UWI student director and performers’ film “Take it Back” celebrated at international festival
“Take It Back”, as the name says, is about reclamation.
“Reclaiming identity, reclaiming history and reclaiming self-expression,” explains director and graduate of The UWI St Augustine film programme Corinna Sequea.
Made as a student film, and starring UWI dance programme students Renee Mofford and Carlene Thomas, it has had a remarkable journey to international screens. After premiering at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2023, the film was screened at the Film and Folklore Festival in October 2024. In November of that same year, it was featured at the Cinemística Film Festival in Spain.
The three collaborators see the film’s success as the result of their collective efforts and the support of their teachers.
“I want to thank our lecturers, both in film and dance, for pushing us to be great,” Renee says. She and Carlene are both graduates of UWI St Augustine’s Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA). Corinna says the dancers brought the story to life.
“Take It Back” was initially developed as a final project for her Sound and Visual Dynamics class. The story centres on a young woman who, after an implied traumatic event, seeks solace by praying to Oshun, a West African goddess of healing. Corinna says her goal was not to create a film for casual viewing, but to craft an immersive experience where the audience takes part in the ritual.
The choreography in “Take It Back” is deeply symbolic, illustrating themes of struggle, liberation, and spiritual connection. Renee describes it as “storytelling through the body”.
For Carlene, the film holds personal significance. Around the time of filming, she was recovering from stomach surgery, forcing her to step away from dancing.She recalls, “After the surgery, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever dance the same way again. But this film became a way of proving to myself that I could not only recover but thrive.”
Adapting their performances for film came with unique challenges for Renee and Carlene. It was so difficult that the dancers were shocked to hear how well-received their work has been by international audiences.
Nevertheless, it is a great accomplishment, and an acknowledgment of their growth from student dancers to professional artists.
It’s a journey that Corinna, the young filmmaker, is on as well.
“There are so many talented filmmakers coming out of Trinidad and Tobago,” she says, “especially from the UWI Film Programme”.
She hints that there are more great films to come out. For Corinna, this is just the beginning.
And apart from its directors and actors, “Take It Back” serves as proof that Caribbean stories can resonate far beyond the region. It is not just a film, but a celebration of identity, resilience, and the power of art to transcend boundaries.
