Mission to take it international

The film was beautifully shot, featured fantastic performances and a gripping, moving plot based on a true story. The Cutlass is the tale of a weekend getaway that turns to horror when a young woman named Joanna (Lisa Bel Hirschmann) is abducted by a sociopath named Al (Arnold Goindhan) and taken into the forests of Toco. The film also stars American actor Kirk Baltz (Reservoir Dogs) as Joanna’s father.

Sunday Newsday reached out to some of the cast and crew to get their responses on the film’s performance: Darisha Beresford, director I could not have asked for a better response from our audiences! Watching people’s reactions and how emotionally invested they were to the characters in the story was amazing. People have expressed that they were awestruck and couldn’t get the movie out of their heads for days after seeing it! That has been a wonderful achievement for me as a director and for all the cast and crew as storytellers! We look forward to the future of filmmaking in the Caribbean.

Teneille Newallo, writer From the beginning, like every other filmmaker, we had always hoped that The Cutlass would be well received, and understood for its subtext. But the instigation for me writing the script, other than the incredible story that was told to me, was a combination of three desires: to create challenging roles for local actors, to create job opportunities for locals in the industry and to take Caribbean filmmaking to the next level. The realisation that all of my initial three goals were accomplished is only now sinking in after all of the business over the last few months. And it is an incredibly relieving and exciting feeling. The team that we managed to put together with the budget, that we had no choice but to work with, is astounding. Without every single person involved, local and international, this film would not have become what it is, and I am truly grateful. Imagine what can be created with the right team and a decent budget! Hopefully now, more businesses and the private sector will feel more comfortable trusting our visions as producers.

Already, companies are writing in excited to work with us on our future projects, and that is possibly the best reaction to a film any producer can ask for, especially as we have two scripts and a possible TV series, ready to produce.

Arnold Goindhan, lead actor Five years ago when I first read for The Cutlass, from that moment I knew it would be one of the most compelling story I would have to tell as an actor. Five years after we were filming, finally the day had come.

Being based on true events raised the bar even higher. Having heard the stories and done the research I knew that this character would stretch me further than I have ever been. In retrospect I have became a better person, a better actor and made some life long friends along the way.

It was a long process and big props should be given to Teneille and Darisha for spearheading this project. Teneille for her masterful writing and behind the scenes work, Darisha for her keen eye and patience, and both for burning the midnight oil to make this movie happen. The hard working cast and crew...(and) everyone who gave their sweat to make magic happen on the silver screen.

It was astonishing to find out The Cutlass had sold out before it opened, and after the surreal opening night the response from the audience was astounding.

The sense of gratification became overwhelming knowing that all of our hard work and trials was appreciated by the hardest test - the people.

Receiving the awards made the pot much sweeter. There it was etched in glass, down in the history books, recorded forever in the history of great films of this here TT. A story that does not invite you to the celebration of sea, sand and mas but the dark corners of the deep forest that mask a haunting reality in everyday life. I am truly honoured and blessed to be a part of The Cutlass.

Drew Umland, 3rd executive producer and editor The plight of independent filmmakers is the same all over the world...

maybe even more so in Trinidad and Tobago.

It is difficult to raise funds for your projects through investment and sponsorship. And rightfully so! With limited exposure sponsor value is not great. With limited commercial release it is difficult to recoup investment. But it is not simply up to private investors and businesses to “have faith” that this project is “the one”. It is up to us, the filmmakers.

It is our responsibility to prove that filmmaking can consistently be a worthwhile endeavour and a viable industry.

When we first conceived this film it was our mission to prove that a world-class independent film could be produced in Trinidad and Tobago. A serious film, that not only tells a genuine Trinidadian story, but does so in a way that a global audience can identify with it too. Less than a year ago we launched into production to craft that product. To do it on a tight budget and with a fixed time line. And here we are with the “Best Local Film” and the “People’s Choice” award from ttff. So we are half way there.

We are proud to have debuted The Cutlass at the ttff. We have been so overwhelmed by the response. But we are still on a mission - to develop more film products and to take The Cutlass international to prove that film can be a valuable product for export.

Within the Caribbean TT is the leader in many industries. It has the opportunity to be a regional leader in the film industry as well if it continues to nurture the growth of the craft.

Lisa Bel Hirschmann, lead actress Watching The Cutlass after years of hard work from all sides, was a surreal experience on so many levels. There were countless things running through my mind, so many hidden messages that I wanted the audience to find but mostly for people to gain even just a small insight into something big, that perhaps they’ve been missing. I couldn’t form my own opinion at first because I was so involved in it, but people approached me and told me what they saw when they watched it.

It brought me immeasurable joy to hear that most, if not all of the things that Darisha, Arnold and I tried to bring across, through acting and scenery, really came through on film. From the process of the characters, to the music, the cinematography and the locations, everything tied together.

There are so many levels of immersion in The Cutlass, I think everyone in Trinidad and Tobago can relate to it in some way and that’s what was important to me from the beginning.

TT is my home, it’s a beautiful and talented place. Watching The Cutlass will certainly show you that.

But there is also this whole other conflicted side to TT and I think it’s time that we open the discussion and collectively find a solution for all the poverty and the separation between people. The Cutlass, in my opinions, gives you a good insight to that; both Al and Joanna are victims, that’s not to excuse Al’s actions, but if we all take a moment to understand where violence is born I think we can agree that a lot of the time children in Trinidad and Tobago lack love even more than they lack money.

It’s easy to look at a situation and point fingers of blame at Al, but if you really listen to his story, you can begin to understand the thread of events that turned an innocent child into a desperate criminal.

Unfortunately this reflects very real events for a lot of people and by the time Al became an adult there was no helping him, he was now a danger.

The Cutlass has a rich story, it’s not black and white, there are layers; no one is entirely good or entirely evil, and that for me, is what makes it not only a good movie but a believable, impact inducing film.