Vincentian films to be screened in Poland

Seven Caribbean films are set to be screened in Lublin, Poland on October 30, 2021, as part of an ongoing partnership between Hairouna Film Festival and Demakija, which started in 2020.

A release from Hairouna Film Festival said among the films to be shown in “Caribbean Voices” of the Demakija film segment are three short films that shed light on environmental and climate issues in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

These are:

The Grass Men II, a film about the “Grow In Time” prisoner rehabilitation program, led by Vonnie Roudette, and directed by Aiko and Vonnie Roudette; Beyond The Ashes, an experiential film on the 1979 eruption of La Soufrière volcano directed by Joel Burke in collaboration with the Trinidad-based UWI-Seismic Research Centre(SRC); and “The 1979 La Soufrière Eruption”, an animated production of Maxwell ‘Tajoe’ Francis’ poem, “1979 La Soufrière Eruption.”

This year marks the second time that Demakija – Women’s Film Festival, an annual event held in Lublin, Poland, has partnered with the Hairouna Film Festival in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As observed by Bartosz Wójcik, curator of Demakija’s “Caribbean Voices” segment, “both festivals share similar goals, providing residents and the general population with free un-ticketed access to film production. They also support community-building, women empowerment and are co-ordinated and curated by a core team of women activists, organisers and creatives.”

Bartosz said that his colleagues Joanna Bednarczyk and Jolanta Prochowicz, founders of Demakija – Women’s Film Festival, “have always been keen to include global South cinema in their programming and to steer clear of Eurocentric on-screen sensibilities.” This year, films from Barbados, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are included in the October 30th line-up.

The other films to be screened are: Going Down, directed by Mezan Ayoka (Jamaica); Irma, directed by Lisa Cruz (Guadeloupe); This City of Mine, directed by Danielle Russel (Jamaica); and Those Who Have Eyes To See, directed by Melanie Grant (Barbados).

Hairouna Film Festival is an equal opportunities social impact project that uses film to engage, revitalise and celebrate Caribbean culture.