Windrush Film Festival to feature young talent

Emerging film-makers will have the opportunity to produce a short film based on the theme ‘My Windrush Story – What Windrush Means to Me’ as part of the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival (WCFF), which will be held later this year as part of Black History Month.

WCFF is produced by a nationwide consortium of community, business, and creative-arts organisations and leaders, led by CaribbeanTales UK and Recognize Black Heritage and Culture.

“The film festival celebrates the contributions and impact of our Windrush generation to life in the UK. The microcinema competition aims to creatively engage a new generation of film-makers in our common past,” explains Garry Stewart, WCFF co-founder and Recognize Black Heritage and Culture director.

The 10 original ‘microcinema films’ will feature in the inaugural Windrush Caribbean Film Festival and will be launched nationwide.

It aims to engage audiences about the Windrush generation’s contributions through screenings, talkbacks, and a microcinema competition.

FILM THEMES

Films will thematically be centred on the racism experienced by the Windrush generation, colonialism, immigration, and cultural contributions with the goal of discussing and celebrating this iconic generation.

The organisers have put out a call for proposals for short films of no more than three minutes in length. The deadline for submission is June 29.

Select applicants will be invited to participate in a series of online production workshops led by established British and international film-makers. The 10 best films will have their ‘world premiere’ at the festival.

Award-winning film director and WCFF co-founder Frances-Anne Solomon said: “We’re eager to see submissions from creatives working across the breadth of the arts – from playwrights, photographers, and dancers to musicians, designers, and spoken-word artists. We encourage innovative and experimental films, all with the brief at its heart.”

The WCFF will take place during Black History Month in October through to Remembrance Sunday in November. Due to the coronavirus crisis and resulting restrictions, the WCFF will take place online this year, and organisers say it will be back bigger and better in cinemas across the UK in 2021.

Applications for the Windrush Microcinema Project are available through the WCFF website: windrushfilmfestival.com.