The Guyanese delegation at the launch in Billie Holiday Theatre, New York
Eight short films commonly known as the “CineGuyana Set”, produced under the President’s Film Endowment 2011, began their international tour with a successful launch on Sunday, August 21 at The Billie Holiday Theatre in New York.
Five of the eight filmmakers were present at the function, which also had in attendance two students from the Centre for Communication Studies of the University of Guyana, and several of the films’ producers, editors and cinematographers.
The festival was hosted by The Guyana Cultural Association (GCA) of New York, and played to a packed theatre, forcing the organisers to hold a second show immediately after the première, to accommodate the large spillover crowd.
In welcoming the audience, Professor Cambridge noted that the occasion was a signal event, as the association celebrated its 10th anniversary; and it was a historic one, as Guyana marked a new phase of development in the film industry. He noted that the eight films represent the reawakening of a film tradition, and the arrival on the scene of a new generation of Guyanese film makers.
Louis Kilkenny, a former head of the Guyana Film Centre, emphasised that films are not simply entertainment in Guyana or anywhere else in the world.
“It shaped many of our social, economic and political views, often with devastating consequences to our own interests.” He traced the development of the local film industry, covering the early period of 35 and 16mm film production to the present day reality.
Kilkenny acknowledged the work of pioneers such as Hamley Case, H. Bhaichandeen, and Vivian Lee; and movies and documentaries such as “Agro Seizman”, “If Wishes Were Horses”, “Sounds of the Sugarcane”, “Operation Makanaima”, “Wan Pipel”, “The Terror and the Time”, and “World of the Caribbean”. Director of the Centre for Communication Studies at the University of Guyana, Dr Paloma Mohamed, thanked President Jagdeo who commissioned the endowment, the Culture and Finance ministers, the University of Guyana, Higher Education for Development (HED) tutor Brian Zahm, and USAID who underwrote Zahm’s stint.
She also thanked Digicel, and other local businesses and individuals, who funded various aspects of the films. She also thanked the families who were hosting filmmakers and students of the Centre for Communication Studies in New York.
Dr Mohamed challenged members of “CineGuyana” to improve their skills and to ensure that the investment was worthwhile. She also called on the diaspora to promote Guyana as the next ideal location for international film production.
She noted that the enthusiastic and often highly emotional response to the films by New Yorkers, especially those of Guyanese origin, was validation of the work of the filmmakers and all who supported the project. “This is Guyana telling its own stories in a highly professional and excellent context. That’s what it’s about!” The launch was streamed live on CineGuyana. com and Demerara Waves, while International coverage was provided by Caribbean Life & Caribbean Insight newspapers, One Caribbean Radio, and The Audrey Johnson Show. Broadcasts were interrupted during filming, due to copyright restrictions.
The films will tour Guyana during September and October under continued support from the President’s Film Endowment and the Culture Ministry; while internationally, in addition to the NY Film Festival, the films will be exposed to a variety of fora, including the prestigious International Arts and Environmental Conference of the Warwick University in the UK in September, and The Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival in November. The films that were viewed were “Backyard”, “The Bottle”, “Beached”, “The Encounter”, “Tradition”, “Three Cards”, “Hope” and “Luck Beat Handsome” had a positive feedback.
Comments are closed.