10 a.m. Workshop Fortune All: Writing & Directing A Caribbean Feature Yao Ramesar is one of the Caribbean region’s most distinguished filmmakers. A lecturer of the art at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Yao is known for his prolific art of storytelling through the lens. Ramesar’s Sistagod® remains the sole Trinidad and Tobago feature film to gain official selection at a major international festival world-premiering in 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Yao Ramesar has created over 120 films on the people, history and culture of Trinidad and Tobago, screening in more than 100 countries. BIFF welcomes him to the Festival on the heels of his recently completed feature Fortune For All, which he will be using to present an interactive discussion on Writing & directing a Caribbean Feature
2p.m. Workshop The Powerful Journey From Short Film to Feature with Stefon Bristol What do Whiplash, Nanny, and See You Yesterday have in common? All three films were once shorts before being reimagined and expanded into feature-length films. One of the best ways to get your first feature film off the ground is to write and direct a short film. Many independent filmmakers have used their short as a proof-of-concept and learning opportunity for a feature-length project. But how do you make that happen? What should you consider creatively? How do you leverage the success of your short to find opportunities for financing? In this workshop, award winning filmmaker, Stefon Bristol will guide you through his powerful journey from his short, NYU-Thesis film to his first feature debut on Netflix. Pay attention, because your own journey awaits. And it’s only a short film away.