FISH

Fish was directed by Shaun Escayg, who is a talented Trinidadian animator and filmmaker. Escayg animated the popular character Bumblebee, earning the respect and admiration of famed director Steven Spielberg during production of Transformers 3. Mr.Escayg has had an extensive career in commercials, documentaries and music videos. Fish was a semi-finalist in the 2012 Youtube Film Festival.

This 15 minute film was shot in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where we see two homeless cousins, Fish and Sticky, desperately trying to survive by living on the streets and looking for shoppers in the market that they could easily steal from. This is a regular routine for these two men, finding easy prey and then cleverly escaping the local police. But in recent times, things have gotten harder, leaving the cousins even more desperate than before. One day their petty crime takes a dangerous turn, placing them in a deadly situation.

The film explores the criminal underworld in Trinidad and Tobago, where the director clearly captures the reality of the drug trade in the country and what can happen when people find themselves mixed up in that dreadful world. In this case, the poor, misguided cousins, driven by hunger and desperation, who gets themselves into a deadly situation when one of the men unwisely pockets money that he sees just laying around, money that belongs to a ruthless drug dealer.

The film is in English, but the characters mostly speak in broken Trinidadian dialect which definitely adds authenticity to the film. The film also contains a significant amount of profanity, making it an 18+ film. The extensive use of profanity heightens the criminal element of the film, enhancing the overall effect that the film has on the audience.

This film brings to mind another local film that was made in the Caribbean called The Harder They Come. The Harder They Come is the first film made by Jamaicans for Jamaicans. Jamaica is known for its beautiful beaches and tropical forests, however, The Harder They Come captures the true grim state of the country, something that the previous films made in the country choose to ignore.

Fish exposes the harsh realities of life for many living in the Caribbean, shocking a lot of people by the film's presentation of Trinidad. A presentation that was completely honest about the frightful and disturbing side of Trinidad, a side that people aren't accustomed to seeing. When people think of Trinidad, the things that comes to mind are simple...carnival, brilliant sun, clear blue skies, sandy beaches and blue waters, but this not all that makes up Trinidad, this twin nation is so much more. This film brings to the forefront, the reality of Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. This reality has been unfortunately swept under the rug for far too long, it has been hidden by the commercial caribbean 's image of the "happiest people on earth" the people that "drink and party all day and night, with not a care in the world."  But this film is anything but happy, you instead see the true battle that people are forced into on a daily basis. The struggle of wanting a better life, the pure agony, pain, unhappiness and hardships that are faced by ordinary people on a daily basis and the consequences of decisions that people make, the things that people do just trying to survive the day.

In the film, we can't help but feel sympathy towards the main characters, Fish and Sticky. I'm sure many who saw this film can understand their plight, these two cousins don't steal because they want to, but because they have no other way. The shot where the men look across the water and at the city, you can tell that they, like everybody else wants a better life for themselves, one where what they have to eat won't just be a single shared pommecythere. Also, the title character, Fish, keeps trying his luck with lottery tickets, hoping that one day he would win his way out of the immense poverty that he's drowning in. Alot of people within Trinidad and Tobago live their lives this way, if you take a drive by any lottery booth, on any day, there are long lines, with people religiously buying lottery tickets, hoping that their luck would one day change.

Over the years Trinidad and Tobago has transformed, for better in some ways and for worst in others. When it comes to crime, the country has only gotten worse, due to poverty, a lot of people tend to fall through the cracks and find themselves involved in criminal activities. There has been an increase in crime in Trinidad & Tobago over the years, with mostly violent crimes taking place, while a lot of this is not talked about, it does not make the problem go away, it's still here, damaging the country and its citizens. Port-of-Spain is known for it's scenery and fusion of cultures, but over recent time, the city has struggled under the influence of violent crime, drug cartels have used the city as a transit point for their illegal misdoings.

This film gives Trinbagonians a voice, one that has been stolen from us too many times in the past, a voice to say that this twin island, much like the rest of the Caribbean, is not solely about drinking and dancing and partying on the beaches, there are so many important issues that need to be seen and heard. This film says to the audience that Trinidad and Tobago is so much more than just "a good time", we are people who have stories to tell, stories of real people and real situations.

In a Los Angeles Times Article, dated July 13th, 2012, filmmaker, Stefan Escayg said that he was criticized by tourism and government officials in Trinidad because of his movie. "They say I’m showing the country in not so good of a light,” he said. “And my answer is that I’m speaking for the people who probably don’t have the opportunity to speak for themselves.Crime and poverty is something we don’t like to talk about in the Caribbean; it’s swept under the rug with talk of parties and beaches. But I wanted to show what for many people is the real world.”

Mr. Escayg said that his inspirations for this film came from some great storytellers such as Paul Keens Douglas, Shadow, Peter Minshall and Jamaica's, Bob Marley. Also from his grandmother, Marjorie Hackett.

This film was very successful and goes to show that we should continue using talented local actors for our own films and most importantly, keep staying true to the story.

Trailer for Fish

Full Film : Fish

Trailer for The Harder They Come

DOUBLES WITH SLIGHT PEPPER

This Narrative Short was directed by Ian Harnarine and centers on Dhani, a young man struggling to support himself and his mother, Sumintra, by selling doubles near the busy market. Doubles is the street food of Trinbagonians, it's part of our culture and can be found nearly everywhere in the country, as it is a favorite of many. In the film, we see that selling doubles is the family business, passed down from generation to generation. But times have gotten harder and business is not the way it used to be, making things worse for the already struggling Dhani. One day, after years abroad in Canada, Dhani's estranged father, Ragbir, unexpectedly returns and tries to win back the family he left behind.  With the return of Ragbir, Sumintra sees an opportunity to get what they rightly deserve, the house. Dhani, knowing his father, thinks that he will never sign the house over to them, but shockingly, his father easily complies and gives them the house. We soon learn that Ragbir is fatally ill and is in dire need of a blood transfusion, with Dhani being the best candidate. When Dhani finds this out, it upsets him, making him feel like his father was just saying that he'll sign over the house to them because he needs Dhani's blood. This adds more damage to the already strained and crumbling relationship between father and son. The film takes place during the christmas season and on christmas eve night, Dhani and his family eat, drink and dance to parang music (Trini Christmas Music) like any other Trinbagonian family, only Ragbir gets ill and has to receive urgent medical attention. Dhani is then placed in a situation where he must decide if he will save his father's life despite the strong resentment that he can't seem to let go of.

This film was shot in various locations around Trinidad, such as San Fernando, Gasparillo and Sangre Grande. As said in my previous post, when people think of films showing the Caribbean, they instantly think of sandy beaches, clear blue skies, tall coconut trees, a bright, brilliant sun and blue waters,but this film shows nothing of the sort. Instead we are given a realistic view of a father and son relationship in contemporary Trinidad. The significantly different approach that this film takes is very refreshing as it uses our very own local actors, in addition to displaying the local culture and people of Trinidad and Tobago, something that we rarely see being done in cinemas. It's a film to certainly be proud of.

This film explores various themes such as the bonds within the family unit and the return of nationals to their homeland. The film focuses on the triangular relationship between Son, Mother and Father, where we are exposed to the scars that have been etched into Dhani's heart due to his father's abandonment and also the now mortally ill Ragbir. Dhani is a character that shelters a lot of responsibility, making him a very frustrated, pessimistic young man. The audience can feel Dhani's hatred towards Ragbir, but it is also obvious that while there is a lot of deep seated anger within the family, that does not mean that they don't still love one another, this love is just covered by layers upon layers of hurt and resentment. This resentment that Dhani holds within him seems to be doing more harm to himself than to anyone else.Then there is the eventual forgiveness and healing when Dhani finally reconciles with his father, but it comes at a great cost when we learn that Dhani's blood does not match, leaving Ragbir with a cloudy future.

The film also looks at the return of nationals to their homeland. This is something common in Trinidad, where a lot of times, people migrate to other countries, all in hope of saving up enough money to bring their family abroad to live, so that they can all have a better live. It is known that Canada has a large West Indian community. Many times though, the life that people expect when they go abroad, is not what really happens when they get there. As seen in the film, Ragbir envisioned life different for his family, he wanted to start a roti and doubles shop in Canada, one where all three of them would have worked and made money, but instead, when he came to Canada he found himself living in a basement apartment that he had to share with two other person, washing dishes in a cafeteria for a living. Ragbir was never able to make the money needed to bring his family to live abroad with him, he was unable to offer them the life he planned and because of this he had to leave them behind, resulting in his wife and son resenting him because they thought he has just moved on with his life, a better life and left them behind to suffer.

The film also looks at the doubles culture in Trinidad and Tobago, Doubles is a local delicacy in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a sandwich made with two bara (flat fried bread) filled with channa (curried chick peas), which is then topped with mango, shadon beni, cucumber, coconut, tamarind, and extra pepper sauce. This delicacy is the most popular fast food in Trinidad and Tobago and is something that is eaten anytime of the day or night as it can be found almost anywhere. It is seen in the film, that selling doubles is something which has been passed down from generation to generation in Dhani's family. This is a lot like what happens in Trinidad. In Trinidad, one of the most famous doubles vendors is Sauce Doubles in Curepe. Sauce's Doubles has transformed over time, with nearly his entire family now involved, making it the family business. 

Doubles with slight pepper was exceptionally done, bringing forward the culture and people of Trinidad and Tobago in ways that I have never seen before. Like the film Fish from my previous post, Doubles with slight pepper presents us with another example of why we should continue to use our very own local actors to produce films about Trinidad and the wider Caribbean, always staying true to the story, our story, the story that's worth telling. 

Trailer for Doubles with slight pepper

Full Film : Doubles with slight pepper