Windrush Caribbean Film Festival is returning for its 5th Annual Film Festival in 2024.
Transitions & Travels - The Journey Continues
Caribbean history is punctuated by archetypical movements - From villages to towns, from islands to Metropoles. By ships and planes. A festival of transitions and journeys in film and narratives. This is particularly embodied in the history of the Windrush ship that brought Caribbean people, their hopes and dreams to the UK and their journeys ever since, from home and in the European space they made their own.
Paria's Pearl (Suelyn Choo, Kerron Lemmessy, T&T, 2022); 6m 31s
I don’t know where my family was from. I couldn’t locate myself in China, even when I visited Shanghai with a friend in 2018. Paria’s Pearl was/is my search for the body’s of water routes; from a small village on the banks of the Pearl River, merging with the Atlantic, through the Dragon's Mouth spilling into the Gulf of Paria. These bodies of water hold memories that flood the streets of Port of Spain and perhaps that’s why the Dragon couldn’t dance or look at its own reflection. When I looked down at the cloudy waters, I saw my shadowy reflection. When the water was clear, there was only my shadow cast onto the seabed which nested a pearlescent glint. A promise of wealth that the dragon dove into the ocean for and when it came up for air — it was a shop on Charlotte Street.
Black Stroke (Olivia Smart, UK, 2023); 12m
Drowning isn't an option as three people tackle their biggest fear. We follow the stories of three individuals learning to swim for the very first time in just eight weeks.
Save Me (Amani Simpson, UK, 2021); 33m
SAVE ME is a social impact short film written and directed by Award-Winning Youth Coach Amani Simpson which follows two teenagers, connected through trauma, who embark on a mini cab journey in search of freedom. Tensions flare when a teenage girl strikes up a friendship with a local schoolboy in this British short film. Themes of child sex abuse and cyberbullying are treated unflinchingly, but there are positive messages for teens.
Returned (Janet Marrett, UK, 2023); 11m 25s
A psychologist attempts to conceal her past until she is forced to confront it, starring Michelle Greenidge.
Dementia: The Island Journey ( Rianna Patterson, UK/Dominica, 2023); 45m 2s
This feature film is an eco-friendly production that focuses on dementia, culture, and Rianna's personal journey in creating an impact in the lives of older people in Dominica after the passing of her grandfather with dementia in Dominica. Living well in a cultural context is something the film highlights. Creating a realistic as well as a positive approach to older people in the media. Rianna explores holistic treatments for dementia and engages in traditional experiences in a quest to understand the recipe for the meaning of quality of life.
