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September 2014
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In 1972, he came to Trinidad, married to a Trinidadian. He had a first degree from Middlesex University London, and post-graduate certificates in Education and Film and Television. He went to work as a teacher at Fatima College where he set up the school’s audio-visual facility, the first in the country. “We had slide projectors and overhead transparencies and one of the first portable video cameras. I am very proud of the number of students I trained who are now working in the film and television industry.” He founded Banyan Productions in 1974 and produced local programmes for the sole station, Trinidad and Tobago Television. Together with Christopher Laird and Tony Hall, Banyan recorded innumerable cultural segments, covering festivals, customs, art, politics, which were aired on the Gayelle series. They made the first local soap opera “Who The CAP Fits” in the late 1970s, and were commissioned to produce documentaries throughout the Caribbean. The Banyan archive still exists in a purpose-built facility with ongoing efforts to digitize what had been recorded on thousands of magnetic tapes. Paddington “graduated” from teaching at Fatima in 1978 to be responsible for educational television and audio-visual units in schools for the Ministry of Education. He produced a Spanish teaching television series “A La Orden,” a series on Caribbean writing, “The Writer and His Work” and many others. He taught teachers in the use of educational media and instructional technology, and assisted in the introduction of audio-visual capability to schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. What started as a project to make use of the simplest equipment grew by the early 1990s to understanding the power of media including computers, on the cusp of the Internet age. Paddington made sense of the accelerating changes in the digital age by pursuing his Master’s in Education (in media and technology) at UWI St Augustine between 1988 and 1992. Over the next decade, he taught courses in visual arts, film and video, and photography in the Centre for Creative and Festival Arts. He accepted the opportunity to work full-time at UWI in 1999 as Educational Technologist in the School of Education. This led to PhD studies in the Cultural Studies programme, on Caribbean film. “It was like writing an epic book as it was way over the standard length,” he says of the thesis that explored developments in film and cinema from throughout the Caribbean. It was completed in 2005. Six years later, work began on what he considers his magnum opus. The documentary on the Grenada revolution, “Forward Ever: The Killing of a Revolution,” was completed in 2013 with the support of The UWI, Flow, the Fundashon Bon Intenshon from Curacao and the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company. The film has been enthusiastically received in over twelve countries with screenings at the British Film Institute, the Havana Film Festival and throughout the Caribbean courtesy UWI Open Campus. Paddington’s son, Luke, was co-director and editor. The film is both thesis and proof of the power of film; an educational vehicle, real life drama and memorable historical document. There is another magnum opus that may be regarded as the fruit of a lifetime in film, and most certainly the crowning achievement of 15 years full-time at The UWI St Augustine. Paddington was encouraged by former principal of UWI, Dr Bhoe Tewarie, to start the film programme. Together with Dr Jean Antoine and the support of Deans Ian Robertson and Funso Aiyejina , Paddington co-designed the BA Film Programme, which started in 2006. Today, the film programme at UWI offers a BA major in film production or film studies and a minor in film studies. There’s enrolment of 20 to 25 core students every year; with courses available to students in other fields. During his time at UWI, Paddington with the Cuban scholar Luis Notario to edit the book “Exploring Caribbean Cinema.” Though he is retiring this year, he is being retained on a one-year contract. This love for Caribbean film is an impressive legacy for someone who was not born in Trinidad and Tobago but who came to love these islands and the Caribbean as home. Though his career at UWI may be ending, the success of “Forward Ever” points in many directions for Paddington. It was not his first film (he has worked on hundreds of films and television programmes) but the one that has resonated with Caribbean people everywhere, the one with greatest impact. He’s thinking, “Next, something on another Caribbean hero, or perhaps something on Shakespeare and the Big Drum Festival in Carriacou…” Since 2006, he has directed the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival: 2015 will be the tenth edition, a milestone. “The University has always been a main supporter of the film festival. Every year, we have sold out screenings on the campus. With new filmmakers, new technologies, new films every year, we are at the tipping point for cinema reflecting our culture,” he said. What’s next for Bruce Paddington? “I have a dream to run a local art cinema, with maybe a café, an art gallery in the complex. Or to develop a co-operative for film-making.” Film, he knows, is always a communal process: there’s the film-maker with his crew, the investors who put in funding and goodwill; and after the film is made, all the people who help to make sure it is shown, and the audiences – the best of which are those who provide feedback. In Paddington’s lifetime, he has seen film technology change from reels and magnetic tape to digital recording and delivery systems. Our stories, however, are universal and lasting; they are ours, uniquely Caribbean, and they need to be told. According to Paddington, it should be much easier now. “The quality of digital is so much better and the format is much more effective and economical than using analogue tape. Professional films are now being made with a DSLR camera, even a cell phone, and edited on a laptop. This is an exciting time to be a filmmaker.” |
Before the digital age, there was film. Bruce Paddington remembers, “I grew up in England with local television and film for entertainment. As a teen, I saw great films, like “If” and “Blow Up.” We were immersed in our popular culture.”