My Carnival Lens Challenge winners receive prizes

The Film & Folklore Festival teamed up with its partner, Digicel to issue a My Carnival Lens Challenge (a call for two-minute shorts telling the story of Carnival 2022 from their perspective) to local film industry professionals.

On April 21 they announced the winners via a Facebook Live event on their respective platforms, said a media release.

Submissions were received from all over the country. The top eight submissions were showcased as a countdown on the live event. Donelle Wills, the festival manager, hosted the event from various picturesque, historical locations throughout Trinidad, including Paramin, Point Fortin, Siparia, Arouca and San Fernando.

The filmmakers taking the top three spots were: Keegan Taylor for Jab Love; Kenderson Noray for his film Carnival Blues; Roger Alexis for A Happy Place.

The event is available for viewing on both the Film & Folklore Festival and Digicel Facebook pages, the release said.

Abraham Smith, CEO, Digicel TT, said, “We are proud to partner with the Film & Folklore Festival this year for the My Carnival Lens Challenge. It was amazing to see all the great films that came in from the filmmakers across the country and it really proves that TT can create a digital economy based on the content and creativity of the people here.”

Colin Greaves, head of public relations, Digicel TT, said, “We saw it as a great opportunity because folklore is so important to who we are as a country and as a people and we think that one, being able to facilitate forums for these folklore stories to come alive and to remain relevant in this 2022 context was essential and, two, of course, supporting the local film industry by giving all the filmmakers, both the young and upcoming, and experienced, forums to showcase their work.

“It is important for Digicel to continue to support the festival, to continue to support the filmmakers, to continue to get the new and engaging content out there and, of course, to continue to ensure that our stories are told.”

The Film & Folklore Festival (FFF) launched its fourth annual edition with the theme 1962 Strength in Stories on February 17. This year’s theme will focus on showcasing TT’s different cultures and traditions from the last 60 years; from Independence to today.

The FFF once again partnered with Digicel to help bring this festival to life virtually through the Digicel platform the PlayGo App, which will host national, regional, and international films.

There will also be workshops, an opening show, a comedy show and a closing show which will all take place during the festival period, June 24-26.

Submissions are also open to local and international filmmakers who would like to see their content featured in the festival.

For further info visit www.filmfolklorefestival.com or Facebook and Instagram pages: @filmfolklorefestival.