Since the debut of motion picture in the 1800’s the world has fallen in love with the movie-going experience. From documentaries and horror to comedies and erotica, film has become a powerful medium with which to share ideas, experiences and information with one another. Whether we’re sitting in a dark theater, relaxing in our living rooms or killing time on our commute, mainstream and independent films have become a staple of our entertainment diet.
And as the industry has grown so has our demand for films that are representative of our particular cultures and experiences. This demand has spawned the birth of regional film industries around the globe including Nollywood, the home of African film and Bollywood, the massive Indian film industry. And now we can add Cariwood, the fast-growing Caribbean film industry, to the list.
Movies made in, by and about the Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora have been steadily increasing in production over the years. Thanks to the internet and creation of new film festivals across the Caribbean, regional filmmakers have experienced an increase in access to filmmaking education, equipment and inspiration. With Trinidad & Tobago leading the charge, there are now a plethora of movies from all over the English, Spanish, French and Dutch-speaking Caribbean to choose from for your next evening of Netflix & Chill with bae.
But where do you find these films? Even in the Caribbean you’d be hard-pressed to find regular showings of local and regional films. The demand for Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters is huge and often overshadows these smaller, independent productions. Here are three ways where you can get your Caribbean film fix.
1.) ONLINE STREAMING SERVICES
Several online video streaming services have popped up over the last few years that specialize in Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora films.
Launched in 2014 by the Brooklyn based Caribbean Film Academy (CaFA), Studio Anansi is a video on demand service that features both narrative and documentary feature-length and short films. Taking its’ name from the classic Caribbean character Anansi, StudioAnansi is committed to providing a platform on which the work of emerging filmmakers that tell the stories our people and culture. All of the films featured are by Caribbean and diaspora filmmakers and there is no cost to view any of the films.
Studio Anansi co-founder Romola Lucas states, “With the launching of this site, CaFA has achieved one of its major goals – providing an outlet for the work of emerging regional and diaspora-based Caribbean filmmakers, as well as access for global and regional audiences to some of the best film content coming out of the Caribbean. In recent years, there has been an explosion in filmmaking in the Caribbean, mostly spurred by the greater affordability of equipment and the growth of regional film festivals. As one of a handful of VOD sites designed exclusively for Caribbean content, the platform will provide a tremendous opportunity for increased visibility of the work of our emerging filmmakers.”
This Canadian streaming service was launched by the founders of the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival. Boasting one of the largest repositories of Caribbean and diaspora content online, CaribbeanTales-TV has both movies and television series available for viewing. As a subscription-based service, the platform offers one affordable level of membership. Included in the subscription you get both older, classic content (The Harder They Come, Dancehall Queen) as well as newer content from emerging filmmakers (Caribbean Girls NYC, Kafou)
The frustration of not being able to find programs that reflected a global black experience is what fueled the DeShuna Spencer to found KweliTV. Kweli as an interactive, on-demand and live streaming service that showcases programming from all over the African diaspora, including the Caribbean. KweliTV is a subscription-based service with several levels of membership available. The platform also aims to become more than a black version of Netflix. Kweli aims to become a community that also offers original programming.
“As black people in the U.S.,” says Spencer,“we should be able to learn about Trinidad, or South Africa or Brazil through media arts, and that’s what KweliTV strives to do.”
2.) ATTEND LOCAL FILM EVENTS
One of the best places to enjoy Caribbean/Diaspora cinema is at local cultural events. In the diaspora, with a little googling, you can probably find a general Caribbean cultural association or organization representing a specific island in your area. These groups often host cultural events that include movie nights. Even mainstream institutions will host Caribbean film nights to coincide with local/national Caribbean cultural days (ie National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, NY West-Indian American Day Parade). In New York there are many such groups.
Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute
Guyana Cultural Association of New York
3.) ATTEND FILM FESTIVALS
Film festivals are multi-day events whose mission is to showcase new films and offer filmmaking/film industry education to attendees. Many of us have heard of the big name festivals like the Tribeca Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. And though you may find a one or two Caribbean / Caribbean diaspora films at the big name festivals, there are a number of smaller domestic & global festivals that cater specifically to our films.
The Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival
Houston Caribbean Film Festival
Caribbean Tales International Film Festival
As the demand for films that reflect our culture, heritage and experiences grow so does the supply and distribution chains. Soon, the Caribbean film industry will be standing toe to toe with Hollywood, Nollywood and Bollywood. To make that happen consumers of film need to loudly and proudly support our filmmakers Seek out their work, share their stories and critique their work. Let’s ride the growing surge in the industry to bring our POV to not just our people but to the world.
Alysia Christiani
Alysia Simone hails from #Guyana and is the founder of Rewind and Come Again an online exploration of the Caribbean-American and Diaspora experience.⠀
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