Co-presented with the Latino International Film Festival, Los Angeles and The Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase Office

The travelling Caribbean Film Showcase is a regional project that aims to encourage the development of the film industry in the Caribbean region and to connect the audiences in the Caribbean with the works that have been systematically marginalized from the film market both within and outside the region.This is  a joint effort of Caribbean filmmakers, intellectuals and exhibitors that counts on  the official support of CARICOM, UNESCO, University of West Indies, and other institutions.This is   a regional non- profit film festival with clearly stated cultural goals. The Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase has been hosted in nineteen Caribbean countries. This installment of the showcase features recent recognized classics (THE SCENT OF OAK and AVA AND GABRIEL) as well as new films, both fiction (VIVA CUBA; ZULAIKA) and documentary (PORT-AU-PRINCE IS MINE; CALYPSO DREAMS; OF MEN AND GODS, et al.) Please join us for this electric and eclectic selection of unusual, exceptional films. Several of the filmmakers will be present.

Friday, January 11 – 7:30 PM [Spielberg]

Double Feature:

THE SCENT OF OAK (ROBLE DE OLOR), 2003, Cuba, 140 min. Dir. Rigoberto López. In 19th Century Cuba, white German investor Cornelio Souchay (Jorge Perugorria) falls in love with free black Haitian merchant Ursula Lambert (Lia Chapman), and the two found a kind of Utopian plantation where slaves are treated as equals and some even learn to expertly play classical music. But this new found harmony with land and people disturbs the island’s status quo. Things come to a head when Souchay’s haughty, Aryan diva cousin (Raquel Rubi) arrives and finds herself no longer the object of her relative’s affection. Envy, racism, superstition and sexual jealousy coalesce, destroying the delicate balance. Gorgeous cinematography and a rigorous narrative (about politically demonizing humane behavior in the name of civilization) meld with romantic eroticism and magical realism. In Spanish with English subtitles

PORT-AU-PRINCE IS MINE (PORT AU PRINCE SE PAM), 2000, Haiti, 57 min. Director Rigoberto López provides a fascinating documentary portrait of the beleaguered city, Port-au- Prince, the capital of the Republic of Haiti. Today it is a victim of overpopulation, lack of urban infrastructure, and environmental degradation – problems that have roots in its initial settlement in the 18th and 19th Centuries In French Creole with English subtitles. Director Rigoberto Lopez will introduce the screening.

Saturday, January 12 – 5:00 PM [Spielberg]

Double Feature:

JAB! THE BLUE DEVILS OF PARAMIN, 2006, Trinidad and Tobago, 47 min. Dir. Alex D’Verteuil. This documentary focuses on Kootoo, a hillside farmer in the mountain community of Paramin. Following a longstanding tradition of the province, once a year he paints himself blue and becomes the King of Jab, followed by his brothers, James, Harry and Corpad who transform themselves into the Blue Devils of Paramin. This beautifully made film depicts the metamorphosis of a tranquil paradise into a living hell as the Jab competes to win the prize for being the worst devil. In English.

WHAT MY MOTHER TOLD ME, 1995, Trinidad and Tobago, 55 min. Dir. Frances-Anne Solomon. Beautiful and profoundly moving, this dramatic journey towards self discovery focuses on Jesse, a young woman from England, who goes to Trinidad to bury her father. Reluctantly she agrees to meet her mother, whom she thought had abandoned her when she was a child. Her mother tells her stories, revealing a troubled and violent marriage, and Jesse is forced to face the truth about her past. Cleverly evokes complex connections between history, memory, violence and cultural identity. In English.

Double Feature:

AVA AND GABRIEL – A LOVE STORY (AVA Y GABRIEL – UN HISTORIA DI AMOR), 1990, Curacao, 90 min. Dir. Felix De Roy. In 1940s Dutch Antilles, a liberal priest goes against his conservative monsignor’s wishes and commissions black, Dutch-trained artist, Gabriel (Cliff San-A-Jong), to paint the portrait of a black Madonna for their church. A Pandora’s Box of superstition, jealousy and sexual chaos opens up when Gabriel picks the mixed race Ava (Nashaira Desbarida) as his model. Gabriel’s friendship with two closeted, gay fabric designers, his secret romance with Ava and an ill-advised tryst with the sexually voracious governor’s wife exacerbate the situation until violent tragedy erupts. The exquisite cinematography is by Ernest Dickerson, who went on to become a director (JUICE; NEVER DIE ALONE) in his own right. In Papiamento with English subtitles.

CALYPSO DREAMS, 2008, Trinidad and Tobago, 90 min. This documentary from filmmakers Geoffrey Dunn and Michael Horne explores the history of calypso music in Trinidad and Tobago. Featuring performances and interviews of such seminal acts as Mighty Sparrow, Calypso Rose, Lord Superior, Brother Valentino, Regeneration Now and Mystic Prowler, and also includes archival footage of Calypso pioneers Grandmaster Kitchener and Lord Pretender. Harry Belafonte is also interviewed and comments on calypso’s impact and influence on his singing career. Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson (AVA AND GABRIEL) and director Geoffrey Dunn (CALYPSO DREAMS) will introduce their respective films.

CARIBBEAN SHORTS Please join us for this cream-of-the-crop selection of Caribbean shorts:

Frank E. Flowers’ "Swallow" (2003, Caiman Islands, 24 min). After the death of his father, a Floridian high school student takes an assignment as a drug mule to earn money for his college tuition. Suzette Zayden’s "Days Of The Dead" (Dia De Los Muertos) (2002, Belize, 11 min). Present day Yucatec Mayas in northern Belize invite us to witness their Maya-Mestizo tradition of the Days of the Dead held every November in the village of Xiabe in the Corozal District. Jose D. Gomez Vargas and Natalia Cabral’s "Under The Shadow Of His Own" (Bajo La Sombra De La Sangre) (2005, Dominican Republic, 16 min) Living with his single mother, Maritza, Cristiano is a young dweller in one of the most humble sections of the city of Santo Domingo. Since he had grown up in a harsh environment, Cristiano began selling drugs. After an apparently lucrative deal, he is betrayed by one of his own and he finds himself in a situation of deception and envy which ends tragically. Gloria Rolando’s "The Jazz In Us" (Nosotros Y El Jazz) (2004, Cuba, 45 min). A documentary on a group of black Havana youths in the 1940s and 50s who hung out listening and dancing to jazz. In private houses and various bars in the cities, they enjoyed what were then called "Jam Sessions." Movies such as STORMY WEATHER and CABIN IN THE SKY made these young men and women dream as they discovered the art of African American musicians, singers, and dancers. Filmmaker Frank E. Flowers (SWALLOW) will introduce the screening.

Sunday, January 13 – 7:30 PM [Spielberg]

Double Feature:

VIVA CUBA, 2005, Cuba, 80 min. Dir. Juan Carlos Cremata. Malú (Malú Tarrau Broche) and Jorgito (Jorge Milo) are two kids that have promised each other a lifetime friendship despite their squabbling families. When Malu’s Grandma dies, her mother decides to leave Cuba. Malú and Jorgito decide to escape to the world’s edge in search of a hope for their love and to find Malú’s birth father. In Spanish with English subtitles.

ZULAIKA, 2003, Curacao, 78 min. Dir. Diederik Vann Rooijen. This simple, straightforward docu-drama follows young teen Zulaika (Shurmaily Martina) as she struggles to deal with a life of poverty, trying to help her grandmother run the tiny neighborhood store that they operate from the backdoor of their kitchen. When her grandfather is given a grant to go to South America to get an operation to cure his deafness, Zulaika is presented with a challenging crisis as her grandmother falls ill. Sweet and moving, the film effortlessly draws the viewer into Zulaika’s world. In Papiamento with English subtitles.