PHILIPSBURG - The tragedy and resilience experienced on the island of Montserrat will be one of the most significant contributions to the Soualiga Film Festival (SFF) on St. Maarten during the two-day event on December 15 and 16.
Several entries by David Lea and up and coming filmmaker Natalie Edgecombe highlight the aftermath of the eruption of Soufriere Hills Volcano and the subsequent migration of more than 60 percent of the Montserratian population.
David Lea, a long-time resident of Montserrat will be showing his ongoing documentation of the volcanic crisis called 'The Price of Paradise'. His educational film 'Montserrat's Andesite Volcano', which is a collaboration with Dr. Steve Sparks a volcanologist will also be featured during the two-day film fest.
David said the volcano pretty much came to life in his family's back yard so it seemed a natural thing to capture on video what was happening to his island paradise. He hopes people who see the films will "try to imagine that incredible creative power and to understand what the people of Montserrat have been through over the last 11 years."
It has been a risky venture to obtain much of the footage of the Soufriere Volcano in action, but David said it has been worth it to be able to share his love of the island and show the world the resilience of the people. His work has been used as part of programs and films shown on the Discovery Channel, BBC, and National Geographic to name a few.
His latest project was to create with the partnership with Dr. Steve Sparks an educational version of the film, which includes animations and other learning tools to teach about the volcano. 'Montserrat's Andesite Volcano' looks into the major volcanic processes of andesite volcanoes, describes the products and effects of the eruption, introduces modern methods of monitoring an active volcano, and shows the human consequences of volcanic activity on a small island community. Spectacular and unique video images of lava dome growth, pyroclastic flows, explosive eruptions, ash fall each phenomenon are followed by explanations of the effects, the deposits, and other hazards in the field.
In 'The Volcano Generation' Natalie Edgecombe documented the effects of the volcano on young people under the age of 30. The film takes you to new communities in Toronto and the United Kingdom where many Montserratians migrated to after the eruption displaced more than 60 percent of the population.
Prior to the volcano Montserrat had a population of over 12000, this dwindled to less than 3000 shortly after the 1995~~Adz:Left~~ eruption left much of the southern part of the island uninhabitable.
Edgecombe interviews young people still making a life on the island and takes you on a journey with those who left with their parents to start over in North American and the UK. The new challenges of maintaining a once vibrant culture and adapting to new mores in larger cities are discussed in depth throughout the film.
The Soualiga Film Festival will feature works from other Caribbean filmmakers as well as animations and documentaries from North America.
Soualiga which means 'Salt Island' is the Carib name given to St. Maarten, which is home to two distinct nations St. Maarten-Dutch and St. Martin-French. The Dutch side capital of Philipsburg will be the location of this year's festival. The Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center, Axum Art Café, the Philipsburg Theatres and the Boardwalk will all be locations for viewing feature films, shorts, documentaries and animations.
"We are excited about having filmmakers who have become a vital part of recording our heritage and transmitting new and more vibrant images of Caribbean people attending the Soualiga Film Festival. This is an event designed to celebrate us," said Nerissa Golden, President of the Truly Caribbean Network which is spearheading the event.
"We have over 100 nationalities represented on our island and certainly persons from every nation bordering the Caribbean Sea call us home. This is a time to look at Caribbean life through the eyes of our own actors, directors and producers," Golden added.
"There is so much we need to learn about each other and being able to view the lives of our Caribbean neighbors from the perspective of their filmmakers will be a fascinating and learning experience. Added to that we have packed forums, a kid's film fest a Caribbean movie marathon, a technology expo and lots of parties into the event," the organizer said.
Truly Caribbean Network, which is a non-profit foundation on St. Maarten, said the idea to develop the film festival was part of their initiative in 2006 to motivate young people to follow their passions and to think outside the box. TCN held the highly successful Young Entrepreneurs Symposium (YES 2006) in May.
"We believe that our greatest assets and productivity will come from celebrating what is uniquely Caribbean and creating our own images rather than accepting foreign versions of who we are. The Soualiga Film Festival, which will be held December 15 & 16 around Philipsburg, St. Maarten will also be a welcome addition to the events calendar for our island as it is the tourism high season," she added.
