Amnesty award for Carib film-makers

The winning film will be chosen by a jury of three, which this year comprises Gregory Sloane-Seale, national co-ordinator, Citizen Security Programme in the Ministry of National Security; Dr Gabrielle Hosein, head of department and lecturer, Institute for Gender and Development Studies, at The University of the West Indies; and Pamela Carmona, regional youth and activism co-ordinator at the Amnesty International Americas Regional Office, in Mexico.

The films in competition are Cargo, Entre 2 Rives: De Saint- Domingue à Pointe-à- Pitre and Jeffrey.

Cargo by Kareem Mortimer of The Bahamas Kevin owns a battered boat, but making a living from fishing won’t keep him afloat.

Desperate, he puts his boat to another use: transporting equally desperate Haitians from the Bahamas on their way to enter the US illegally. He’s taken risks before — this time he must pull off the biggest one of all.

Entre 2 Rives: De Saint-Domingue à Pointe-à- Pitre –Mariette Monpierre, Guadeloupe A chronicle of the struggle of two Dominican women who left everything behind, including their own children, to move to Guadeloupe in hope of a better life. More than ten years later, they still fight everyday to bring their children across to their new home. Two women, two shores, one dream.

Jeffrey – Yanillys Perez, Dominican Republic Twelve-year-old Jeffrey’s mother wakes him not for school but to clean windshields in traffic to pay the rent, as he’s done for six years.

His older brother sings reggaetón, and –anxious to break free of their crushing poverty– he hopes to follow suit as “Jeffrey the Nightmare”.

In addition to receiving a trophy, the winning film-maker will also be given a cash prize of TT $5000.

Annabelle Alcazar, programme director of the ttff said in a media release: “Films have the power to give voice to those most affected by injustice, and to inspire individuals and communities to stand up and speak out against injustices such as racism, sexism, LGBT discrimination, poverty, broken justice systems and other issues that impact communities and suppress the notion of democracy for all.” Pamela Carmona, at Amnesty International Americas Regional Office, in Mexico, added: “Caribbean film-makers have been fearless in crafting powerful stories of human struggle, sacrifice and triumph –reaching across cultures and countries, transcending language barriers to speak eloquently on the issues of human rights and social justice. As long as human rights violations exist, there will always be a need for such films, and this prize is our way of acknowledging the important work being done by film-makers and activists in the Caribbean region.

The festival opens tomorrow and ends September 25