THE CRITIQUES were few and easily outstripped by commendations from those who attended the screening of the 2015 NIFCA award-winning films and videos.
Pleased with the talent displayed, the audience at the Queen’s Park Steel Shed on Friday night told directors and their crew they deserved a pat on their backs, while another described their work as inspirational.
Leading off the screening was the gold-award winning music video directed by Jason Russel, Deep Blade Control Confusion, which received the Governor General’s Award of Excellence.
Next was the bronze-award winning Mermaid, an 11-minute film which director Vonley Smith said symbolised hope.
Smith also directed the music video Virtuoso The Virtual Story, which won the Gold Award and was nominated for the Prime Minister’s Award.
Rounding off the first segment of the night’s showing was the 20-minute documentary H-20. Filmed in numerous Caribbean countries, including Grenada’s sister island Carriacou, it started with a dream but no budget, director Clish Gittens told the audience.
In spite of this, the film won the Silver Award and the Ministry of the Environment Special Award.
The second segment featured music video Top Rock and the 27-minute documentary Imagine the Possibilities.
Neil Marshall questioning the directors.
Student Yannick Hooper recalled with some humour the challenges he had balancing shooting the video and school. A lot of spontaneity was involved, he recounted.
The video won the Silver Award.
Imagine The Possibilities, a 13 Degrees North Productions, pays tribute to Pianoman – a Barbadian company formed in the 1970s that is dedicated to tuning and repairing pianos. It copped a Silver Award.
Following the screening, the justifiably proud filmmakers spoke of the creative process and the challenges they faced, particularly as it related to time.
Chief Cultural Officer at the National Cultural Foundation, Andrea Wells, said the judges were pleased with the quality and the increasing number of entries over the past three years.
“We’re seeing the results of the training that comes out of the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination as well as the repeated experimentation of a group of young filmmakers. Many of these young filmmakers like Jason Russel and Clish Gittens have been in winners’ row the last three years and they’ve been increasing their haul of prizes each year,” she said.
This year, there were 17 submissions, eight of which medalled.
Film commissioner Annette Nias, who is based in the Cultural Industries Development Authority, said it was obvious that Barbadians films just needed a chance.
She attributed this to increased training opportunities and the reduction in cost of technology.
“This blossoming of talent is not unexpected by me because I anticipated it, but it’s certainly pleasing,” she said. (WILLCOMM)
