God Loves the Fighter is a fictionalised tale about crime and poverty in east Port-of-Spain, but twice during the shooting, reality came frighteningly close to fantasy, director Damian Marcano told a small audience at a panel discussion last weekend.One cast member was shot because of "jealousy," he said. In a separate incident, police pulled guns on the crew during a rehearsal as they responded to a report of a robbery in progress.Cast member Christopher Watson was shot three times in Belmont during a period outside of filming."Probably the only reason I didn't get shot was because I left to go to the studio with Freetown (Collective) to go record a song called Somebody Got Shot Today," said Marcano, noting the irony. Freetown frontman Muhammad Muwakil plays the lead in the film and the band is featured on the soundtrack.Marcano was one of five filmmakers on the panel on September 21, at the Little Carib Theatre, in Woodbrook, organised as part of the T&T Film Festival.
The festival, which wraps up on Tuesday, gives movie buffs the chance to see more than 100 films–films they may not have otherwise been exposed to–at discounted prices.Maybe more importantly, Q&A sessions and panel discussions allow audience members to hear stories from the filmmakers about how their films were made that can be as intriguing as the films themselves. And they give filmmakers the opportunity to get valuable feedback from audiences."The importance of a festival like this is that it's giving people a voice," said Marcano after the session at Little Carib."It's giving me, a fella from Morvant, a voice."
Dr Bruce Paddington, whose film about the aftermath of the 1979 Grenada coup, Forward Ever: The Killing of a Revolution, premiered at the UWI Film Building on September 20, gave audience members his e-mail address during the Q&A.He'd already showed the film to affected parties in Grenada and made changes they suggested. He invited the UWI audience to be part of further editing of the two-and-a-half-hour documentary."I'd really like your comments about what you like about it. What are the strengths, what are the weaknesses. And are there any sections that could be cut to make a shorter version?" he said.Grenadians in the audience shared with him what the film–the first that explored the still painful and divisive event–meant to them."We've never really had the opportunity to be exposed to the truth of what really happened," said one young woman.One woman at the Q&A after the MovieTowne showing of the film Red, White and Black: A Sports Odyssey used the opportunity and the presence of Minister of Sport Anil Roberts to press for more to be done to help improve the quality of life of T&T's first Olympic medallist, weightlifter Rodney Wilkes, who was featured in the film. The 88-year-old Wilkes is ailing and in dire financial straits.
At the Little Carib panel discussion, five filmmakers talked about the sometimes gruelling process involved in making a film. Finding funding is one of the biggest challenges."For me the funding started with my maxed-out credit card and a second mortgage of my home," said Indian director Jayan Cherian. His film Papilio Buddha was one of the festival's Panorama offerings, made by international directors.His tone was light but the words mirrored the experience of other filmmakers."I'm lucky I have the ability to shoot and edit. So that's what I did: I shot and edited," said Christopher Laird, whose stick-fighting film No Bois Man No Fraid is up for the festival's best documentary feature prize."There was no crew. There was no lighting. No extra soundman."I hope it doesn't show too much in the film," he added with a laugh.The God Loves the Fighter team has actually been using the Q&As to promote the film.
The Q&A for the premiere was apparently so explosive that festival blogger Aurora Herrera posted about it, beginning with the line, "Wow. What a night."
The film's Facebook page posted a comment about the Q&A and a link to Herrera's blog."It's time to watch the film for yourself and join in the discussion!" the page said on Sunday.Herrera said issues of race coming out of the different experiences of the multiracial cast of characters contributed to the heat of the discussion.Marcano pointed to other sources of disagreement. One woman complimented him on his use of an "international eye" in his filmmaking. He didn't like the implications."I asked her, 'How many films have you seen from a child from Morvant?' Growing up there is what makes me shoot like that," he said. "I said while I accept the compliment, I can't accept it in the way you gave it to me. Because everyone in Morvant and Laventille has had my back for the last three years (during the making of the film)."But the voluble Marcano, who is based in California, USA, and makes music videos for a living, said he appreciated the exchanges that night."At the end of it all," he said, it was "a great discussion."
More Info
God Loves the Fighter is showing tonight at MovieTowne in Tobago and on Tuesday at MovieTowne in Port-of-Spain. Forward Ever: The Killing of a Revolution will be shown tomorrow night at MovieTowne, Port-of-Spain. The director will participate in a Q&A afterward.
More info: ttfilmfestival.com or 621-0709.
�2 Guardian Media Ltd is the official media partner of the T&T Film Festival.