Femme du Film
A look at the women at the forefront of Trinidad's emerging film industry

The Trinidad and Tobago film industry started to emerge in the late 1950’s and 60’s with the arrival of foreign filmmakers who used the islands’ idyllic atmosphere and unique cultural heritage as settings for their movies.

Over the next fifty years, a number of feature films, television series, and documentaries were produced locally. But the industry, as most of its practitioners would admit, is still in the early development stages.

The establishment of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company and the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2006 provides filmmakers with access to funding and a forum to showcase their work. These establishments are working to provide strategic direction for the industry.

In Femme du Film, an ongoing series of interviews, Belle talks to female producers and directors, of television and film, about their careers, and their pioneering role in the evolution of Trinidad and Tobago’s film industry.

Sarah Beckett: Educating through Film

Sarah Beckett contends that the word ‘artist’ is weighty at best: “It took me years to call myself an artist.” Her Cascade studio was strewn with paintings in varying degrees of completion. She lit a cigarette and swept her hair back. “That was back in the day when you had to put your profession in your passport.”

She explains, “I never called myself an artist, until I was in my forties, even though I’d been painting seriously from my early twenties.” But Beckett’s aspirations were founded as a child growing up in England. “I came from an artistic background...and I suppose I consciously thought, ‘Oh, I suppose I’d spend my life painting,’ when I was eleven or twelve.”

She studied art in both France and England, and earned her degree in Mural Design from the Chelsea College of Art. She moved to Trinidad with her then-husband and three children, around the time she started to paint in earnest. I asked about the development of her career as an artist. She gave a throaty chuckle,“ I think I lurched from chaos to chaos.” She recalls how difficult it was - working by day and painting by night.

Beckett raised her children on her own, during the early stages of her career, and had to provide for her family - a daunting task for a relentless free spirit. “It’s unreal when I look back. We were homeless one time…we went hungry. She laughs, “I’m surprised they (my children) still talk to me.”

Her gender didn’t help much either. “Women in art weren’t taken very seriously. I mean, my parents sent me to art school hoping that I would find someone nice and get married.”

In the Trinidad of the 70s, there were few female artists, and fewer galleries. Beckett, however, found herself amongst a supportive group of artists that included James Boodhoo and Pat Chu Foon. She describes their then network as ‘intimate and reciprocal, though tiny’.

In later years, as her children approached adulthood, she was able to dedicate more of her time to art. She engendered a number of projects including: The Engine Room - a forum for collaborative and creative events staged at her London studio; and Polyphony - a creative partnership with pianist John Vanneste. She has exhibited in Europe, the United States and throughout the Caribbean.

In 2005, Beckett founded Trinidad Quartet Productions with the aim of providing an educational, creative outreach for NGOs; she also sought to promote the arts through film and creative events.

The first two films produced by the company, Like an Angel’s Wings, and Alabaster Moon, are part of a quartet of educational documentaries on the arts. The third in the series, Mango Vert, is currently under production.

She noted that some of the funding for Alabaster Moon was provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company. “They’re brilliant...when we completed it, they gave us very generous funding, for the editing and so on. But films are expensive...it took three times what we got.”

The film, which premiered at the 2008 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, explores two processes: that of creating art, and that of sharing the knowledge of creating art with the younger generation. Art education, it seems, is something very close to Beckett’s heart. While she understands the essential role that traditional academics play in society, she believes that ‘other types of intelligence’ are just as important.

“When children learn about music and poetry, it exercises that whole area of the brain that deals with exploratory imagination…the part that asks ‘what if?’” she says. The arts, she insists, can be used to encourage children to try new things and not be afraid of failure. And that’s straight-up advice from a woman who has sacrificed much to be who she is today.

Professor Patricia Mohammed: Looking Into the Mirror of Film

Professor Patricia Mohammed’s approach to film is rooted in her lifelong penchant for the visual. “As a child, my favourite sense of the arts was painting...I’d remember colours vividly, and each colour had a meaning.”

She won prizes for painting and sculpting in high school; and even ran the art club. But when it came to choosing a career, pragmatism prevailed. She embarked on an academic journey that started at The University of the West Indies. Thereafter, she attended the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands, where she completed her Ph.D, and then moved to Mona Campus, where she pioneered in the field of Gender Studies for eight years. Her journey culminated with being awarded the title Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies at The University of the West Indies.

Her love of visual arts, however, never ceased. In fact, while completing her Ph.D, she started painting again and held an exhibition in the Netherlands before returning to the Caribbean.

The exploration of a Caribbean aesthetic, as expressed in her book, Imaging the Caribbean, is one of the main foci of  Professor Mohammed’s work. She explains why:

“I was part of that generation that had come into independence. I had seen that shift.  And for me, independence was about owning our own image and understanding that image and not being apologetic about it. I still feel that real sovereignty comes from not seeking confirmation from others about our sense of beauty...how we build our houses, decorate things, how we find our own voice and represent that visually.”

While writing remains one of the mainstays of her expression, film, she says, provides her with a means of documenting her ideas in shorter and more accessible sound bytes.

To date, Patricia has produced twelve documentaries. She contends that she is still growing as a filmmaker. Two of her more recent works, Coolie Pink and Green and Seventeen Colours and a Sitar are a testament to that: “I moved from crafting and understanding the form to experimenting with cinematography...developing my cinematic voice.”

Coolie Pink and Green, a Bollywood-styled narrative about a young girl’s cultural awakening, was the winner of the 2009 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival’sPeople’s Choice Award for Best Short Local Film, and has been showcased throughout Trinidad. The film has also made quite a stir internationally, appearing at film festivals in the Caribbean, Europe, North America and India.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Patricia is already working on her next project - a full-length narrative feature based on the Coolie Pink and Green story. Her expectations, both for herself and for the local film industry are set high:

“When I went to New Delhi...and met all the famous Indian directors...it made me realise that we need to start thinking big too. We don’t have to make films for Trinidad; our films can become universal.”

Noting that the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company supports the initiative to produce local films of an international standard, she stressed that the final responsibility lies with individual filmmakers. “We have to make that leap. We haven’t put our stamp yet...and it would be nice if a woman film maker could do it.”

Danielle Dieffenthaller: Keeping our Heritage

Many know her as the creative mind behind the ground-breaking and popular TV series, Westwood Park, but Danielle Dieffenthaller has her own story to tell. One afternoon, she took a respite from the heat and her hectic schedule to share it with Belle over a cup of coffee.

“I used to run things long time,” Danielle laughed, remembering the productions that she and her siblings would put on when they were children. At that time, Danielle thought that she wanted to be an actress but her stepfather steered her in another direction: “He said, ‘No. You’re more like a director...you’d have more power.’”

A number of childhood influences sparked her fascination with film as a means of expression. She remembers the Italian diplomat, a family friend, who gave her books on Japanese and Italian cinema; the Indian female director who visited their house and chatted with her; and the years that they (her family) spent in Kenya. “Living in Kenya was very inspiring, seeing that immense beauty...but I wasn’t seeing myself...until I came home one summer and turned on the TV and there were kids my age.”

For Danielle, that was the turning point. “I said, ‘Right! When I’m finished with school, I’m going to work in the TV station.’”

And that is exactly what she did. “I was a reporter at TTT for a year,” she said with a sigh and a roll of the eyes. “And then I managed to manoeuvre my way into Horace James’ production department.”

She feels fortunate to have been involved in TV production around that time. “It was around the 80’s and it was very vibrant,” she noted. “There were lots of producers doing local programming.”

While studying for her degree in Radio and Television at Ryerson Polytechnical University, Danielle continued to work with Horace James: “I’d come home during the holidays and work with him on No Boundaries.”

That particular experience, she claims, put her in good stead for the rest of her career: “That was my foundation. There were five of us doing a whole series. It was a great experience because I got to do everything.”

But the fun had just begun. After earning her degree, she went to London and worked at Bandung Productions. Within her first week she was sent to Zimbabwe on assignment. “It was a great experience...positive, negative...they were all great life experiences.”

On returning home, she teamed up with Walt Lovelace and George Bovell to form Earth TV Limited. Earth TV focused on the development, production and distribution of a variety of entertainment programs including the critically acclaimed ECOWATCH series and Westwood Park.

The journey, as enjoyable as it is, has not always been easy. “I had to get over being a woman,” Danielle said. “I don’t think it’s completely over but now I have a group of people where it’s not an issue,” she added, noting that there were times when employees and even clients would question her authority.

But she was never one to let others influence her ability to produce. “The good thing about working for Horace James and having gone to school is that you can’t pull anything on me. If you don’t want to do the job, I could do it, honey,” she said.

Other challenges include what she describes as the the 'everlasting' search for funding - and the difficult process of marketing and gaining international distribution.

“When you put money into production you don’t realise that there’s a whole other area of marketing,” she said. “Have you noticed how Hollywood manages to sell us this fluff? Why? Because of their marketing!”

Danielle has a lot to say about the local film industry. And while she acknowledges that much progress has been made with the formation of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, she believes that a lot more can be done to encourage young filmmakers. “I see all these young people struggling...But do we have a national TV station whose mandate it is to show local programming? No.”

“We have too much talent in this country.  But people don’t seem to realise how big this side of the entertainment industry is.”

It seems like she is doing her best to remind them. Programs like Westwood Park and The Reef, a 13-part drama series produced by her new company, Different Style Films Ltd., have made people sit up and take notice. And she intends to do it again, this time with a feature film based on a local icon.

“We producers are keepers of us, of our heritage,” she says, spreading her arms to encompass the room. And I am inclined to believe her.

Dawn Cumberbatch: From Stage to Screen

Dawn Cumberbatch remembers growing up with Rikki Tikki and a cadre of local TV personalities. “There was this unique Trinbago identity that we grew up on...Ian Ali and Aunty Hazel and all these people who helped shape a generation,” she said. “When cable came, there was a disconnect.”

For Dawn, who grew up in Belmont, Port of Spain’s oldest suburb, the gap between local culture and what we see on TV is cause for concern. “I grew up knowing about jalousies and fretwork. Now people don’t know that they don’t know. With the absence of those things in our landscape, who are we?”

Her life’s work is about bridging this gap by producing local content that reflects who we are. “For me it’s about engendering identity. I hear young people speaking in myriads of accents. I hear contemporaries asking for buns when they’re looking for hops.”

Dawn was introduced to the Arts via the big stage. “My first job was with George Williams, lighting Best Village for CARIFESTA 1992,” she said.

She then moved on to Trinidad Theatre Workshop, where she wore a variety of hats, ranging from Stage Manager to Producer; she has also worked with Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott.

She also held the posts of Interim Media Relations Director and Assistant to the Communications Director at Arena Stage in Washington DC. Impressed by her work, the company invited her to participate for a second season in their prestigious Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship; this was an honour bestowed upon only two persons throughout the company’s twenty-year history.

Though she enjoyed working for stage, Dawn felt that her true calling was in television. “It was always my passion,” she said. “Theatre was an outlet but not exactly what I wanted to do.”

In 2001, she started her degree in Film and Television at Boston University, where her quality of work continued to garner acclaim. In 2004, she was named Boston University’s Outstanding Screenwriter. And her short film script, Fresh Kills, won first prize in the university’s Gary Fleder/Scott Rosenberg Short Screenplay Competition while making it to the finals of both The Colour of Film Collaborative and the Roy W. Dean New York Film Grant competitions in 2005. 

After graduating summa cum laude from Boston University and a brief stint at the WABC Boston Channel 5, Dawn returned to Trinidad and Tobago and to the Trinidad Theatre Workshop.

“The last major thing I did at TTW was manage the Stella Adler Studio workshops in 2007. I met Natacha at that workshop.” And thus started a beautiful partnership.

In February of 2008, Dawn Cumberbatch and Natacha Jones founded Doux Doux Darling Productions, an all-media production and events management company.

For Dawn, working in the film industry in Trinidad and Tobago has its challenges: “We are a mishmash of cultures. We’re such a contradiction and I like that. But our gift can also be our downfall ... the issue is awareness.”

She acknowledges the importance of institutions like the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, which provided funding for the development of her feature-length screenplay, Lex Talionis. But she also insists that the growth of the film industry depends on the development and implementation of a strategic plan.

“There are success stories,” she says, “but sustainability is an issue.”

Meanwhile, she intends to work on Get in Yuh Section - a reality show that hinges on Carnival design. “I’m just trying to get past next year,” she laughed. “I want to get my show done next year.”

- Ruth Osman -

Caribbean Belle, in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company, will bring you more Femme du Film interviews. The following notable women are carded: Mariel Brown, Camille Selvon-Abrahams, Tracy Assing, Sonja Dumas, Lorraine O’Connor, Candice Lela-Rolingson, Neisha Agostini, Louris Lee-sing, Princess Donelan, Natacha Jones, Louris Lee-Sing and Princess Donelan.

‘Femme du Film' is brought to you by the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company (TTFC) Ltd. – the state agency responsible for the development of the local film (audio-visual) sector. Anyone offering professional services which are applicable to the Film Industry may register for the TTFC’s Production Directory. For more information on this and other TTFC programmes write us at info@trinidadandtobagofilm.com or call (868) 625 FILM (3456).”