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Film Festivals
Film festivals generally feature narratives, animations, documentaries feature lengths and short ?lms that can either be a comedy, drama, action or fantasy. The festivals are a celebration of the ?lms but are also a time where producers can network and build relationships with buyers and distributors. There are at least 18 ?lm festivals held in the Caribbean throughout the year. Two common features of the festivals are symposia, which aim to inform upcoming producers of the ?lm industry, and workshops or labs which are designed to teach techniques in ?lm. The symposia panels are often on speci?c topics such as broadcasting or intellectual property rights. Workshop facilitators are often very skilled in their ?eld and they therefore teach ?lmmakers lighting and camera techniques such as shooting at the right angles for a desired outcome. A number of the festivals welcome submissions for competition; the Guadeloupe International Film Festival has opened competitions in feature ?lms, documentaries and short ?lms. The Caribbean Tales Film Festival which took place in Barbados in March 2010, invited ?lmmakers to make pitches to a panel of prospective investors. The panel included broadcasters, a cinema owner, buyers from the South African Broadcast Corporation and other investors. The ?lmmakers presented a synopsis of their ?lms. Some of the pitches are highlighted in the segment entitled “rough cuts”.. A number of Caribbean ?lm festivals occur outside of the region and are organized by the diaspora. Festivals such as the Havana Film Festival and the Guyana Folk Festival Film and Video Festival are held in New York City while the CaribbeanTales Film Festival also takes place in Toronto. These festivals capture the lives of the home country which in turn attracts Caribbean nationals living abroad to attend. It is also an opportunity for regional ?lmmakers to showcase their talent in a larger market. Some of the ?lm festivals in the region are tourism products, in other words, they are to a large extent designed to attract tourists. Few regional ?lms are featured. For example, the Bahamas International Film Festival 2009, featured 68 ?lms 26 of which were from the US, 18 from Europe and there was a spotlight on 6 Caribbean ?lms. The 2009 Nevis Film Festival showcased 10 ?lms; three were co-production between Nevis and the U.S., France and Haiti and Cuba and Spain. The other ?lms were from France and the United States
Upcoming Film Festivals
Guyana Folk Festival Film & Video Festival September 2 - 5, 2010
The Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival September 22 - October 5, 2010
The Montreal International Black Film Festival September 22 - October 3, 2010
Bahamas International Film Festival December 1 - 5, 2010
CaribbeanTales Film Festival - Toronto February 23 - March 2, 2011
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www.creativeindustriesexchange.org
Volume 1 September - November 2010