Hairouna Film Festival Returns with a Virtual Slate of Vincentian Films
The Hairouna Film Festival (HFF) returns in virtual format with a powerful selection of shorts and feature films spotlighting Vincentian (Vincy) filmmakers and other offerings from the Caribbean region and its diaspora.
With the Covid-19 pandemic derailing all of our plans in 2020, among them have been film festivals scrambling with uncertainty, yet having to reimagine new ways for audiences to experience independent films. Many festivals have readjusted in a short span, mimicking popular streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix to incorporate a home-viewership model, but limiting access through geo-restrictions.
For the Hairouna Film Festival, their second year running was postponed and then cancelled as the Covid-19 pandemic locked down the world. Now they’re pivoting to a complete, virtual experience as the festival expands its reach to a global audience.
The Hairouna Film Festival first launched in 2019, an unprecedented film event that centered films and filmmakers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The community-led festival provided exposure and access to a swath of Caribbean filmmakers in the region, while also paving a path for Vincy filmmakers to amplify their cultural stories onscreen. Their pop-up cinematic events were free and screened at several places around the multi-island chain, including the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College and the Belle Isle Correctional Facility.
With this year’s kick-off, March 19-27, an amazing showcase of Caribbean films, along with virtual workshops and Q&A sessions with filmmakers will be part of the festival’s programming.
Comedic, animated, and documentary shorts are segmented throughout the festival week, with 5 feature films, including the award-winning 2019 comedy, Too Lickrish, directed by Vincentian filmmaker Tolga Akcayli.
Other Vincentian filmmakers will take center stage during the opening night event ‘Vincentian Film Focus’ on Friday, March 19, 2021. A total of 15 short films which tell the stories of Vincentians at home and abroad will be available for viewing.
Among the film screenings will be virtual workshops that touch deeper on Caribbean narratives in film and highlight lessons on filmmaking, scriptwriting, and acting. Noted actor and director Aml Ameen, known for his leading role in Idris Elba’s directorial debut film, Yardie, will be facilitating one of the workshops. Being of Vincentian and Jamaican heritage, Ameen also participated in the festival’s launch event on March 13 with a screening of Yardie that was limited to the English-speaking Caribbean.
“What motivates me is a deep conviction that supporting independent Caribbean storytellers is important cultural work,” writes festival director and filmmaker Aiko Raoudette in their 2021 film guide.
More information about the Hairouna Film Festival and full lineup of films can be found at their website.
