Return to Paradise

Sunday Newsday spoke with Benoit about his film, Opia, and he explained that he has been a fan of film for as long as he could remember, although it was not originally the main focus of his career. In his mid-20s he attended the Toronto Film School and specialised in video editing. When he returned to TT he worked with a few production companies, with a focus on television, and did editing and videography for television shows and corporate videos.

He started his own company, Normal Normal Films, in 2010 and made music videos for artistes like Queen Omega (Jeneile Osborne), Devon Matthews and for his band which played with Anti-Everything. He said he pre-planed most productions and would oversee them himself, detailing the process from start to finish.

While working for clients he decided to focus on making a feature film and has been working on a documentary on skateboarding in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean. Skateboarding is another of his passions.

But it his second film that is currently commanding his attention.

Opia, which means “spirits of the dead” or “ancestors” in the Taino language is about the last days of “paradise on our (TT) tiny island” before the arrival of the Spanish. He said it is not a traditional film and was difficult to classify, though he called it a drama/history/adventure/action film.

“It has a lot to do with the misinformation most people have about indigenous people of the island.” He spent two years in extensive research and wrote a script which he dreamed up but tied in with actual historical events. He wanted to create a more relatable personal tale about what it would have been like for First Peoples.

The film, he said, is about new beginnings and new becomings and a certain disconnection from the normal traditional style of life and being involved with nature.

Benoit explained that it is about struggle and people and the artistic focus is on cosmic consciousness and a deeper connection to spirit and nature before being influenced by Western civilisation.

“And it as strange to see that the least known cultures that we have investigated or that would be the primary focus of our knowledge is the ones of inhabitants of where we live. I found that was very strange that living in Trinidad and not being able to get an actual accurate description of what kind of life and what kind of traditions the people had,” he said.

He explained that when people hear the term Amerindian they think of a collective but not an individual who had preferences, likes, cares and fears, or someone that they can relate too.

Benoit said his interest was in a story where this land was at peace and the only time he could find that was before the arrival of the Spanish. He believes the history before Christopher Columbus is biased by mainstream intellectuals and the average person only receives anecdotal accounts from colonisers.

He said our understanding of that intricate society which had deep religious cultures and was scientifically, technically and medically advanced is very basic, as the details have been lost in the course of history. He explained and for the First Peoples they did not see themselves as disconnected individuals but connected to spirit and nature and consciousness.

Conversely, he said, people tend not to want to see themselves as one consciousness and one people due to Western stylised living.

“Evidence has found that this was not always the mindset of the people in the Caribbean. And it’s hard not to see why when the surroundings and the natural flora and fauna is so beautiful and you are able to appreciate nature in such a setting here. The weather is almost perfect. So one can only imagine without any daily life and hustle and bustle of modern day living, how peaceful and lovely it would have been to reside on an island like this a hundred years ago when it was still untouched.” For his cinematography he tried to capture the nature as pristine as possible. The film features two main characters, a male and a female Amerindian, who are on separate journeys and self-motivated adventures. The male is Coqui, named after a musical frog in Puerto Rico, who has a premonition for the fate of his people and is driven to seek out someone for a higher understanding of the vision - an island shaman. He leaves his village and his people for the first time. Coqui will be played by Benoit’s brother Francois.

The female character sets out on a journey to find medicine to save one of her elders. Her name is the symbol for “dreamer” and she feels lost between the waking and sleeping world and gives equal value to both. She will be played Jasmine Jones.

As to the locations for the film, Benoit said the majority will be shot at “best kept secret spots” which are not necessarily known to people other than hikers. They chose to go as remote as possible to give the feeling of isolation while not putting the actors in any danger.

Benoit said he wanted to showcase the serenity of the island to remind people of where they live.

“You don’t have to go far to see the beauty and magic of a place we call home.” He pointed out that there has not been a lot about Caribbean history and culture in mainstream film and now was a good time for Opia. The casting is 75 percent complete and he will be doing some casting calls in the next few months.

The cast is will be playing both tribal people and the Europeans/ newcomers. As Benoit will be telling a personal story about the Amerindians, he will also be telling a more human story about Columbus, showing him after he was stripped of his titles, disenchanted but still striving.

He said there are tentatively six to eight months of filming left and they are waiting for the rainy season to do some shooting.The film is feature length and could run for two and a half hours.

Benoit plans to start screening to an audience that will most connect with it - TT and the Caribbean - and then as wide an international audience as wide as he can get. He hopes that by watching this film people will get a better idea of this country’s history, see what may have been overlooked in the past and what can be uses to move forward in the future.

The trailer for Opia can be viewed on the Normal Normal Films Facebook page.