The Community Folk Art Center has announced the line-up of films selected to be
screened at the 2008 Caribbean Cinematic Film Festival, taking place Oct. 23-26. All
film screenings and special events will take place at the Community Folk Art Center,
located at 805 E. Genesee St. For tickets and additional information, visit
http://www.communityfolkartcenter.org or call (315) 442-2230.
The festival will be a four-day celebration of Caribbean cinematic storytelling. This
year's schedule boasts a line-up of thought-provoking, entertaining independent
cinema, documentaries, short films and animation from Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica,
Tobago, Cuba and Puerto Rico. The goal of the annual Community Folk Art Center
film fest is to showcase the rich creativity, vision and thematic breadth of film
makers, producers and actors found in communities of color locally, nationally and
internationally.
Besides screening a unique collection of films, the festival will feature Q&A sessions
with guest directors, workshops and panel discussions. The Caribbean Film Festival is
produced by the Community Folk Art Center Inc., a nonprofit visual arts and culture
organization that is dedicated to providing audiences with opportunities to discover
and engage art that fosters better understanding and communication between
peoples of diverse cultures, faiths and lifestyles.
The Caribbean Cinematic Film Festival opens Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. with a
screening of "Guttaperc" by award-winning Bajan producer/director Andrew
Millington. This drama tells the story of a 10-year-old boy spending a holiday with
his grandparents in a small Barbados village. The holiday is interrupted by news that
the government plans to build a tourist resort on village land, a turn of events that
leads the young boy to learn hard truths about society's contradictions.
After the film, there will be an 8:30 p.m. Q&A with Millington. Millington has
worked on numerous industry and independent productions, serving as assistant
director on Haile Germima's internationally acclaimed "Sankofa." Born in Barbados,
Millington has lived in the United States for 13 years and studied film at Howard
University in Washington, D.C. Millington is currently an assistant professor in the
Department of Radio, Television and Film at Howard University.
On Friday, Oct. 24, at 7p.m., Millington will treat attendees to a sneak preview of his
new drama, "Zora's Dream." This is a powerful and poignant story of a grandfather's
visit to South Carolina's sea islands. This visit triggers the grandfather's traumatic
memory of the lynching of his father and teaches his granddaughter the importance
of fighting injustice.
Other festival highlights include a panel discussion with Millington and Shelia Aird.
Panelists will discuss the impact of tourism and corporate development on Caribbean
culture.
Aird received a Ph.D in Latin and Caribbean history, and a master's degree in history
from Howard University. She is currently an assistant professor and academic area
coordinator of global studies at SUNY Empire State College. Prior to her
appointment at Empire State College, Aird was an adjunct professor in the African
American Studies Department at Syracuse University.
Saturday, Oct. 25 is packed with cinematic goodies. Screening at 1 p.m. will be
"Animae Caribe," presented in collaboration with the Animae Caribe Film Festival of
Trinidad. This collection of family-friendly animated short films is sure to delight any
young film fest adventurer
At 2 p.m. for the young animae enthusiast is an animation workshop with artist
Yvonne Buchanan in the 2-D art room. Cost of admission is $2 per child.
At 2 p.m. in the main gallery will be a talk and Q&A with founder and director of
Caribe Animae, Camille Abrahams.
Screening at 6 p.m. will be "Sistagod" by director Yao Ramesar. "Sistagod" is the
first feature of a trilogy that tells the story of the coming of a black female messiah in
the future, during a period known as the Apocalypso- a global holocaust that she
alone survives.
Director Yao Ramesar is an award-winning Caribbean filmmaker, born in Tamale,
Ghana, West Africa. Ramesar holds a bachelor's degree in film production and a
master of fine arts degree in film directing from Howard University, where he studied
under African American filmmakers Haile Gerima and Abiyi Ford. He lectures in
TV/film at the Festival Centre for the Creative Arts, University of the West Indies, St.
Augustine, Trinidad.
Closing out this year's festival on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. is "!Yo Soy Boricua,
Pa'Que Tu Lo Sepas!" (I'm Boricua Just So You Know). Rosie Perez, in her directorial
debut, explores the political history, social activism and national pride of Puerto Rican
people. This labor of love takes her from New York to Miami and finally the island of
Puerto Rico. Through the richness of the island's history, we discover its complex
relationship with America. From sterilization programs in Puerto Rico to economic
empowerment protests in New York, led by the Young Lords, Rosie seamlessly
weaves together interviews and narrative and creates a documentary that is both
entertaining and educational.
The Community Folk Art Center is sponsored, in part, by the New York State
Council on the Arts, the Cultural Resources Council, The Coalition of Museums & Art
Centers at Syracuse University, the College of Visual and Performing Arts at
Syracuse University and the Office of the Chancellor at Syracuse University. Media
sponsors are CNY Latino, Urban CNY and WAER 88.3. The Genesee Grande and
Park View Hotels are the official accommodations for guests of The Community Folk
Art Center.
The Community Folk Art Center is a unit of the African American Studies
Department in The College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University and is a
vibrant cultural and artistic hub committed to the promotion and development of
artists of the African Diaspora. The mission of the center is to exalt cultural and
artistic pluralism by collecting, exhibiting, teaching and interpreting the visual &
expressive arts.
