Five short films from the Caribbean and the Caribbean-US diaspora are due to be screened this evening as the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) continues to host the virtual edition of its annual LGBTQ+ film festival.
“The Box of Jasmine” (Barbados), “Elephant” (USA), “Habana Boxing Club” (USA/Cuba), “Langston Dreams of Fancy Sailors” (USA) and “Antiman” (Guyana) make up this evening’s film slate, which will mark the penultimate day of the “Painting the Spectrum 16” film festival.
The annual film festival began on October 10th and will conclude on October 31st.
According to a SASOD statement, “The Book of Jasmine” (2017) is the thesis film written and directed by Grant. The short film follows Jasmine, a young woman who has grown up in the church in Barbados, who is faced with making the difficult choice between her faith and love.
“Elephant” (2017) is described as a film adaption of a poem written by Nuyorican Poet Elisabet Velasquez and it is performed by dancer and choreographer Keomi Tarver, directed, filmed and edited by Connie Chavez and produced by Wendy Angulo. The “choreo-film” is the collective effort of a group of interdisciplinary artists of colour from New York City, who came together to highlight the importance of looking at street harassment from a lens of reclamation of power.
Produced by Robert Colom, “Habana Boxing Club” (2017) is a film about introspection set in rural Cuba. The sports drama takes a look at the burgeoning struggles of a young man coming to terms with his taboo reality, fighting figuratively and literally to exist within himself.
“Langston Dreams of Fancy Sailors” (2019) is a film poem in five parts which explores questions surrounding Hughes’ sexuality as well as his ties to the Black diaspora outside of the US. Hughes had links to countries such as Trinidad – with its Fancy Sailor Carnival tradition inspired by the influx of US navy figures after World War II. The film is directed by Trinidadian Andre Bagoo.
Meanwhile, “Antiman” (2014) is the thesis film of Guyanese-American filmmaker Gavin Ramoutar. Set in Guyana, the narrative short tells the story of a closeted young man who is pressured by his brutish father to prove his masculinity for having a friendship with a transvestite.
SASOD said Saturday’s screenings will also include a pre-recorded question-and-answer segment between filmmaker Grant and Guyanese film critic Andrew Kendall, and a live discussion with filmmakers Bagoo, Colom and Ramoutar.
SASOD has partnered with Studio Anansi, which is an online platform created to make Caribbean films available worldwide, to host the first virtual edition of the festival.
The screenings start at 6pm and there is no charge to view the films. This week’s screenings and discussions will take place on the Zoom video-communications platform. The Zoom ID is 467 106 6767 and the password is 2020PTS16.
