SUNDAY 1ST NOVEMBER, 2015 – UWI TODAY
21
From its inception in 2005,
The UWI St. Augustine Film
Programme has contributed to the evolving film industry
of the Caribbean. Many of the Programme’s students and
lecturers have written, produced, directed, edited and
appeared in a number of documentaries (“Caribbean Skin,
African Identity” directed by Mandisa Pantin, 2010), short
films (“Buck, the Man Spirit” by Steven Taylor, 2010) and
feature films (“Haiti Bride” from Yao Ramesar, 2014).
This year, a new film from the Film Programme made
its way to the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (also
celebrating 10 years). What started off as a 50-minute film
made during the Programme’s third-year Capstone thesis
course evolved into a 72-minute feature in competition for
Best Trinidad and Tobago Feature at the Festival.
“Pendulum”, the debut feature from 23-year-old
Michael Rochford, won him the bpTT sponsored prize for
the Best Emerging Trinidad and Tobago Filmmaker.
Written by Rochford, Anastasia Alexis and Joshua Paul,
the movie revolves around the character of Ryan Williams
(played by Jovon Browne), a former soldier turned journalist
who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after a
traumatic wartime incident left him mentally scarred.
Perception of reality or the “reality” presented to the
audience permeates “Pendulum.” Shot in Port of Spain,
Tunapuna, Arima andThe UWI St. Augustine Campus, the
film was designed in such a way that it all feels part of the
same place – this place being the fictional Urio City.
There’s also the film’s comic relief, a former soldier
turned Ryan’s unofficial accomplice, Harold (Scott
Evans), who subtly represents the perception of reality in
“Pendulum.” Established in his introductory scene (filmed in
Trevor’s Edge – a popular pub/restaurant in St. Augustine) as
a man who chose alcohol as a means of moving on from his
wartime past, Harold regularly uses colloquial slang in his
dialogue despite his blatantly foreign accent. Oddly enough,
he uses more colloquial slang than anyone else in the movie.
Perhaps I’m reading into this character toomuch, but tome,
Harold represented a level of self-awareness in “Pendulum”
where the use of colloquial slang to help authenticate the
nationality of Trinbagonian film characters (not actors) is
Potential
and
Possibility
P E N D U L U M
Michael Rochford
B Y M A T T H E W B A I L E Y
Matthew Bailey is also a product of The UWI St. Augustine’s Film Programme
AT THE MOVIES
challenged – or should I say, poked fun – at by having a
“foreign” character say them.
But it’s the character of Ryan Williams that truly
embodies the film’s theme. Ryan questions, and is questioned
about, his own sanity as he is regularly bombarded by brief,
intense panic attacks and flashes of broken memories.
There’s a memorable scene where we see the first of Ryan’s
panic attacks, which begins with him staggering through
a street and ends with him on the muddy ground of a
playground – heart racing, losing his breath. I wish the film
took some more time to delve into the fractured mindset of
Browne’s character, to really make the audience understand
howpowerful a grip his PTSDhas onto his psyche, andmake
us question his sanity even more.
Fortunately, the narrative and technical missteps
(sound design, for example, for the version that I sawneeded
some polishing) are few and far between, as “Pendulum” is
still an amazingly entertaining movie from start to finish.
Michael Rochford’s direction is focused, economical
and assured. The cinematography, with its cool colour
palette of greys, browns, blues and greens, helps in creating
a contemporary yet neo-noirish version of Trinidad for the
film’s characters to inhabit. Speaking of characters, the cast of
“Pendulum” turned in impressive performances, especially
from Jovon Browne, Stephen Hadeed Jr. and Scott Evans.
There’s also the talentedAnokha Baptiste, who plays Luther’s
receptionist SarahDarding, who easily rivals Browne, Evans
and Hadeed Jr. in terms of standout performance.
Michael Rochford started off his film career with a
2012 short film (which he made before entering the UWI
Film Programme) “The Man in the Woods” (you can find
it on YouTube), which starred himself and Jovon Browne
as the two lead characters. Three years later, they’ve worked
together on their own feature film. Having known Michael
since the challenging production of “The Man in the
Woods,” and having heard fromMichael himself of the trials
and tribulations that went into making “Pendulum,” I am
truly amazed at the success his debut feature turned out to
be. For what it’s worth, this movie represents the potential
and possibilities of Trinbagonian cinema.
Michael Rochford’s first feature film, “Pendulum” saw
him being named as Best Emerging Trinidad and Tobago
Filmmaker at ttff 2015.
