CaribbeanTales International Film Festival 2015 Celebrates 10 Years, with an Outstanding Program of Films and Shorts.
#CTFF2015 
For Immediate Release: July 20th, 2015 At a recent media launch held at the Consulate General for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto on July 8th, CaribbeanTales unveiled its 2015 Program. The standing- room-only event featured many Toronto luminaries, and was MC’d by the Honourable Jean Augustine, PC, CM with speakers including T&T Consul General Dr. Vidya Gyan Tota-Maharaj, CaribbeanTales founder and Executive Director Frances-Anne Solomon, Programmer Christopher Pinheiro, Partnerships Coordinator Emmy Pantin, and Incubator Chair Dr. Rita Shelton-Deverell. “CaribbeanTales continues to have its finger on the pulse of a dynamic movement of evolving film expression across the region and its Diaspora,” says founder and filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon. “In just ten years, a very short period of time, our film stories have matured to become stunningly assured, explosive, transgressive, probing, beautiful and urgent. And this is what we see represented on screen in this year’s selections.” Running from September 9 – 19 at the Royal Cinema, CTFF’s 10th anniversary edition will showcase a fantastic selection of Caribbean films from around the globe. These include 16 feature-length films and 30 short films in Official Competition for the CTFF Jury and Audience Awards, to be announced on the closing night – September 19. View the 2015 Trailer! An amazing line-up of films for CaribbeanTales International Film Festival 2015! See the full slate of films at http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/events CTFF, which runs alongside the Toronto International Film Festival, also features an intensive five-day Incubator Program for Caribbean and Diaspora filmmakers, followed by a Pitch Breakfast at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and many exciting networking events. 
CTFF’s 2015 programming committee, consisting of movers and shakers from the Caribbean film community, has worked hard to put together a line-up that will surely WOW audiences. The festival’s uniquely themed Program consists of evenings of features and short films including Trini-to-the-Bone, a celebration of old and new Trinidad culture; Queer Caribbean, spotlighting new LGBTQ films; Shifting Perspectives, a partnership with the Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival, that focuses on mental health issues; After The Exodus, exploring themes of reparations, slavery and trafficking, and #AllBlackLivesMatter – Caribbean, that addresses in fiction and documentary the escalation of tensions between Haitians and Dominicans in the DR. CTFF’s community partnerships this year include a special screening on August 19, of Spike Lee’s seminal work Do The Right Thing, co-presented with the Regent Park Film Festival. The festival is also proud to partner with the Community Story Collective (CSC) to produce The Nine Night Party and Container Exhibit. This project is conceived as a tribute to Mervin Jarman, a well-loved Jamaican community art/activist who passed away suddenly in 2014. To commemorate, and continue Jarman’s work, the CSC in collaboration with CaribbeanTales, will hold a series of socially engaged art and media workshops in community spaces around the city. “Mervin Jarman was the first Caribbean Diaspora artist that inspired me.” said Camille Turner, lead artist of the Nine Night Party and Container Exhibit. “I am thrilled to work with CaribbeanTales to create new opportunities for Diaspora artists to be inspired by Mervin, creating art and creating community.” CTFF 2015 kicks off its 10th Anniversary with a Gala Caribbean Reception and Celebration on Wednesday September 9, in association with the Consulate General of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago in Toronto, at the Royal Cinema, 608 College Street in Toronto. The evening presents the Trinidad and Tobago feature docudrama PAN! Our Music Odyssey, by Jérôme Guiot & Thierry Teston, and written by Kim Johnson. A Trinidad & Tobago/France co-production, PAN! tells the story of the birth of the steel drum. Between 1939 and 1945, during World War II, while developed nations savaged one another on the world stage, in Trinidad & Tobago (the Caribbean) underprivileged urban gangs created a new and unique musical instrument, and perfected it by the 1950s. Pan was born! 
From September 8 – 13, the festival hosts the 6th Annual CaribbeanTales Incubator Program (CTI), an internationally recognized platform that offers selected filmmakers the opportunity to hone their creative and business skills, through workshops and one‐on‐one mentorships with world-class specialists. CTI will culminate in The Big Pitch, when participants present their developed film projects to international funders and buyers over a delicious Caribbean breakfast at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The festival also organizes a number of intimate events providing opportunities for filmmakers and audiences to mingle informally with international industry players.Festival screenings will continue at The Royal Cinema, Sunday – Friday, September 13 – 18 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. daily. On Closing Night, Saturday September 19, there will be three screenings at 3:50 p.m., 6:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. Top Left – Frances-Anne Solomon, founder and Executive Director, and Christopher Pinheiro, Festival Programmer (photo by Alicia Sealey); Middle Right – Nicole Brooks, Incubator Manager, and Judy Gladstone, Industry Parternships; Bottom – (from left) Hon. Jean Augustine, CT Board Member; Dr Vidya Gyan Total-Maharaj, Consul General for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto; Dr Rita Shelton-Deverell , 2015 Incubator Chair and Mentor, and Frances-Anne Solomon.
HOW TO BUY TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased online here: http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/events/ and may be purchased on-site one hour before each screening at The Royal Cinema. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, CTFF is offering a special fete ticket price for Early Bird ticket buyers. From July 8 – Aug 8, 2015 audiences can buy a festival pass for $90, opening night tickets for $40, and closing night tickets for $20. Regular Ticket Prices for the festival are: – Sept 9: Opening Night Gala – $50 – Sept 9: All-Access Festival pass + Gala – $140 – Sept 14 – 18: All Access Festival Pass – $100 – Sept 14 – 19: Single Ticket – $15 & Student – $12 – Sept 19: Closing Night – $25 For more information about the festival, the public may call the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival Office line on: 647-303-7343; Email: caribbeantales@gmail.com or visit our website at http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF
BUY TICKETS NOW (Special Discounts until August 8th)
MEDIA
We are presently confirming interviews. Screeners are available upon request. Thank you! For further CaribbeanTales International Film Festival information, please contact: Planet3 Communications Ltd. Joanne Smale T: 289-296-6223 M: 416-554-2637 E: info@planet3com.net
OPENING GALA
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 6:00pm
Join us for a very special evening celebrating the Birth of the Steelband.
THEME: “TRINI 2 DE BONE”
Join us for a Caribbean Reception, with live steelband, in association with the Consulate General of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago in Toronto. Pan! Our Musical Odyssey Jérôme Guiot & Thierry Teston, Trinidad & Tobago/France, 2014, 90 min, English, Rating PG Between 1939 and 1945, during World War II, developed nations savaged one another: the planet was on fire. In Trinidad & Tobago (the Caribbean) underprivileged urban gangs created a new musical instrument, and perfected it by the 1950s. The Pan is Born! Since then steelbands have mushroomed in every corner of the planet. Still, Trinidad remains the Mecca, where each year philharmonic orchestras of over 100 musicians, many coming from all countries of the world, compete for the greatest Pan event: the Panaroma.This film is the story or men and women who staked all on their art, and of French, Japanese and Americans, whose passion and daring has drawn them to the world championships. It is a global human adventure out of the ordinary.
Buy Tickets Now : $40 until August 8th
View The Full Festival Program HERE
Our 2015 Donation Drive
How You Can Help
CaribbeanTales is a registered Charity, that aims to connect people through film. Your donations help us to engage communities, empower emerging filmmakers and producers, and bring our stories to audiences worldwide. There are currently two main ways that you can get involved and support us.
CTFF 2015 Youth in the Community Program
The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival features screenigs and discussions and a wide range of themes of relevance and interest to Caribbean and diverse audiences. Our programming empowers young people through positive reflections of debate on Caribbean stories, issues and culture. Your donations will enable youth from Toronto communities to attend and participate in CTFF 2015 screenings and talk back sessions for free. 
CaribbeanTales Scholarship Fund
Each year CaribbeanTales supports between 8-12 emerging Canadian and Caribbean Diaspora filmmakers to attend the renowned CaribbeanTales Incubator Program in Toronto, Canada.
- The CTI is a year-round training and production program that includes:
- 1 month online training
- One week of intensive training in Toronto with international experts
- a high profile pitching session at TIFF in front of international industry experts
- The opportunity for 3 Pitch Winners to participate in an 12-month mentorship with experienced Executive Producers to take their project from Pitch to Production (PSP)
Your donation will go towards lowering the costs for Producers from Canada, the Caribbean region, and its Diaspora to attend this unique program. Through your support of the CaribbeanTales Scholarship Fund, you are playing an important role in the development and growth of the Caribbean film industry.
How to DONATE?
Visit www.caribbeantales.ca/donate
FESTIVAL TEAM
Executive Director Frances-Anne Solomon
Programming Mandisa Pantin – Co-ordinator Christopher Pinheiro Nicole Cross Neil Marshall Stephanie Leitch Elizabeth Topp
Logistics Frederica Black – Festival Coordinator Cassandra John -Festival Asst Coordinator / Social Media
Website Design and Management Rodney Smith
Publicist Joanne Smale Planet 3 Communications
Community Partnerships Emmy Pantin – Coordinator
Incubator Nicole Brooks – Manager Timmia Hearn – Coordinator Dr. Rita Shelton-Deverell – 2015 Chair/ Mentor Christopher Laird – Executive Producer/Mentor Nicky Davis – Executive Producer/ Mentor Floyd Kane – Executive Producer /Mentor
Industry Partnerships Chloe Sosa-Simms Lea Marin Judy Gladstone Lucie Carette
Marketing Mary Wells Louise Noelle-Ambrose Bee Quammie
Trailer Carrol Chiramel
For CaribbeanTales 3D Coordinator Hanee Park
3D Assistant Project Manager Melissa Gomez
Many thanks to our amazing 2015 Team !
About CARIBBEANTALES
The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (CTFF), now in its 10th year, celebrates the talents of established and emerging filmmakers of Caribbean heritage who practice their art across the Caribbean Diaspora worldwide – including Canada and the Caribbean, Europe, the Americas, Africa, China, India and the Middle East. CTFF presents a multi-ethnic mix of exciting and dynamic films that showcase diverse shared stories and cultures. CTFF is produced by CaribbeanTales Inc, a registered Canadian charity that aims to connect people through film. The company’s mandate is to foster and encourage intercultural understanding and racial equality, through the creation, marketing and distribution of film programs, events and projects that reflect the diversity and creativity of Caribbean heritage culture. As well as the CTFF, CT’s activities include its renowned Incubator Program, community screenings and partnerships, and CaribbeanTales-TV, a video on demand platform. Past projects have included community and school screenings of the movie “A Winter Tale”; The Literature Alive Project (funded by Canadian Heritage) a multi facetted multi-media project that celebrates and features three generations of Caribbean Canadian literary achievement, from Austin Clarke to Dbi Young; the CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival – Celebrating Black History Month (founded in 2009) and the CaribbeanTales Multi-media E-newsletter (since 2003).
