SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER, 2017 – UWI TODAY
15
CINEMA
According to producer Christian James
, he threw all reason
out the window by enrolling in The UWI, St. Augustine Film
Programme in 2006. At the Sixth Form level, James, 32, had
been a science student and was warned against venturing into
the uncertainty of the creative industries.
Director Michael Mooleedhar, 32, has a similar story. Yet,
seven years after the two graduated in the Film Programme’s
first cohort, James and Mooleedhar are collaborating and
reaping the benefits of their risky decisions.
Their feature-length film “Green Days by the River,” an
adaptation of Michael Anthony’s classic Caribbean novel, was
the first opening night filmof the trinidad + tobago film festival
(ttff) by a local director and producer. The film was released
on the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication and helped
spawn a resurgence of interest in the novel.
The National Library and Information System (NALIS)
chose to relaunch the One Book, One Community initiative
this year using the novel and it’s been returned to the syllabi
in many secondary school literature classes.
“This film is a gift to Trinidad & Tobago. This book is one
that means a lot to people and the country and one thing we
hope is that the film will be around 50 years from now in the
same way the book has tested time. We’re hoping to have that
type of effect,” said Mooleedhar, who also has a Master’s in
Creative Design Entrepreneurship from UWI.
Mooleedhar and James said they were lucky to have
professors such as Dr. Jean Antoine and Bruce Paddington
(ttff Founder). “I think what UWI did was it created a good
foundation and base. It opened up our minds to all the different
aspects of filmmaking. We probably didn’t come out of it as
experts, but we got really good exposure,” said James.
When the project began in 2014, UWI also provided
support to the filmmakers in the form of assigning a research
assistant from the Institute for Gender and Development
Studies to help the team remain true to the pre-Independence
period in which Green Days is set. Moreover, the campus
turned out to be a talent pool.The production assistants, interns
and the two female leads, Vanessa Bartholomew and Nadia
Khandai, are all UWI students.
DELICATE ADAPTATION
The coming of age story of Shell, a teenager in rural Mayaro
set in 1952 is one that’s not only familiar among Caribbean
readers, but also popular. James said the team didn’t feel any
negative pressure, however, in doing an adaptation. They
worked closely withAnthony, whowas supportive of the project
from inception and also has a cameo in the film. Mooleedhar
says the film is as close to the novel as can be while retaining
an entertaining quality. “There’s a difference between a book
and a movie. It’s not a play and there’re certain creative liberties
you take to make it more cinematic.”
Green Days by the River
is in theatres nationwide.
Running Time: 100 mins
Rating: PG 13
For more information,
visit:
FilmProgramme Alumni
FIND GREENDAYS IN THE CINEMA
B Y Z A H R A G O R D O N
“At first glance the book is such a simple story you wonder
how you are going to make this into a movie, but the themes
are extremely complex. You’re dealing with a boy becoming a
man, with love; so the situation may not be complex, but the
emotions are, and the filmhas to bring that to life.”Mooleedhar
explained.
“There’s also the idea of space and the land and what the
connection of the land meant to people. I don’t think that
connection exists for the majority of Trinidad and we tried
to bring out those themes and amplify them and give them
visuals.”
For James, simplicity was the key to a successful first
feature. “That’s specifically why we chose this story. As first
time filmmakers, you don’t want to choose any high concept,
time-travelling type of film. You’re still developing your craft
and if you can tell a simple story in a unique, poetic way, you
can master your craft,” he said.
The story also had a special meaning for some of the cast
members. Khandai read the book at a young age and identified
closely with the main character. “I read this book when I was
11 when I had just written SEA. It really resonated with me as
a young person going from one stage of my life to another as
secondary school was a foreign environment. At the time, I felt
a lot like Shell did in his new home experiencing all these new
things, trying to find his place as a man and his place also as a
child continuing to strive to be true to himself,” said Khandai,
a 24-year-old medical student in her third year.
For Bartholomew, a final year sociology student, Green
Days has reaffirmed her love for theatre arts. “Doing the film
definitely encouragedme to stay within the industry and to get
back into that creative atmosphere,” said Bartholomew who
was active in theatre in secondary school. Like Khandai, Green
Days was Bartholomew’s first formal audition.
NEXT STOP
Working on the film hasn’t only been inspiring for
Bartholomew and Khandai; James andMooleedhar plan to use
everything they learned in the past three years on bigger and
even better projects. “We’ve spent three years putting energy
into this project so we’ll need a short break, but I just want
to keep directing. Every time you direct something, you get
excited about what you learned and theoretically, you feel like
you’re getting better. So I don’t want to wait two years to do
something again and forget what I learnt,” said Mooleedhar.
Green Days will be screened at the Belize International
FilmFestival inNovember and the Bahamas International Film
Festival in December. The team is also planning a Caribbean-
wide limited release.
Christian James and Michael Mooleedhar shake hands with Michael Anthony, author of “Green Days by the River.” The film won the award
for BEST TRINIDAD & TOBAGO FEATURE FILM, and also copped the People’s Choice awards at the ceremony on September 26.
