The ninth T&T Film Festival runs from September 16 - 30.
Guardian columnist BC Pires served on the first TTFF jury in 2009 and wrote the jury's report. BC will pick a Film of the Day for every day of the festival. Non-linear, essentially visual or special-interest films not intended for the Vin Diesel crowd will be designated as "art films." Films may be chosen ahead of other, perhaps "better," films if the director (or other filmmaker) is present for a Q&A session after the screening.
Today's choice is:
Mother of George (Andrew Dosunmu/ 2013/ Nigeria-USA/ Drama/ 107 mins/ English / Ages 16+) 5.30 pm Little Carib Theatre, PoS.
The Nigerian director whose debut narrative feature about Senegalese in the Big Apple, Restless City, was screened at the 2012 TTFF returns to this year's festival with another New York film about an immigrant community.
A terrific opening scene recreates a traditional Yoruba wedding ceremony in Brooklyn while setting up, deftly, all the tensions between the principal characters of this relationship-driven drama; you'd have to go to The Godfather and The Deer Hunter to find wedding scenes used with the same dramatic effect.
Sterling performances from the female (Danal Gurira) and male (Isaach De Bankole) leads and equally strong, dramatically pivotal parts from the male (Anthony Okungbowa) and female (Bukky Ajayi) supporting actors turn Mother of George into a gripping story about ordinary life and the extraordinary lengths to which people might be driven to achieve it.
Best of the rest:
The Mountain, 1 pm, You and Me, 3.30 pm, Glass Bottom Boat, Cows Wearing Glasses, 8.30 pm MovieTowne PoS.
Films start promptly at advertised times.
�2 Starred films have been or will be picked as daily selections
Today's Schedule in the T&T Film Festival
MovieTowne, Port of Spain, 10.30 am:
�2 The Seawall: Mason Richards, 2010, Guyana,USA/Narrative Short/nine mins/English/GA
�2 Rebecca's Story: Kwesi Archer, Haresh Bhagwan and Teriq Mohammed, 2013, Guyana/Narrative Short/13 mins/ English/GA
�2 A Boy's Choice: Juliette McCawley, 2014, T&T/Narrative Short/13 mins/ English/GA
�2 Bike Tales: Jaselle Martino, 2013, Canada,T&T/Narrative Short/14 mins/English/GA
�2 The Cast: Shea Best, 2014, DR,T&T/Narrative Short/15 mins/ Spanish, English subtitles/GA
�2 Kasita: Gabri Christa, 2014, Dutch Antilles/Narrative Short/22 mins/ Papiamentu, English subtitles/GA
1 pm:
�2 This Island: Cristian Carretero, 2014, Puerto Rico/Narrative Short/12 mins/Spanish, English subtitles/16+
�2 The Way He Looks: Daniel Ribeiro, 2014, Brazil/Narrative feature/96 mins/Portuguese, English subtitles/14+
3.30 pm:
�2 The Lunchbox: Ritesh Batra, 2013, India/Narrative feature/104 mins/ Hindi, English, English subtitles/PG
6 pm:
�2 Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007: Stevan Riley, 2012, UK/Documentary feature/98 mins/ English/GA
8.30 pm:
The Fire Behind: Leo Aguirre, 2014, USA/Narrative Short/16 mins/English, Spanish, English subtitles/14+
The German Doctor: Luc�a Puenzo, 2013, Argentina/Narrative feature/94 mins/Spanish, German, Hebrew, English subtitles/14+
The Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook, 12.30 pm:
�2 34 is Blind Man, 14 is Money: Steve Hernandez, 2014, T&T/Documentary Short/nine mins/English/GA
�2 The Price of Memory: Karen Marks Mafundikwa, 2014, Jamaica/ Documentary/83 mins/English/GA
3.30 pm:
�2 Field Notes: Vashti Harrison, 2014, T&T, USA/Documentary Short/18 mins/English/PG
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty: Terence Nance, 2013, USA/Experimental feature/95 mins/English/16+
5.30 pm:
�2 The Trout: Luis Ernesto Do�as, 2013, Cuba/Narrative Short/20 mins/Spanish, English subtitles/14+
�2 Mala Mala: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini, 2014, Puerto Rico/Documentary /87 mins/English, Spanish, English subtitles/16+
8 pm:
�2 The Intervention: Kimberly Huie, 2013, Canada/Narrative Short/five mins/ English/GA
�2 May in the Summer: Cherien Dabis, 2013, USA, Jordan, Qatar/Narrative feature/100 mins/English, Arabic, with English subtitles/14+
UWI, 10 am � 3 pm:
�2 Documentary Masterclass
UTT, 10 am � 4 pm:
�2 Acting Workshop
Medulla Art Gallery, Woodbrook
12 pm � 6 pm:
New Media Exhibition
�2 Films start promptly at advertised times.
�2 Guardian Media Ltd is an official partner of the T&T Film Festival.