A student of Fine Arts at CAPE level, she experimented with painting and photography in her formative years. In 2009, she danced with Blackout, the winning dance troupe on TT’s #1 Dance Crew. It wasn’t until enrolling at SVA in 2012 did she begin to delve into the world of film.

“Film school was a very inspiring place for me,” she says of her tenure at SVA, noting that she was among artists from varying disciplines and took a range of classes in photography and painting, despite Film being her major. “It was a very free space and the curriculum was designed in such a way that I had a lot of room to experiment and figure out who I was as an artist.”

At SVA many of her classmates were fascinated by her nationality, which she attributes to a natural curiosity about films, coming from a country with a new and burgeoning film scene. She says in her four years of enrollment, the material she consumed throughout her courses included film genres from Bollywood to Samurai – “but I was not shown a single film from [our] region.”

She believes times are progressing though, with films such as last year’s hit Moonlight creating space for screen time with diverse actors, stories, and social commentary that are relatable to people who look and live like us. And as a filmmaker herself, she is not hesitating to take up the mantle to bring such representative and poignant stories to the screen.

This year, her short film, Short Drop will make its local debut at the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff), running September 19-26. Produced as her thesis film for her final year at SVA, Short Drop was written at a time when Maya felt exceptionally homesick.

“I wrote the script during a summer when I was not able to make it back home,” she shares, adding that during the same period she discovered various international films that shone because of the naturalism of the performances, which further inspired her. “I wrote Short Drop with the intent of depicting Trinidadians I knew and missed in a way that was real, natural, and honest.”

The film follows a lonely man who is mistaken for a taxi driver on the bustling streets of Port-of- Spain. Reluctantly, he agrees to transport his “un-passenger” only to find his vehicle host to a variety of characters.

“Most of the film takes place in a car and follows various conversations an isolated man has with his passengers,” she elaborates. “My aim was to tell a simple story that evoked the spirit of people here in TT.”

The film won a pre-production grant at SVA. The creative process was also helped along by Maya’s academic mentor, Academy Award winner Chris Newman, whose special interest in the film was intensified given he is the parent of two adopted Trinidadian daughters. After a tech shoot in New York with her cinematographer, Maya and some students from SVA flew to Trinidad to begin production.

“I had a team of troopers working with me to get this film made. Things went wrong everyday but they kept pushing and everyone was just thrilled to be in the Caribbean making a movie,” she says of the hiccups expected on any film shoot, including tricky weather conditions and the use of multiple car batteries to light the car’s interior that would sometimes die before all required takes were captured.

She describes the film’s production as one of the greatest learning experiences she’s had as a filmmaker thus far.

She also praises the film’s star, Albert Laveau, and upcoming actors Jeanine Lee Kim and Kyle Richardson for their performances that required them to reach outside of their comfort zones. “Many of the actors had a theatre background or no acting experience so it was great when they were able to relax, be themselves, and forget that they were being filmed.

“It tells a simple story about human connection with characters that are familiar and relatable. Short Drop SUNDAY 10 September 2017 ISSUE 330

feels like a slice of life and I hope that people enjoy it.”

While the film is yet to make its TT debut, it has shown at international film festivals including the Martinique International Film Festival, Cascadia International Film Festival, Action on Film Festival, and Carifesta.

“Many people have been touched by this film since it started the festival circuit,” Maya says of the public’s reception and connection to her work. Even before such recognition from festival-goers, Short Drop won the New York Women in Film Award at SVA. Maya recalls at the award ceremony, Alexis Alexanian, president of New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) – an organisation essential in representing women, finding them opportunities, awarding their efforts, and the archiving and preservation of films – spoke of the necessity for the inclusion and recognition of women in film.

“I remember sitting in the audience agreeing with what she said… and then, the next moment, she announced the organisation had chosen to award my film,” says Maya of the moment that caught her completely off guard. “It was an absolute honour.”

According to Maya, statistics show that female directors make up a mere seven percent of the Hollywood film industry, which often leads to a lack of honest and heartfelt representations of women onscreen. “There’s a certain amount of empathy and humanisation that goes into creating these fictional characters,” she says of movies made and directed by women, as opposed to the stereotypically over-sexualised or muted roles many female characters play onscreen.

Historically, the roles of women in film – whether behind-the-scenes or in front of the camera – has been reduced and even completely erased. As Maya explains, “Many women-directed films have gone unrecognised over the years because of problematic power structures within the industry.” She says open conversations surrounding this imbalanced gender dynamic is what is needed so girls and women are not discouraged from entering the industry in the future.

“It was obvious at school that this industry is a boy’s club. However, if the work is good, it speaks for itself and I only hope young women can continue to exceed expectations and challenge the norm.”

Maya is one of these women: capturing moving images that translate stories that are contemporary and tender in a societal context that rings true for our country and region. “I want Trinidadians to see themselves onscreen and appreciate many of the things that we tend to overlook,” is what she hopes the work she creates will evoke.

Short Drop is not her first film and it won’t be her last. Her next movie will be titled She Paradise, a coming of age story about a Trinidadian teenage girl named Sparkle who seeks an escape from her lived reality through dance. Production is set to begin in 2018.

She says there are countless stories left untold about TT and our experiences, and this notion excites her to create. “My work is about what I’ve observed and experienced firsthand,” she says of the stories she tells and the importance of their earnestness.

“I’m happy that young women are showing their work at this year’s festival. The work is good and we to need to make sure it gets out there so more people can see it.

“My only hope is that people stop and think when they’re looking at a film I’ve made and leave the theatre having really felt something.”

For a list of screening times for Short Drop ahead of the ttff 2017, visit www.ttfilmfestival.com

“Studies have been done on Port of Spain and I am diligently reviewing them and working on proposing strategies which would target flooding once and for all,” Martinez said yesterday. Martinez had dispatched City Corporation officials to assess the severity of flooding in downtown Port of Spain, after a heavy downpour. The heavy rain began around lunchtime and continued until 4 pm, disrupting vendors who usually sell at the exits of City Gate, as floodwaters entered the transportation hub. South Quay and surrounding streets also flooded. “There has been tremendous rainfall in such a short space of time and we are working towards fixing the flooding situation in Port-of-Spain,” said Martinez.

Mario’s Pizza’s City Gate branch profited from the downpour as they had an increase in sales from those stranded there. “The water is right inside City Gate but it is not affecting Mario’s negatively. We are getting a lot more sales from people who are waiting for the water to subside,” said the manager.

Weather forecasts yesterday reported on early morning and afternoon showers disrupting hot and sunny conditions, with the likelihood of heavy showers or thunder showers towards late afternoon in western Trinidad.

The male of the species in TT appears to be extraordinarily mentally disturbed and in my view there is need for social monitoring of our male children from early childhood.

When a female member of the Opposition calls for answers from the Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, one shudders at the naked politicking during this time of anguish for all females. The inference is opportunistic politicking of the sickest kind. Could the call to the PM and minister not have waited for another two days in sympathy for the distressed relatives and indeed the entire community? Also, where was Womantra when that poor woman and the little boy were murdered in the East? What about the naked body of the female worker found in the river? Where, again, was Womantra? Womantra stands accused of only surfacing when it can jockey some extra minutes of social media fame because the unhappy victims are high-profile women. Where was the Opposition when women were being murdered between 2010 and 2015 when it was in government? What remedy did its members have then and what remedy have they to offer today to convince us that they have pertinent and effective ideas for protecting our women? How is it possible to console the relatives of the bereaved?

LYNETTE JOSEPH Diego Martin

So what’s next? If we follow the usual process TT may be looking for a new coach or there will be a shake-up of the management team.

As far as I am concerned, however, the 11 players on the field for those 90 minutes are responsible for winning or losing.

I have been saying it over and over: our players are not up to World Cup standard. We are being outplayed. It is not the management.

The way forward is returning to the drawing board and grooming players from young. Let us stop bringing back players who cannot last 90 minutes. We must do better than that.

I still fully support our footballers but we need to find new talent.

ARNOLD GOPEESINGH via email

In the 21st century, with the bombardment of the internet we buy into the hype and indulge heavily in whatsoever may be the current rage.

We saturate ourselves with trending products until the new and next comes along… because isn’t it true in makeup that popular brands work better than unpopular brands? What is beauty makeup anyway? Does it follow trends and patterns? Sometimes when a person can answer these questions drawing on more than 35 years’ experience in the beauty industry, it makes a difference — one learns more… because life is not just about the end result but is about appreciating how the end result came about and why… isn’t it? The answer to everything makeup In the beginning (1981), Ephraim Hunte’s skill as a makeup artist grew from his experiences on _ lm, runway and magazine editorial productions.

His works have graced many high profile publications like Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Wear daily and Essence and he has worked on many celebrities including the late Whitney Houston.

Since 1998 in Trinidad, Ephraim Hunte has been forging a legacy with his makeup training institution, the Ephraim Hunte International Makeup Academy, utilising the Ephraim Hunte method of applying and teaching Beauty Makeup. He has formulated his custom blend of powders, concealers and foundation which are personalised for all skin tones.

His exclusive line EHC- Vamoose, is specialised as a waterproof correction formula for various hyper and hypopigmentation skin challenges, like birthmarks, melasma and vitiligo.

The Ephraim Hunte International Makeup Academy teaches these corrective foundation techniques to students in its Professional Courses, which give each student the necessary platform to face daily obstacles with various skin types. The principle of the programs is rooted in the general science of balancing facial features to bring about the desired beauty enhancements for each person. But, the overall aesthetics conform to the classic or trendy desires of today’s beauty needs. The field of beauty makeup offers many avenues of makeup artistry, from natural facial enhancement to makeup Fx. These can be explored at Ephraim Hunte International Makeup academy under the tutelage of Ephraim Hunte and his internationally trained and certified instructors.

• Opened Ephraim Hunte International Makeup Academy in 2001, the first International makeup artistry school in Trinidad and Tobago.

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A Petrotrin source revealed to Sunday Newsday that this investigation could begin in a matter of days. This comes after the recent Petrotrin audit which hapo s inted fingers to a number of the company’s employees for alleged involvement in action which saw crude oil supplies from a private lease operator to the Pointe-a- Pierre refinery shot up from 28,628 barrels, to 111,006 barrels in ten months, resulting in the company having to pay close to $100 million for crude it never received.

A senior Petrotrin employee confirmed to Sunday Newsday that reference was made in the company’s Internal Audit Department Memorandum to the refusal by a number of employees to cooperate in the company’s investigations. In fact, the report stated those particular employees were more intent on seeking the interests of the private lease operator, rather than the interest of Petrotrin.

“The statement is a damning one against our employees in which they facilitated the overstating of crude production from the Catshill Field, which resulted in Petrotrin having to overpay the operator to the tune of US$11.5 million. I’m sure it would be investigated,” the Petrotrin source said.

The source also disclosed that a senior Petrotrin employee who was responsible for managing an inventory and keeping the record of crude oil from a particular land field, and who was featured prominently in the report as the mastermind in the “fake oil” deals, remained in the company’s employ up to yesterday.

“You have to remember that this is a preliminary report (audit).

We will now have an investigation,” said the Petrotrin source.

Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has since issued a pre-action protocol letter to Petrotrin seeking damages for defamation and approximately $45 million from the State-owned company, for monies owing to the private lease operator for crude oil supplied to the refinery for June and July.

Regarding the senior employee’s alleged involvement in a conspiracy allegedly facilitating the hiking of the volume of crude supplied from the private lease operator to the refinery, the report stated that GPS records showed there were times when the senior Petrotrin (name stated) employee was not present at the Catshill location when the “fiscalisation” was being done.

(Fiscalisation is the process of configuring the appropriate devices to enable them to record sales and other tax information).

A sales ticket or receipt was then issued to the lease operator for the crude oil supplied. But the Petrotrin audit report went on to state th at the employee was absent and did not witness the taking of the level of the oil brought to the refinery. The employee signed the ticket. It meant therefore, that the employee accepted the figures representing the volume of oil presented to the refinery that was specified by the lease operator.

The report stated, “There were also cases where (named stated) was present for very short periods of time when high gauges were being taken and therefore could not have been present for the entire fiscalisation process which, if done properly, can take at least 30 minutes.” The report made the damning assertion of collusion with the lease operator stating the employee was a regular visitor to the former’s head office, “although his job did not require him to do so”. The report concluded that there was wilful misconduct on the part of the employee while executing his duties during the period January to June. The employee was eventually removed from fiscally measuring the production of crude from the Catshill’s field in July.

However, the audit report declared that upon the employee’s removal, the crude production of the lease operator in question, “seemed to have a debilitating and paralysing effect on the operator’s production”. The report itemised the production levels and stated in part in the context of the employee’s removal, “that the reported fiscal production at Catshill decreased significantly as shown”.

The report then went on to describe the action of overstating the oil supplies as a fraud in which the State-owned oil company, already indebted to the tune of billions of dollars to the Treasury, had to pay the private lease operator for oil not produced.

In one instance when production was overstated by about 90,000 barrels, Petrotrin overpaid the lease operator US$2.97 million, the audit report stated.

The consequence was that Petrotrin paid the government US$1.86 million in royalties on crude that was not received at Pointe-a-Pierre. According to the report, Petrotrin has now earned the reputation of overstating its crude oil production and the company stands guilty of sending inaccurate well test and production information to the Ministry of Energy.

The report went on to state that Petrotrin was at loggerheads to pinpoint a general problem in managing its lease-out fields, describing an aspect of the management of that particular sector as having a laissez-faire attitude in trying to determine the reasons for persistent shortages of crude from its’ fields.

And in the Catshill field in particular, the report stated there was poor management “and lack of due diligence.” It allowed, what the report described as a fraud, to continue unabated.

This is because of a slow-down in metabolism, the body’s natural calorie-burning ability.

Additionally, the reproductive system prepares to close up shop and levels of oestrogen, progesterone, and growth hormone further decreases. Fortunately, strength training can help rebuild muscle and produce more human growth hormone, both of which keep your metabolism running as fast as (or faster than) it did when you were in your 20s.

Research from the Harvard School of Public Health shows that people who lift weights put on less belly fat as they age than cardio enthusiasts.

While any exercise will help you burn calories, strength training gives your metabolism the biggest boost after your workout ends. When weight training is coupled with cardio your fat burning ability is amplified, this translates into a greater number of calories being burnt.

So how do we wave away the under-arm flaps? The following exercises will assist you in getting rid of the cellulite on your arms and reducing the appearance of loose skin. Consider doing this workout for at least two days a week, three days a week maximum. Do not do this work out every day as your body requires recovery time.

Complete three sets of 12 reps for each exercise.

Focus on using proper form, and don’t worry about completing the exercises at a quick pace.

Tricep dips If you are working out at home, place your arms on a chair or bench and elevate your feet by putting a stool under them.

Steps
• Assume the starting position by placing your arms behind your back, gripping a bench or chair.

• From the starting position, slowly lower yourself.

Keep your body upright and your elbows, tucked close to your sides.

• Concentrate on lowering your body only with the triceps. Ensure that your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.

• After this, push your body back up using only your triceps.

• Repeat.

Tricep kickbacks For this exercise, you will require two light dumbbells. If you don’t have any at home, you can use one-litre bottles filled with water.

Steps

• Hold a weight in each hand.

• While you are standing, bend your knees slightly, keeping your back straight, and bend forward slightly. Your body should be almost parallel to the floor. Keep your head up and your arms close to your sides such that there is a 90-degree angle between your forearm and upper arm.

• Keep your shoulders locked to your sides while extending your arms back. Focus on the contraction of your triceps only.

• Hold for two seconds and lower your arms to the starting position. Avoid swinging your arms.

• Repeat.

Triceps pushups This is a challenging exercise. If your arms are not yet strong enough to lift your entire body weight consider letting your knees rest on the floor for the modification. As you get stronger consider lifting your knees off the floor.

Steps • Place hands directly below shoulders, feet hip-width apart. Keeping elbows pointed back and as close to your sides as possible, slowly lower body to the ground.

• Once your chest touches the floor, press back up to a straight-arm plank. Be sure to keep core and legs engaged the entire time.

If this is too challenging, modify by dropping down to your knees.

Triceps extension This is an amazing exercise for triceps and helps to make the triceps stronger and more toned.

Steps

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.

• Hold a dumbbell with both hands, with the thumbs wrapped around it for better grip.

The dumbbell should be held behind your head, and your palms must face the ceiling.

• Your upper arms should be close to your head. The elbows should be close to your eyes and perpendicular to the floor.

• Lower your upper arms until the weight is touching the upper part of your back. Don’t move your elbows. Keep them locked close to your ears.

• Use your triceps to raise the dumbbell up with your arms fully extended over your head. Exhale as you do this.

Standing bicep curls This exercise targets your biceps. This is a basic movement that hits your arms very effectively! It’s a beginner-friendly exercise, one that anyone can perform with any amount of weight. This exercise can be done one arm at a time or both arms at once.

Please note, do not use your back to swing the weight. Use a weight that’s light enough for you to execute the exercise with perfect form.

Steps • Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and slightly bent to relieve stress from your lower back.

• Grasp the dumb bell/weight in your left hand with an underhand grip. Begin with the weight hanging straight down. Now, keeping your elbows in at your sides and stationary, curl the weight straight up.

• Hold for two seconds, contracting the bicep muscles.

• Slowly return to the starting position.

Complete a set of 12 then switch to your right hand and repeat. Do three sets of 12 per hand, if you are using both hands simultaneously then complete three sets of 12 total.

Always remember that exercise has many rewards with absolutely no negative side effects once you perform them with good form and listen to your body’s cues.

Among them, her parents Don and Susan Ramtoole originally from Barrackpore, her brother Dennis, Dennis’ wife, Jenny, a national of Santo Domingo and their two young children Dennis Jr and Davey. Don has been living and working in Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, for over 20 years and Dennis a few years less. “I just want them to come home, because right now they don’t have anything. Dennis vehicle mash up, his place of employment mash up, the hurricane destroyed his home. He has nothing to fall back on,” she cried. She said when she spoke to her mother yesterday morning, Susan said she had two cases of water left and did not know how long it would last or when help would come.

To make matters worse, Donna said, survivors from the smaller islands have converged on Tortola which is the largest of the BVI’s and there is looting.

“People are fighting and scrambling for food. It is like a deserted island where you see something shining in the sand and every body rushing to get it.” There is no power on the island, but her parents have been charging their phones in their vehicle, which managed to survive the devastation.

“My mother told me that a British Navy ship was on the channel and a helicopter was surveying the damage.

She said she also understand that about seven boats were on the periphery of the island with food and relief supplies on board. She said one gas station and a supermarket has since reopened, but there is little stock.

“It is amazing to know that there are TT nationals who have been devastated by Hurricane Irma but nobody is doing anything to get them out. I don’t know if I did not read or hear about help being offered to identify citizens who have been affected, but help has not reached my family as yet.” She said they cannot get out on their own because flights are not leaving the island, which is still impassable by roads, in many areas.

“They have no money either, as the physical structure of Scotiabank where they bank, has been flattened.” The Ramtooles live in Kingston, about three miles away from the capital Road Town.

When Irma hit earlier in the week, all of the buildings were either flattened or the roofs, doors and windows blown off.

Communication has been difficult, but when Sunday Newsday spoke to Don on Thursday, he said they were sleeping on chairs and desks at the Cedar School, a private institution which threw opened its doors to hurricane victims.

At that time, he also said, they were bracing for Hurricane Jose, which has since shifted, “Susan is sleeping on three chairs, I am sleeping on a table. Other people are leaning up on the wall and sleeping.

We are in some distress but we are alive.

We have no injuries. We have a little bit of food and what we cook, we are sharing it with others who have nothing.” He explained that they live on the ground floor of a 15 apartment complex a short distance away from the sea.

“After eight hours of constant rain and wind, the roofs were blown off, and the water soaked through the concrete floor, soaking everything in our apartment.

What the rain did not soak, the water from the sea, which rose to frightening levels, took care of the rest.

However, he said, there is a light at the end of every dark tunnel, pointing out that their stove survived the onslaught as well as some groceries. What has emerged, he said, is a great community of strangers who have formed a bond sharing what ever little they have and comforting each other. With reference to Irma, Don who will celebrate his 60th birthday on September 12, said in all of his years he has never experienced anything as frightening as this.

“This place is like a ghost town. There is not a leaf left on any of the trees that as still standing. I don’t know when Tortola will come back to life, But praise and thanks to God, we have life. As soon as we are able to, we will return home.”

Having already won their respective league championship, Limers and Massy Girls powered their way to the Knockout titles when the league played off its last competition and held its presentation of prizes at the Mayaro Government Primary School Recreation Ground recently.

Batting first in the Male 12-over Knockout final against SCCL Hard Drive, Limers posted a challenging 117 runs for the loss of six wickets, with Denzil Ramphal stroking eight sixes in his top-score of 50.

Hard Drive were restricted to 109 for seven off their 12 overs.

In the Female Knockout final, Massy Girls made 57/6 from their eight overs, then held Bomb Squad to 49 for the loss of three wickets, taking the title by eight runs.

The Mayaro Windball Night Cricket League has been sponsored by energy company BP Trinidad and Tobago since 1999 and was revived this year after a two-year hiatus.

Playing a major role in the administration of the league is the All Mayaro Sports Foundation, a community-based NGO which has been charged by BPTT with the responsibility of guiding and facilitating sports development in the wider Mayaro region.

Chairman of the foundation, Bartholomew “Bunny” Lynch, welcomed the return of the cricket league, noting that it served to uplift the various communities in a positive manner with friendly rivalry.

He welcomed the support of other sponsors, apart from major stakeholder BPTT, such as Shell Trinidad, Hydro Tech, National Energy Corporation, Laing and ZOR Services. Tesila Manoe, corporate assistant secretary of the foundation, thanked the various sponsors for supporting the league and congratulated the teams for their discipline and sportsmanship throughout the competitions.

Amir Mohammed, captain of Princes Town-based double champions Limers, said the longstanding holistic support by BPTT in the development of Mayaro and environs cannot be taken for granted but must be appreciated by all who benefit from the company’s social investment in the region.

“We are really grateful for the resumption of the cricket league as it helps us to bond as communities but they are also doing quite a lot in other areas. I must say we are extremely happy that Limers have been so successful this year.

We will be back next year for sure,” said Mohammed.

The ex-champion rider sent hgis mount into the lead from the off and gav e the Glenn Mendez-trained pre-race favourite a breather at the top of the stretch.

Big five O grabbed the lead inside 400 metres but Jadoo ® roused his charge again and scooted clear for a 1 1/4 length victory.

One Fortheroad came with a rattle but was a head short of Big Five O who held on for seconhd, It was a day when nojockey managed more than one winning ride, but champion trainer Mendez Terrance Thomas saddled two winners each.

Three-year-old Cactus Treasure surprised in the 1500 metres turf race, a modified Benchmark handicap event to reward backers with $8.85 and $195 on the tote.

And Mirkana was also a surprise winnner to reward backers with $7 $7.50 and $1.80 on the tote.

Although the first Hi5 stumped turfites, one lucky punter left with a cheque for $4,781.20 for forecasting the five in the final race – Cramers Rule, Indy Anna Baby, Raeven Renae, Sing Sing Sing, San Antonio.