SEVEN young people will enjoy the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) 2017 experience as jurors for the RBC Royal Bank Youth Jury Award. The jurors were selected following an open call for submissions earlier this year.
They will view six films in competition during ttff/17 and the award for first place will be presented at the ttff’s prize-giving ceremony on Tuesday, September 26 at the Central Bank Auditorium in Port of Spain.
The ttff/17 Youth Jury members are:
• Dominic Adel Branche, Belmont
• Anais Khan- George, St. Augustine
• Charles Arjan Bachew, D’Abadie
• Josiah Persad, Sangre Grande
• Nicholas Rampersad, Penal
• Shania Duncan, Chaguanas
• Shivanna Maharaj, Sangre Grande
The jury, comprising mainly of high school students, were selected based on essays they submitted on why they loved their favourite film. During ttff/17, under the mentorship of film critic and journalist, B.C. Pires, the Jury will view six Caribbean and international feature length films, featuring young protagonists negotiating through a variety of ‘coming of age’ situations, issues and challenges.
After the jurors have viewed all the films in competition, they will choose the winning film. The director of the feature will receive a trophy plus a cash award of $5,000 sponsored and presented by RBC Royal Bank at the ttff/17 Award Ceremony.
The six films in competition are:
• Green Days by the River — Michael Mooleedhar, Trinidad & Tobago
• Moko Jumbie — Vashti Anderson, Trinidad & Tobago
• Reinbou — David Maler and Andrés Cubelo, Dominican Republic
• The Violin Teacher — Sérgio Machado, Brazil
• El Techo — Patricia Ramos, Cuba
• Keyla — Viviana Gómez Echeverry, Colombia
The Youth Jury initiative was launched in 2012 as a way of stimulating interest in fostering a critical appreciation of independent film among young people.
The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) celebrates films from and about the Caribbean and its diaspora, as well as from world cinema, through an annual festival and year-round screenings. In addition, the ttff seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities.
The ttff is presented by Flow; given leading sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago and the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; supporting sponsorship by UN Women and the Inter-American Development Bank; and contributing sponsorship by RBC Royal Bank.
