From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Nine Bahamian Films Entered in BIFF Caribbean Spotlight
By The Bahamas Weekly News Team
Nov 23, 2012 - 4:03:24 PM
Nassau, Bahamas - The 9th edition of the
Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) taking place from
December 6-9, 2012 in Nassau will
once again be featuring Bahamian filmmakers in their Caribbean
Spotlight which will also showcase films from Haiti, Trinidad &
Tobago, Jamaica, and Guyana.
"I am so proud and love presenting quality Bahamian Films and
Filmmakers, who continue to push the envelope year after year," said Leslie Vanderpool, Executive Director and Founder of BIFF. "We have
consistently achieved our goal by showcasing, nurturing and encouraging
the Filmmakers of The Bahamas."
Those screening films this year from The
Bahamas will be Kareem Mortimer, Maria Govan, Dominique Knowles, Toby
Lunn, Laura Gamse, Marion Bethel,
Will Robinson, and Ryan Lightbourn, along with resident filmmakers Karen Arthur and Thomas Neuwirth.
Here's what to expect from The Bahamas:
25 YEARS OF JUNIOR JUNKANOO (
28 mins): This year BIFF, Esso Bahamas
Limited and BTC are pleased to provide the Youth of our nation with the
opportunity to learn how to make a film in a day. 15 students from 4
schools: C.C. Sweeting, Woodcock Primary, A.F. Adderley Jr. HIgh School,
C.R. Walker, participated in making a film in a day. The making of this
year’s film is “25 Years Of Junior Junkanoo.” This exciting project
will educate students on the art of film-making and give them an
opportunity to tell the world the story of Junior Junkanoo. The
Premiere will be unveiled before the BIFF Closing Night Film, December 9
at 6:30pm.
A MAN WITH A VOICE directed by Maria Govan - Screening Friday, December 7 / 11:00am and Saturday, December 8 / 3:00pm
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A MAN WITH A VOICE (
59 mins) directed by Maria Govan: Chronicles
the Bahamian legend, Norman Soloman. Norman Soloman, a journalist,
politician, an activist and a business man. This film sheds light on
his journey while also illuminating the changing political landscape of
of our pre-independent Bahamas to recent. Screening Friday, December 7 / 11:00am and Saturday, December 8 / 3:00pm
BREATHE (51 mins) directed by Martin Khodabakhshian - Screening Friday, December 7 / 12:15pm and Sunday, December 9 / 5:00pm
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BREATHE (51 mins)
directed by Martin Khodabakhshian:
William Trubridge attempts to break his own free diving record by going 300 feet with just two bare feet and one breath of air. Screening Friday, December 7 / 12:15pm
and Sunday, December 9 / 5:00pm
BRIDIGY BRAM (35 mins) directed by Toby Lunn & Laura Gamse: Born June 25, 1936 in Nassau,
Kendal Hanna is a painter and a sculptor known as one of the Bahamas'
first abstract expressionists. Early in Hanna's life he began
experimenting with abstractions through a process which he describes as
his "subconscious mind expressing itself on the canvas." During his
twenties, Hanna was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed an
electric shock therapy course of four treatments per week for an unknown
period of time. Upon his release two years later, Hanna used art to
recover his motor capabilities and mental acuity. Now 75, Hanna has
become one of the Bahamas' most celebrated artists, prolifically
releasing work described as "carefully considered and contemplated,
provocative and masterful." In BRIGIDY BRAM, Hanna reveals his inner and
outer realities through his artworks, memories and one-of-a-kind sense
of humor. The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas celebrated Kendal
Hanna with a retrospective exhibition of his art on his 75th birthday.
Board chair D. Gail Saunders wrote in the foreword to the catalog:
"Kendal's life was a struggle, but in spite of the numerous difficulties
and hurdles, he persisted with his art and endured. His art, which is
usually described as abstract, is not understood by everyone. But many
have come to love his work and have grown to recognize and connect with
the passion he expresses in his paintings and sculpture.....A modest
giant, Kendal Hanna today is counted among the leading Bahamian artists
of our time."
Screening Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am
JACKSON BURNSIDE, NATIVE SON (70 mins), directed by Karen Arthur & Thomas Neuwirth: Screening Friday, December 7 / 7:30pm and Saturday, December 8 / 4:15pm
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JACKSON BURNSIDE, NATIVE SON (70 mins),
directed by
Karen Arthur & Thomas Neuwirth: Chronicles
the diverse life and times of this deeply respected Bahamian
cultural icon. He loved his Bahamas with a burning passion, devoting his
life to exposing the rich design, architecture & heritage of his
native land. After his education abroad, and becoming an assistant to
Louis I. Kahn, he returned to the Bahamas where he further developed his
talents as a painter, architect, philosopher, mentor and Junkanoo
icon. Screening Friday, December 7 / 7:30pm and Saturday, December 8 /
4:15pm
SHE directed by Kareem Mortimer - Screening Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am
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SHE (8 mins) directed by Kareem Mortimer: Examines the lives of
several female impersonators living in the CaribbeanDuring the annual
Ms. Drag Bahamas beauty contest,Kevin Taylor and Kareem Mortimer speak
to several drag performers and transgendered.
Screening Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am
STRINGS (1 min) directed by Will Robinson:
Sarah and Riley have been best friends ever since he
was four and she was six years old. For just over a decade they lived
in a globe of bliss. Unfortunately, for a year their world of ecstasy
has been rotating like a counter-clockwise timepiece. Nonetheless, the
duo endeavors to flee from sadistic forces that reside outside of a once
deserted room of a previously eminent building. In the contrary, Riley
is unable to escape, for in the time of darkness shrieking sound of
ill-fated sous continuously penetrate the walls of the room as well as
the dreams of his precious slumber. When awaken by the howling of his
parents, Riley seeks consolation from Sarah who is capable of enduring
the eerie weeping of her late grandmother.
Screening Thursday, December 6 / 3:15pm and Friday, December 7 / 3:30pm
TRAVIS PORTER: RED ROCK (20 mins)
directed by Ryan Lightbourn: When their luxurious tour bus
breaks down, budding hip-hop group Travis Porter becomes stranded in the
remote town of Red Rock. After the bus driver witnesses a horrific
crime, the group discovers the town's deadly secrets & they must
escape by any means necessary. Screening on
Friday, December 7 / 9:15pm
WOMANISH WAYS, FREEDOM & DEMOCRACY (80 mins) directed by Marion Bethel and Maria Govan - Screening on Friday, December 7 / 1:30pm and Saturday, December 8 / 1:15pm
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WOMANISH WAYS, FREEDOM & DEMOCRACY (80 mins) directed by Marion Bethel and Maria Govan:
Five Bahamian women – Mary
Ingraham, Georgiana Symonette, Mabel Walker, Eugenia Lockhart and Dr.
Doris Johnson – led the Women’s Suffrage Movement in The Bahamas. The
journey to female enfranchisement spanned more than a decade, and took
place alongside the dramatic backdrop of the Burma Road Riots in 1942,
the General Strike in 1958, the Labour Movement of the 1950s and the
quest for Majority Rule. Bahamian women voted for the first time on
November 26th 1962.
Screening on Friday, December 7 / 1:30pm
and Saturday, December 8 / 1:15pm
This
year, the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) will showcase
78 films from 26 different countries,
including
45 features and 33 short films. The four
competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative &
Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Special sections include
Caribbean Spotlight and Self Discovery as well as a World Cinema
showcase.
Tickets are $3 per film or
$10
Day Pass and are now on sale at the
Coldwell Banker /Lightbourn Realty
BIFF Festival Lounge
located on Bay Street in the Fort Nassau Building adjacent to the Hilton Hotel. During the festilva tickets can be purchased at
Galleria Cinemas RND Plaza Thompson Boulevard / John F, Kennedy Drive
BIFF 2012 Sponsors include Atlantis, RBC Royal Bank, Esso, BTC
powered by Lime, Coldwell Banker / Lightbourne Realty, Carrousel Yacht
Enterprises, Ministry Of Tourism, Bahamas Ferries, Nassau Paradise
Island Promotion Board, Bahamas Air, Majestic Tours, Bahamas Tourism
Channel, Bahamas Airport Advertising Ltd., Bahamas Sol, Dermalogica
Bahamas & Caribbean, Bahama Hand Print, Kings Realty, Orico,
SandyToes, Bahama Divers, The Sign Post, IDYA Studio, Coles Of Nassau,
Breezes Resort & Spa, Lilo Studios, Paintball Arena, Best Buy
Furniture, Master Technicians, Self Drive Boat Adventures, Sheraton,
Breezes, Coral Sands Resort in Harbour Island, Pineapple Fields Hotel in
Governor's Harbour, Moet & Chandon, Caribbean Bottling Company, Sir
Speedy, Heineken, Jolly Roger, The Bahamas Weekly, Alumaworx, Jim
Whitehead Nassau Florist, Sherman Williams and many more. Among the
Friends of the Festival are: Dr. & Mrs. Vanderpool, Mr. & Mrs
Gregory Cleare, Mr. Raymond Winder, Mr. & Mrs. Paul King, Mr. James
Lyle, Mrs. Meta Gail Charles and Dr. Lorne Charles, The Nassau Guardian,
Tribune.
ALL Films:
Official Film Selections for the Bahamas International Film Festival 2012
About the Bahamas International Film Festival
The Bahamas International Film Festival
(BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local
community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation
of films from the Bahamas and around the world. In addition to
showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF
provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums
for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. www.bintlfilmfest.com
Save The Date: December 6 - 9
Best Of Fest Eleuthera: December 10 -14
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