RBC Royal Bank is once again showing its commitment to the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) and the regional film industry, through its support for a new initiative, Focus: Filmmakers' Immersion.The ttff, founded in 2006 and presented by Flow, is an annual celebration of the best films from Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, the Caribbean Diaspora, and from Latin American countries in the Caribbean Basin. The ttff also seeks to facilitate the growth of the Caribbean film industry by hosting workshops, panel discussions, seminars, conferences and networking opportunities.
RBC Royal Bank's sponsorship of the ttff began in 2010, and included the presentation of a youth film concept initiative. Young, aspiring filmmakers were asked to create concepts for short promotional films for the ttff based on the festival's theme, "You're in focus." Four winning concepts were chosen, and winners were all invited to participate in the production of the resulting films. They also received cash prizes of $3,000 each.This year, RBC Royal Bank has significantly increased the value of its sponsorship, and is now a leading sponsor of the festival. As such, the bank is supporting a brand new initiative, Focus: Filmmakers' Immersion. Focus, an intensive three-day event, will take place at the beginning of the ttff/11, which runs from September 21 to October 4.
Ten emerging Caribbean filmmakers will be selected for Focus, which will concentrate on enhancing the participants' creative vision.At the end of Focus, five participants will go on to a public pitch session at the ttff/11, where they will pitch the projects they worked on in the lab to the festival's awards jury. The participant adjudged to have made the best pitch would win a prize of $20,000.The ttff is supported by the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company, the National Gas Company, the Tourism Development Corporation, and the Tobago House of Assembly. To apply to be part of Focus, visit www.ttfilmfestival.com/whatson.