Trinidad and Tobago film begins Caribbean tour in Jamaica

AUDIENCES in Jamaica will have the opportunity to view the feature film Trafficked later this month.

The Trafficked Tour of the Caribbean was conceptualised by the NGO Eye on Dependency (EOD) radio talk , as a means to spread awareness of the dangers of drug and human trafficking, two major issues frequently tackled by the programme.

Support from the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs was provided through the ministryand TT’s High Commission to Jamaica, headed by Deryck Murray.

The high commission facilitated logistical and other arrangements for the film screening.

FilmTT, the state agency promoting the local film industry at home and abroad, also assisted, through its line Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The EOD team of Garth St Clair and Natasha Nunez are on the tour, as well as the newly-appointed director of the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU), Allan Meiguel.

As executive producer of the film, Eye on Dependency has worked closely with the CTU under the Ministry of National Security since the film’s release in 2015.

Trafficked was identified in the Prevention section of the US State Department’s 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report as having contributed to Trinidad and Tobago's being elevated to Tier 2 on the report ranking.

This was due to the numerous screenings of the film across TT for schools, communities, law enforcement and even online.

While the film is a retelling of true events around drug trafficking, the CTU believed human-trafficking indicators were also present and sought to use the film as a teaching tool to highlight the act, means and purpose of modern-day slavery.

The team arrives in Jamaica on June 24.

There will be two screenings of the film on consecutive days, comprising a meet-and-greet before the film and a Q&A segment for the audience after it.

The first screening will take place on June 25, to a joint audience of UWI and the University of Technology.

The second screening, on June 26, will be at the Palace Cineplex for a specially invited group of stakeholders in the diplomatic, law enforcement, social work and NGO sectors.

June 26, also marks World Drugs Day, a UN commemoration highlighting annual themes which Eye on Dependency has promoted on its radio programme over the past 22 years.

Eye on Dependency director and co-host Garth St Clair said of the tour he is “excited to be allowed to spread the word throughout the Caribbean about the importance of these issues while demonstrating, through the presence of the CTU on the tour, that government of TT is making significant strides in combating the scourge of drug and human trafficking.”

Apart from the goal of raising awareness, Eye on Dependency hopes to make connections with anti-trafficking organisations in Jamaica, to reinforce the need for Caribbean territories to share information, knowledge and insight into the global crimes of drug and human trafficking which continue to plague the region and to showcase the power of the arts (specifically film) in telling stories that can positively affect real-life victims and survivors.

Trafficked, written and directed by Sean Hodgkinson, is one of a few locally produced films that can boast of critical and commercial success in TT and the world, by winning several awards at film festivals in Asia, North America and the Caribbean. CMC