Local independent film maker Ryan Khan gestures during candid conversation with Carla Foderingham, chief executive officer, T&T Film Company, left and British independent film maker Uzma Hasan. Photo: SEAN NEROL
One month after the premier and culmination of the T&T Film Festival and now the start of the European Film Festival, Hasan predicted very exciting times ahead. “It reminds me a lot of South America, places like Brazil and Mexico, when the film industries and independent film making really took off there,” said Hasan, an independent producer, last Wednesday at MovieTowne.
She added: “They were telling stories that were 100 per cent their own, but they were very commercial and were well told, and I think that’s the best case scenario for T&T...to take on board their wonderful heritage and culture and understand it and then communicate it to a global audience.”
She was the guest of the British Council, at the 14th EU Film Festival, representing UK film making and independent creative arts, as well as the premier of her latest work, The Infidel. The film had already been released in over 18 territories to commercial and critical acclaim. She underscored the importance of telling stories through the film medium in a way that was not just entertaining, but accessible to global audiences. She admitted that failing to identify audiences was a common mistake among film makers, especially those now starting off.
More often than not, their audiences, she said, were friends and family. “There has to be somebody who is sitting in New York who can understand their film. “A good example of this was the film ‘City of God’ which is very true to Brazil, but the way it’s told... with such energy... with such passion...with such an understanding for genre and film making, and story shaping.
The shape of the story is something that everyone can understand from India to the UK.” She said trial and error was the only way for emerging film industries to get things right. Being in T&T for the film fair marked Hasan’s first trip to the Caribbean. The passion expressed by local industry practitioners to Hasan during her short time had her impressed. Hasan in convinced that T&T is an ideal country for the premier of her film since it tackles issues related to different cultures and communities coming together.She said, “It’s exciting because you have everything to play for.
She added: “They were telling stories that were 100 per cent their own, but they were very commercial and were well told, and I think that’s the best case scenario for T&T...to take on board their wonderful heritage and culture and understand it and then communicate it to a global audience.”
She was the guest of the British Council, at the 14th EU Film Festival, representing UK film making and independent creative arts, as well as the premier of her latest work, The Infidel. The film had already been released in over 18 territories to commercial and critical acclaim. She underscored the importance of telling stories through the film medium in a way that was not just entertaining, but accessible to global audiences. She admitted that failing to identify audiences was a common mistake among film makers, especially those now starting off.
More often than not, their audiences, she said, were friends and family. “There has to be somebody who is sitting in New York who can understand their film. “A good example of this was the film ‘City of God’ which is very true to Brazil, but the way it’s told... with such energy... with such passion...with such an understanding for genre and film making, and story shaping.
I met with a whole load of Trinidadian film-makers and it was very exciting to see the different types of stories coming together. I really hope these film festivals are going to alert the wider community into getting involved in the arts and film making. And, not just film making, but supporting independent films and calling for more film screenings from local products.” Sharing her knowledge in this area, Hasan underscored the need for film-makers and audiences to connect and expressed hope that on her return to T&T next year MovieTowne would be showing one local film a week alongside the list of American films. “Out of the ten people who are making films, one of them would be an incredible talented film maker, and it’s not and easy thing to do, and it is not an easy thing to do on your own.
“You can paint a picture on your own. You can take a picture on your own. If you’re an artist you can sculpt on your own, but film making is something that needs your vision and the support, financial help and technical help of lots and lots of people,” said Hasan.
About Uzma Hasan
Uzma Hasan is an independent producer whose most recent feature The Infidel was released in over 18 territories to commercial and critical acclaim. In addition to her own development slate, she consults for talent management and sales companies in the UK and US.
Whilst at Slingshot Productions, Hasan worked on project selection, development and packaging on all of the company’s films and was associate producer on Tormented. She sits on selection committees for Mira Nair’s MAISHA Labs, the British Independent Film Awards and is London Chapter Head of Harvardwood, the official network of Harvard alumni in the entertainment and media industries. Hasan has worked on both sides of the Atlantic in the independent and studio sector, including with Focus Features and Tribeca Film Festival, on the development, production and exploitation of feature films. As a consultant at Ogilvy PR, she managed international accounts including NEC, Verizon and NTT DoCoMo. She graduated from Cardiff University with first class honours in English literature and studied film and literature at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as a Kennedy Scholar.
