Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival announces winners of 20th anniversary edition

Films from Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Dominica, Canada and the United States were among the major award winners at the 20th Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival (TTFF), which ran from Sept. 23 to 27.

Trinidadian filmmaker Teneille Newallo’s DANM won Best Film Made in Trinidad and Tobago, while Cuban filmmaker Paloma Gomide’s If Life Gave Me a Wish (Si la vida me diera un deseo) received the Paddington Prize for Best Student Film.

Other major awards went to Bumpa, directed by U.S. filmmaker Kayla Watkins, for Best Short Documentary, and The Things We Carry, directed by St. Lucian filmmaker Kyvon Edwin, for Best Fiction Short. From Fortune, directed by Dominica’s Christelle Powell, received an Honourable Mention in the category.

Canadian filmmaker Maya Annik Bedward, who has Jamaican parentage, won Best Documentary Feature for Black Zombie. Car(r)milla, directed by Trinidad and Tobago filmmaker Kearra Amaya Gopee, received an Honourable Mention for Best Film Made in Trinidad and Tobago.

For Gomide, the student film award was particularly significant as she prepares to move from short films toward her first feature-length production.

“Winning an award right here in the Caribbean, the very region where If Life Gave Me a Wish was made, makes me deeply happy,” Gomide said. “It means the film successfully connected with its closest audience, which was ultimately one of my primary goals.”

The film was inspired by Gomide’s encounter with Cuban women whose husbands were incarcerated. Their experiences of living with prolonged uncertainty became the basis for a story exploring female strength, intimacy and solidarity.

Gomide said the TTFF recognition has also strengthened her confidence as she develops her cinematic style.

“Beyond serving as a vital affirmation that we are on the right path regarding language and aesthetics, this award significantly strengthens my profile as I seek financing and partners for future projects,” she said.

Newallo’s DANM opened the festival with its world-premiere gala screening before winning Best Film Made in Trinidad and Tobago. The film also received the People’s Choice Award.

Newallo said winning the local feature award was especially meaningful given the strength of the competition and the festival’s 20th anniversary.

“Winning Best T+T Feature is a profound honour, as I know it was judged amongst some other great quality films that I was lucky enough to have had a chance to see,” she said.

She said the People’s Choice Award provided additional encouragement, describing it as an indication of the film’s potential to connect with audiences beyond the festival.

DANM was influenced by several personal and cultural experiences, including Newallo’s daughter, her interest in Trinidad and Tobago’s folklore and her desire to create substantial roles for local actors.

The filmmaker said the film’s two awards could help it reach wider regional and international audiences while creating opportunities for future projects.

“To win both the People’s Choice Award and Best T+T Film, with a purely authentic Trinbagonian film on its 20th Anniversary, is a statement that DANM is both an entertaining film and a movie of good quality,” Newallo said.

Festival Director Mariel Brown said the awards reflected the range of voices and filmmaking talent featured in the anniversary programme.

“Our 20th anniversary edition has given us much to celebrate, particularly the breadth of voices and stories represented across this year’s programme,” Brown said.

“The award winners reflect the diversity of Caribbean cinema from student filmmakers and short documentaries to feature films and the increasingly strong connections among filmmakers across the region and its diaspora.”

The festival marked 20 years of showcasing Caribbean and international cinema. The anniversary celebrations opened on Sept. 22 at the Central Bank Auditorium with DANM before the festival’s official run from Sept. 23 to 27.