Community News
Canadian premiere screening of Yardie directed by Idris Elba at CaribbeanTales Film Festival
BY SELINA McCALLUM
It was a full house for the kick-off of the CaribbeanTales Film Festival on Thursday, July 4th. showing the Canadian premiere of Yardie, a film directed by Idris Elba. Yardie is a 2018 British crime drama film and is based on the novel by Jamaican-born writer Victor Headley. The premiere took place at The Royal Theatre on College St.
The film stars Aml Ameen, Shantol Jackson, Stephen Graham, Fraser James, Sheldon Shepherd, and Everaldo Creary.
CaribbeanTales is a registered Canadian Charity committed to building community in Canada since 2001. Today, CaribbeanTales has grown into a group of companies – the CaribbeanTales Media Group — that produces, markets and sells Caribbean-themed audio-visual content across the globe.
Frances-Anne Solomon is the Founder and CEO. She is an award-winning filmmaker of Caribbean heritage and a writer, producer, and director in film, TV, Radio and new media.
This year’s theme for the film festival is “A New Day”.
Courtney Panchan, the Festival Manager, Manager and Acquisitions and Operations of Caribbean Tales Worldwide, has been working alongside Frances-Anne Solomon on all CaribbeanTales’ projects and affiliated companies since February 2006.
Panchan is dedicated to the success of CaribbeanTales and was happy with the turnout for the film.
“Having a sold-out show tonight was amazing. We all worked very hard. The team is very small this year, it’s around the clockwork. There’s about four of us that are doing everything we can to make it happen,” said Panchan.
Panchan says what the best parts of the film, Yardie, for her. “The film was a directorial debut by Idris Elba and the acting was good. I am half Jamaican and half German, but I really resonate with my Jamaican side. So, to see a lot of Jamaicans on camera and see Jamaica in the 70s and 80s, all of it was very enlightening and wonderful,” said Panchan.
Diana Webley, the Associate Festival Director and the Co-director of the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival, has 12 years experience as an event and festival specialist working with programmers, community leads and partners to shape the artistic direction and interact with internal and external departments. She has managed over 200 events a year.
She says that it was important for CaribbeanTales to showcase Yardie. “We knew the film was going to hit the market and make an impact with the Caribbean community, and Frances-Anne was very keen to have it here and so we’re happy to just follow suit and support Idris Elba and the journey of Caribbean directors as well,” said Webley.
One audience member, Dionyse, felt that the film was building on to the single story of black people being violent and involved in drugs, guns, and gangs.
“I think we have to start making films about Caribbean people who made different choices because there are a lot of Caribbean people who grew up on the same streets [in Jamaica] and they made different choices,” said Dionyse. “They built something so that we could be who we are today. That narrative, I am tired of it. It is not the majority of our people.”
Webley believes that bringing more Caribbean films made by Caribbean people to the spotlight for the world to see will create various types of narratives.
“I think telling our story is pretty huge, that has been the main focus, especially from a women’s perspective is what we’re asking more of. In terms of the Caribbean diaspora, that’s the purpose of CaribbeanTales, that’s the vision our CEO, Frances-Anne Solomon wanted, and it’s coming to fruition, so it’s very exciting to see it happening right now,” said Webley.
The opening night for CTFF will be on September 4th, 2019, and the festival will end on September 20th, 2019. It is also happening around the same time as the Toronto International Film Festival.
On September 8th, a program called the Big Pitch + Red Hot Mixer, happening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, will feature all of the emerging filmmakers from around the world.
“It’s a new day, that’s our theme, and it’s because we’re seeing things in these films, that we don’t see every day, especially being in Canada, being Caribbean Canadians, we resonate with who we are but we don’t get to see it all the time on screen,” said Panchan. So, the fact that we bring these films once a year to the festival for everyone to see is a great experience.”