by Diane De La Haye
Are you passionate about Music? Does your heart go out to victims of Bullying? What about an emotional Adoption story or a Teacher’s mission for educational change? Maybe a hilarious BFF comedy is more your cup of tea. Well, we’ve got that and more for you as the next 5 films are announced for this year’s CaribbeanTales Film Festival.
Chrissy by Marcia Weeks
The inspirational and educational film chronicles the story of a poverty-stricken 10 year-old girl, Chrissy Wright (Mikaela Harrison), who lives on the rough side of town with a bedridden mother (Sharon Griffith) and two siblings. Chrissy faces much discrimination from her peers and teachers at school yet fortunately gets support from a Science Teacher, Mr. Fenton (Peter Boyce) and later meets a new student, Melissa Edghill (Cara Odonnel), but the best friends are from two different worlds. Join us to find out what decisions Chrissy makes and if she triumphs by overcoming bullying and pulling her family out of the dumps, using her strong faith and relentless pursuit of academic success.
Payday by Selwyne Brown and Shakira Bourne
This comedy-drama/buddy showcases a raw slice of Barbadian community life as we follow Romie, an aspiring mechanic and ladies man, and his brutally honest best friend Pack, as they invest their entire salaries in a down-payment on a garage. Their goal is to establish a successful mechanic’s shop to get away from their boring jobs as security guards, their loving yet eccentric and demanding families, and poor standard of living in their village – Pickletons. The simple task of making their down-payment to the garage owner at the village lime that night is hilariously complicated by Romie’s love-life, and Pack’s love for cannabis. The chaos and laughs multiply as the best friends go to extremes to avoid violent drug men, a charity collector and a crazy ex-girlfriend.
Garifuna in Peril by Ali Allee and Ruben Reyes
The film follows a Garifuna language teacher, Ricardo, as he struggles to preserve his fading culture by building a language school back in his home village in Honduras. A business venture with his brother Miguel designed to raise money for the school’s construction becomes complicated by the expansion plans of a nearby tourist resort, prompting Ricardo to confront land rights issues in tandem with his educational mission. Family tensions heighten when Miguel waivers in the face of pressure from the resort, and Ricardo’s wife Becky objects to her daughter Helena’s new boyfriend Gabriel. Historical parallels to the contemporary land struggle are invoked as Ricardo’s son Elijah rehearses a stage play about Garifuna hero and Paramount Chief, Joseph Satuyé and his last stand against British colonialism on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean over 200 years ago.
Adopted ID by Sonia Godding-Togobo
This gripping observational documentary uncovers the extraordinary journey of Judith Craig who was found in a ditch at birth and adopted by a Canadian family. Judith bravely returns to the impoverished nation of Haiti to find the mother that left her. From the poverty stricken parents who had given up a child to the foreign families looking to adopt one, these disparate worlds collide amid Judith’s quest to solve the puzzle of her past. With the sights and sounds of a Haiti before and after the earthquake as a back drop, these intersecting lives provide a rare and intimate insight into the conditions surrounding transnational adoption
El Medico by Daniel Fridell
El Medico is a young Cuban doctor and musician trying to make a better life for his family. Michel is a European music producer seeking fame and fortune. Witness a fight between two minds: one who sees the music as an authentic expression of Cuban culture and history and the other, as a commercial product to be sold by any means necessary. Caught in this clash of views is also Coquita, the young dancer whose dreams are ruined because Michel thinks she is not sexy enough, and El Medico’s mother who believes her son is betraying the revolutionary ideals that she suffered for. El Medico realizes that being Michel’s product is not his dream, but he has to decide between doing his duty to the State as a doctor fulfilling his mothers dream, or being an artist.
You can read about the other Five films here: https://caribbeantales-worldwide.com/Newz/five-centerpiece-films/
