included important product placements such as two Caribbean Airlines planes at the top of the ?lm, and the Paramount Truck, strategically placed so that the star Tatyana Ali could walk directly in front of it. The crew bene?tted from training in industry speci?c international language, which allows them to easily join a production anywhere in the world and operate seamlessly. While talent and passion of crews in Trinidad and Tobago are second to none, most production on the island revolves around advertisements, shorts, music videos and television shows. Crew therefore, have little or no opportunity to garner experience locally on international ?lm productions of the size of Home Again . While other ?lms have been made in Trinidad and Tobago, the collective resume of the international crew was stunning. Several worked on Hollywood blockbusters and/or Academy, Genie and/or Emmy award winning productions on a day-to-day basis. Well aware of this, the Canadian team trained and leapfrogged the local crew to a competence su?cient for the successful completion of the ?lm. Knowledge transfer was not one-sided however, with Canadians claiming that they garnered much from the passion and commitment of the local crew. As more of these types of ?lms enter the market, the pro?ciency level of local crew will increase. The Trinidad and Tobago ?lm sector will grow as a service industry with ability to attract higher investment ?lms while strengthening the indigenous production market.
The esteem of the local ?lm industry in the aftermath of the production was extremely high. The end product looked like a real ?lm and the ?lm, largest grossing local ?lm at the Cineplex, Movietowne, played theatrically in Trinidad and Tobago for over 5 weeks. The country adopted it as its own, an excitement generated by the ability of locals to see themselves, a familiar story and the work of their colleagues on the big screen juxtaposed and sold out next to blockbuster hits, such as Tyler Perry s Temptations and GI-Joe. Moreover, well beyond the con?nes of a ?lm festival. Prior to this opportunity, the local actors would not have been perceived in this way in North America. Socially, Home Again stimulated discussion at the
national and regional levels about deportation and the structures that exist or don t exist to facilitate the transition of deportees to the Caribbean. The ?lm demonstrated that deportees are not always hardened criminals who committed heinous crimes in a foreign land. Debates and discussions among members of the media, clergy, street dwellers and other stakeholders took place on national radio and televisio ?\? ?[\??[?H[?[? H ?[?YYXK??YHY?Z[? ?Z\?Y H?\?[?;? [H ?? X?[?[?\? ?X?][?[? H?Y?[??H?[X?\???\?[??]????H ?[?YY[??Y??[??[XZX?HXZ?\?] ?\?H]X? ??H?\?X??X[?;? [H8?$?H ??H ? ??Y? H^Y\???[XZX?[??Y?Z[?? H?X?? ???H ?[?YY[??Y??[? ??\B??\?H0??X??[K0??S?0??0?[XY?[?H0?YYXH0?[?\??][?[0?[Z]Y 0? ?\?0? H0? ?[?YY0?[?0??Y??0??\\??\?[??0? ?? X?\?0??0? H0??[?YX[?0??X] \?H0??[H0??YH0?Y?Z[??0??X??[H0?\??[YY0? H0? ??H0??0?\? ?X?]?0?[?0? ?[?YY0?[?0??Y??0??X][??0?H0? ??p?x?$8?$H[?0??0?[?0?X\??][??0? ???[[YH0? ]0?]?Z?[?Y0?0??][?[0?????[?\?\??0? ??Y?0?X?]\?0?[?0?\??\??[??0?X????0?[0?YYXH0?X??]0? H0??\?0? ?YH0? ?0? H0?]?\?0??0?\?Y\?0??H0???Y0? ??0? ?[]Y0??Y0??\?]0??[H0? ?[ZY\?\?0??H0?0?[?0? ?[?YY0?[?0? H0??\?0?[?0??Y??0?]0? H0? ??0?XZ[?0??[?[XH0???\^\??$?0?[?Y]??K0??0??0??Z[?0?[?0?] ?0???[?\?\?0?[?0??Y??0???Y[?[??0?[ ??0? ???0? X?H0?]0??\?X??X[?0??[?[X\?0? 0? ?[??] K?0?H0?;? [H0? ?\?0?[0??\?0???0??\?0??\?0?
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