It’s the big 10 for GATFFEST

An incredible milestone that has been achieved by few film festivals in Jamaica is how Dr Olivene Burke, executive director, Mona Social Services/UWI Community Film Project, hailed the 10th anniversary of GATFFEST. The Caribbean’s largest community film festival, it had its first staging in 2013, under the guidance of founder, Professor Ian Boxill, deputy principal of The University of the West Indies, Mona.

Boxill had a dream to create a space for local film-makers to show their films in Jamaica and to contribute to the growth of the Jamaican film industry, and he brought it to life with the first staging at what was then called the Greater August Town Film Festival. Having passionately led the project since its inception, Boxill had stepped aside, leaving the festival in the capable hands of his protégé Savanah Peridot, the festival director, and Burke. He told The Gleaner that having attended and participated in the recent launch of GATFFEST 2022, he is “even happier” because he has seen the excellent work put in by those who have taken over in terms of organising the festival.

“I certainly expect that it will be just as good or even better than the previous years,” a pleased Boxill declared. “All of the trailers that I have seen are very interesting. I definitely like what I see on all of the various embassy nights and the international nights. I will be there for all of the nights because I am excited about what I am seeing.”

International Film Night

GATFFEST will run for two weeks, starting this Saturday, June 18 – which will be the Community Film Night – through to July 2, when the curtains come down with the presentation of the GATFFEST Awards. The Opening Night Gala and Film Premiere takes place on June 25, after which the embassies of Colombia, France, Germany and Japan will each have their own night from June 26 to 29. International Film Night is June 30, and Jamaica Night is July 1.

Film-maker Kaiel Eytle, the director of Nice Lady and who is working on his second short film, admitted that he was “excited and nervous”. As an instructor at the project, opportunity came knocking for Eytle when one of the original winners of one of the grants which are handed out for the projects dropped out, and the organisers were looking for a socially conscious film to produce for GATFFEST for 2020, and he ticked the box.

“But then the pandemic hit, and things kind of locked down a bit, so we finally got the opportunity to shoot the film this year, and we are now in the final throes of getting it ready for the premiere. I am in the middle of text messages and getting the last of the edit done, making sure that the colour is right. For personal projects, this is probably my biggest piece so far and my first foray into horror as a genre. I premiere at the opening night and then again on Block 2 of Jamaica Night,” Eytle shared.

Ricardo Martin, director of The Mangrove Nursery, which tells the tale of the death of the fishes in the ocean and pollution, was a student of the Mona Social Service, and he is carrying on the legacy. “This is my first short film, and I am feeling very pumped,” Martin told The Gleaner.

Another young director, Caleb D’Aguilar, whose background was actually in acting, is eager to present his film, No Entry, which tells the story of a single mother who is facing deportation and how she comes to terms with that, as well as telling her son about her situation.

“I acted in one of GATFFEST’s first films in 2015, and then I slowly transitioned into directing and then went to study for a master’s at Goldsmith University in London. This film is actually my graduating film from film school. No Entry is heavily based on the Windrush Scandal, which has seen a lot of Caribbean immigrants in the UK from that [older] generation at the risk of deportation from 2010 to 2018,” D’Aguilar shared.

EXPLORING DEPORTATION

He added, “It is a Jamaican story; it is about the diaspora, and I am excited to bring a history that a lot of Jamaicans don’t know about to Jamaica in some way. It is a modern-day history; I didn’t know about it in 2019 when I went to the UK. I learned a lot from living there and hearing the stories. During the process of making this film, I did a lot of interviews, and we spoke to people who were deported and who were at risk of deportation. I am happy to be here showing my film at GATFFEST, which is a really great film festival. Congrats on their 10th anniversary.”

In her address at the launch, Burke noted that despite unprecedented disruption due to the pandemic and organisational change, GATFFEST 2022 has remained true to its purpose of providing a platform to those who have a story to tell.

“While the cultural and creative sectors were among the most affected by the pandemic, it has also demonstrated the importance of cinema to the society as an art form. There is no doubt that sharing and telling our individual stories which capture universal experiences continue to help us to make sense of the pandemic,” she said.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com