12
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER, 2014
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.”
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 tomake 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 fromCuracao and the Trinidad and Tobago Film
Company.The filmhas 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 withDr JeanAntoine and the support of Deans Ian
Robertson and Funso Aiyejina , Paddington co-designed the
BA FilmProgramme, which started in 2006. Today, the film
programme at UWI offers a BAmajor in filmproduction 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 muchmore 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.”
Is not just
a movie
Bruce Paddington reels in 15 years with a flourish
FILM
B y P A T G A N A S E
Bruce Paddington is retiring after
15 years at The UWI.
In Paddington’s lifetime, he has seen film technology change from
reels and magnetic tape to digital recording and delivery systems.
