The T&T film God Loves the Fighter has picked up a prestigious new international award for talented and up-and-coming filmmakers.
The 2013 dramatic feature film was directed by Morvant-born Damian Marcano and starred a local cast led by spoken-word performer and actor Muhammad Muwakil. It was awarded the Yellow Robin at the Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
A sold-out hit on its local debut at the T&T Film Festival (TTFF) last year, the dramatic feature took the 2013 TTFF awards for Best Local Feature (juried) and People’s Choice Feature.
One reviewer in the T&T press wrote, “It would be easy to imagine future generations of Trinidadians referencing God Loves the Fighter as a milestone moment in T&T cinema…pretty much the same way the coming of the Christ changed the way we viewed the world as we know it.”
God Loves the Fighter was awarded marketing funding by the T&T Film Company (TTFC).
The Curaçao IFFR page announcing the juried Yellow Robin Award said, God Loves the Fighter offers ”a raw, realistic view of life in the eastern parts of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.”
With the award comes a cash prize of US$10,000, and a guaranteed screening of the film at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, in January 2015.
Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands and the city’s film festival was founded in 1972. It emphasises diversity and alternative, innovative films, a release from the TTFC said.
Curaçao IFFR began three years ago. In 2014, T&T’s Yao Ramesar’s art film Sista God and Bruce Paddington’s documentary feature Forward Ever: The Killing of a Revolution were also screened at the festival.
Marcano commented on the win via e-mail, saying, “On behalf of the entire cast and crew we are very appreciative of the Yellow Robin Award.
“It’s amazing what we can do telling our own stories! This is a great stepping stone for both Trinidad and Caribbean cinema. From Laventille to Rotterdam...here we come!”