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• Caribbean
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• Havana
• international
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• Personalities
• 03 / 27 / 2010

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The cinematographic event, last year dedicated to childhood and adolescence, will once again be an open window for social and cultural realities in the zone.

The showcase is a valid project not only for the Caribbean but for the rest of the world as well, by presenting a cinema little known internationally that has survived on the fringes of the prevailing audiovisual market.

A total 61 audiovisual works from 19 Caribbean countries have been selected for the third edition of the Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase, to be exhibited in regional countries from the second semester of the year on.

The cinematographic event, last year dedicated to childhood and adolescence, will once again be an open window for social and cultural realities in the zone.

The showcase is a valid project not only for the Caribbean but for the rest of the world as well, by presenting a cinema little known internationally that has survived on the fringes of the prevailing audiovisual market.

Cuba, Colombia, Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Surinam are among the countries most represented in this new edition.

For the first time, the showcase includes a film from the St. Martin Island

The chosen cartoons, documentaries, and fiction films were made known in Havana, main headquarters of the event.

The International Committee that selected the works was this time made up of Carla Foderingham, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, Normand de Palm,writer-producer from Curacao, Haitian filmmaker and writer Rassoul Labuchin, and Cuban filmmaker Rigoberto Lopez, president of this festival.

The committee’s members said to be very impressed with the quality of the works presented.

The films were exceptional, and the Traveling Film Showcase is a wonderful space to promote the Caribbean diversity and culture, Foderingham said in press conference at the event’s central office.

Meanwhile, Normand de Palm highlighted the event must be developed and preserved, due to its great importance for regional countries. «The region must ensure financial support for this important project, and not simply screen the films in the respective nations.»

Rassoul Labuchin, who came to Havana with visible signs on his body of the quake that devastated his country, stressed «the festival is the most valuable means to distribute regional films, and encourages regional unity, as we all share the same
Caribbean soul.»

Cuban filmmaker Rigoberto López affirmed the summoning for the festival’s third edition corroborates the importance it is gaining in the area, having welcomed 217 films from 23 countries this year.

«This time, we have also received letters from several academic and cultural institutions outside the region, expressing support for the project, and asking that the films are exhibited in their countries», explained López.

The author of Roble de Olor exemplified with countries like Cyprus, Turkey, and the US, and stated the materials included in the showcase will keep having a special program in the framework of the Black Film Festival annually held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

López also informed that parallel to the organization of this edition, the event’s main headquarters is coordinating a special showcase on Haiti, with works by filmmakers from that country and others. «It is our friendly reply to that sister nation, and we hope it is chiefly taken to the whole Caribbean and Latin America.

Its presentation has been already arranged for such places as the University of Yale, Stanford, the British Film Festival, and in France».

The Caribbean showcase is an initiative developed between 2006 and 2007 in Cuba, in collaboration with UNESCO. The first year, 106 films from 17 countries were presented, and the second year 118 from equal number of countries.

The third edition will tour regional countries, mainly during the second semester of the year. It is expected to arrive in Cuba in July, when it will reach each provincial capital.

By Mildrey Ponce

Source: Cubanow