BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, January 14, 2011 - In an effort to further develop the Arts, Entertainment and Tourism Industry in St. Kitts and Nevis, the St. Kitts Department of Culture, in collaboration with the National Commission for UNESCO and Muestra Itinerante de Cine del Caribe, is preparing to host the Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase (TCFS), from January 24th to 29th January, 2011.
This is the third time that the bi-annual affair will be held in St. Kitts-Nevis, and an organizing committee, headed by Ministry of Culture’s Marlene Phillips, and comprising videographers, film makers and other resource persons, has been formed.
The TCFS is organized and sponsored by the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), UNESCO, UNICEF and MINCULT and was created as a mechanism to increase the visibility of films made by Caribbean Film Makers.
“Learning to love and to protect our culture and our image is one of the greatest challenges facing persons of African heritage today,” Miss Phillips said, “so it is imperative that as we develop and grow, that we find creative and consistent ways to protect our forebears. I believe that learning to tell our own stories in our own words using our own image, is one of the best ways to do just that.”
Caribbean Film Makers who embrace the cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of this region, are continually hindered by restrictive distribution practices and policies. Through their films, they document the identity of the Caribbean People, through the accurate recording of our history while transcending the stereotypes presented from the outside. Even so, their works more often than not suffer as a result of discrimination, oftentimes from their own people, who favour the slick, polished examples imported from overseas film markets, to their own.
“It is our hope,” says Miss Phillips, “that our objective to bring recognition to Film Makers of the Caribbean, and more particularly, to increase the knowledge base of locals who can participate in and benefit from the establishment of a vibrant film industry in the Federation, will be realised in the medium to long-term.”
The TCFS will be hosted at the Copper Chimney, the new restaurant at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel and Casino, at Frigate Bay, St. Kitts from January 24th to 29th, 2011. For more information, please contact Miss Marlene Phillips at the Department of Culture.
