After its successful inaugural year, the CaribbeanTales Film Festival is set to hit Toronto again this summer! This annual event showcases the latest films from the Caribbean region, and this year’s focus is on the vibrant film, television and video productions of Trinidad and Tobago. The festival will run from July 13 to 15, 2007 at the NFB’s Mediatheque.

The 2nd Annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival is under the patronage of the Consulate General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, in association with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Multicultural History Society of Ontario.

This year’s lineup will highlight some of the biggest Trinidadian talents to hit North America, such as Julien "Lil X" Lutz. Critically acclaimed for his cinematic style and vivid imagination, Lutz has directed over 100 music videos and commercials, and worked with a host of celebrities such as P. Diddy, Usher, Sean Paul and Alicia Keys.

The festival will feature films by legendary British-Trinidadian director Horace Ove, whose groundbreaking 1975 film Pressure documented the growing frustrations of Britain's black and Caribbean communities at the time; and Robert Yao Ramesar, whose recent feature Sistah God opened at TIFF last year, and who represents a new generation of local Caribbean filmmakers.

Additionally, the spotlight will be turned on the phenomenon of local TV station Gayelle the Channel, that features 100% local content, and reaches over a million viewers internationally through live Internet streaming. The festival will also highlight the contributions of Canadian-based Trinidadian filmmakers like award-winning video artist Richard Fung, respected producer Claire Prieto, Frances-Anne Solomon, and many more.

The program of films will be co-curated by Frances-Anne Solomon, Artistic Director of CaribbeanTales, and Bruce Paddington, Programmer of the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival.

With a growing international awareness of the Caribbean's burgeoning media industry, the festival aims to entertain and educate through a series of industry panels, filmmakers' discussions, and presentations on both historical and contemporary filmmaking in Trinidad and Tobago, and throughout the diaspora.

Several filmmakers, both local and international, will be in attendance to participate in discussions and Q&As on their work.

CaribbeanTales, a non-profit organization founded by filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, is Canada's premier multimedia company, producing educational films, videos, radio programs, audio books, theatre plays, web sites and events that showcase the rich heritage of Caribbean storytelling, traditional and contemporary, digital and analogue, at home and across the diaspora.

Frances-Anne Solomon is an award-winning writer, director, and producer whose credits include Lord Have Mercy! (Vision TV, 2003), Peggy Su! (BBC Films, 1997), What My Mother Told Me (Channel 4, 1995) and Bideshi (British Film Institute, 1994). She is the president and artistic director of the two companies she’s founded: Leda Serene Films and CaribbeanTales.

Earlier this year, her latest film, A Winter Tale, made its world premiere as the opening night gala at the ReelWorld Film Festival, and took home several awards including the Tonya Lee Williams Award for Outstanding Canadian Feature.

The CaribbeanTales 2nd Annual Film Festival is generously sponsored by: Ryerson Image Arts, CKLN 88.1 FM, CIUT 89.5 FM, CHRY 105.5 FM, Steam Whistle Brewery, @Wallace Studios, MyMediaBiz.com and SM Jaleel.

Ticket Information:
Tickets $5 per screening
Festival passes $30
For more ticket information, contact Karen at 416-598-1410

For more information, please visit: CaribbeanTales.ca