IISuperwomanII in Trinidad and Tobago : My Trip to UNICORN ISLAND :)

I had the absolute pleasure of being and experiencing IISuperwomanII in concert entitled "A trip to UNICORN ISLAND" at the Center of Excellence, Trinidad on Saturday 17th October, 2015. It was 2 hours plus of the greatest entertainment on stage that spanned video productions, choreographed dances, musical numbers, stand up comedy and a soca and chutney finale that TOTALLY MASH UP DE PLACE; come on, KI (3Veni), RaviB  (Karma) and MACHEL MONTANO performed.

But it was not just the entertainment that struck me during "my trip to UNICORN ISLAND". Lilly Singh aka "IISuperwomanII bared her heart, soul and mind to each member of that audience. You see, people see Lilly's fame and think maybe she has always been this positive.

Lilly revealed to the audience that she struggled with depression and reached rock bottom in 2010. Somehow she reached into herself and found her "inner superhero" hence the name IISuperwomanII then pulled herself up and started to make her videos on Youtube. For someone like myself who has also struggled with depression; I can totally relate to IISuperwomanII, maybe you can as well. Whenever I am depressed, I always appreciate a good laugh to make me forget myself and realize how much possibilities lay before me and how grateful I am for life. IISuperwomanII has provided many of those laughs and I hope she does for a long, long time to come !!!

The Unicorn Island is Lilly's "happy place" that she has created inside her to keep herself centered. She introduced the audience to this place by dance, song and comedy and encouraged everyone to find their own Unicorn Island. There was a moment in the concert that I will cherish for a very long time. It was close to the end of the show (after the soca-chutney Mash Up) when Lilly bought a solitary stool on stage and started talking directly to the audience. She leveled with us about how happy she was to be in Trinidad and Tobago (a dream come true to her) and how hard she fought to make this concert happen. What resonated with me was her candor and her down-to-earth nature. IISuperwomanII came to T&T not only to "Razzle Dazzle" us (which did btw) but to connect with us, inspire us and motivate us with the bonus of laughter !!! 

Now if you don't know who IISuperwomanII is let me just fill you in a bit.
IISuperwomanII is the pseudonym of Canadian entertainer Lilly Singh (27 years old) who is one the biggest stars on YouTube. Since she started her channel in 2010, her videos have received over 880 million views and she has over 6.8 million subscribers. Her parents emigrated to Canada from the Punjab region of India but Lilly was born in Ontario and moved to Toronto when she was about 2 years old.

She still identifies with her Punjabi roots and has made a sensation imitating her mother and father in her videos and has amazingly connected with a diaspora of east Indian people and people of all races from every corner of the world.  Her videos are usually straight to camera comedic talks about everything from dating to dreams to depression to POSITIVE VIBES and even farts :). What is absolutely cool is that IISuperwomanII often collaborates with other Youtubers and celebrities and SHE RAPS and REPS for all her fans.

Hear what...take your trip to Unicorn Island and discover IISuperwomanII. You can find her videos on her YouTube page, connect with her on Facebook or read this really cool article which also links to some her vids. My hope is that IISPERWOMANII returns to sweet T&T one day very soon, cyah wait !!! I will post one of my favourite vids from her, it called "How to Stay Positive", it is from 2013... please enjoy and that is a wrap...Zoooop ( is just ah borrow Lilly) !!!

4 Reasons to see TRAFFICKED at the IMAX Trinidad NOW !!!

The 2015 Trinidad and Tobago film "Trafficked" is being screened at the IMAX Trinidad (located at One Woodbrook Place in Port of Spain) from Friday October 16th 2015 to Tuesday 20th October 2015. I am a little late with this post but since there are four days left, I will offer four reasons why you should go and see this film TODAY or tomorrow, or Monday or Tuesday are ALL DAYS if you like :).

1. YOU WILL BE SUPPORTING LOCAL FILM.
This movie features Trinidad and Tobago actors, it was directed by a Trinbagonian (Sean Hodgkinson), it is set in Trinidad...in other words "Yuh Supporting T&T Film" !!!

2. THIS FILM HAS SOME ACCLAIM
Don't take my word for it, Trafficked won BEST LOCAL FEATURE at the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and those people know a ting or two about film.

3. IMAX for $50.00 TT ( YUH CYAH GO WRONG).
If you wanted to see a film at the IMAX Trinidad usually you can end up paying between 65-100 dollars. ALL TRAFFICKED SCREENING ARE JUST $50.00. Make this your movie lime this weekend and get the friends pumping !!!

4. THIS MOVIE IS A REFLECTION OF REALITY in T&T !!!
I am not giving any spoilers away but this film deals with some REAL ISSUES in our small Caribbean islands. Film can be a mirror of society so I will leave you with this tantalizing review from a film fan like myself who saw TRAFFICKED recently
"...beneath the veil of civility the scene is set for a well-placed unraveling of a tragedy."
★★★★
- Janine Charles-Farray, Trinidad Guardian

See Teaser Trailer for TRAFFICKED below and join the Facebook page.

 

 

My Trip to the MOON

On the night of September 27, 2015 I was in total awe looking up at the sky towards our Moon as it experienced a full lunar eclipse. I laid flat on the ground on my porch and gazed up as the Moon was covered in a red hue called "The Blood Moon". I timed the totality of the eclipse to the sounds of Pink Floyd's song "Dark Side of the Moon" playing on my head phones.

Georges Méliès 1861-1938 (Photo courtesy Britannica.com

I started to think  of all the films that featured the moon and my mind ran across the man who started it all, the great French film maker Georges Méliès. When films first appeared in the late 1800's and early 1900's they were of mundane things like a train entering a station, workers leaving a factory, a wall being broken down.

Méliès who was a professional magician and manager-director of the Théâtre Robert-Houdin in Paris saw these films and was inspired to make his own motion pictures. Méliès revolutionize the cinema, he introduced lavish sets, multiple actors and camera action sequences such stop motion, slow motion, dissolves, fade-outs, superimposition, and double exposures. 

Most importantly Méliès told a story in his film and between 1899 to 1912 he made more than 400 films.  In 1902 he directed "Le Voyage dans la lune" or  “A Trip to the Moon”) which featured a scientific expedition that journeys from the Earth to the Moon and back again. It broke so much new ground in movie making history and is regarded as a true treasure of human accomplishment. Sadly Méliès films were largely forgotten for more than a decade after he stopped making them and he was reduced to working as a toy maker in a kiosk in Paris by the 1920's.

However before he died in 1938, Méliès was re-discovered by a new generation of audiences and a retrospective of his films made waves in Paris in 1929. He was given an apartment to live in by the French government and was even inducted in the French Legion of Honour. You can draw a direct line from every science fiction movie ever made to Méliès' films and he is regarded among the greatest geniuses of cinema that ever lived.

If you want to see "Le Voyage dans la lune" or  “A Trip to the Moon” in colour (for you modern folk) click on the link above.

Check out this music video from the rock band Smashing Pumpkins for their 1996 song 'Tonight, Tonight". It was inspired by Méliès' movie and it was through this video that I first learned of him. Do look out for the boat at the end, it is named SS Méliès . The video is directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris who also directed 'Little Miss Sunshine" and many other great music videos.

In 1998 there was an HBO mini-series called "From the Earth  to the Moon" that featured stories about the NASA expeditions to the moon. Tom Hanks was one of the producers of that series and he directed the last episode which he also appeared in. In that episode Hanks played an assistant to Georges Méliès as he directed and produced Le Voyage dans la lune in 1902. Do check out this video, Hanks' acting is impeccable, his appreciation of Méliès's genius is wonderful to experience and a true connection is made between Méliès and the future explorations of the moon.

The greatest tribute however to Georges Méliès is Martin Scorsese's 2011 film "Hugo". Check out these videos and revisit that wonderful film that tells the story of Méliès who was struggling at the time in poverty but who was then newly re-discovered by a whole new audience in 1929. 

It has been more than a hundred years since the release of "Le Voyage dans la lune" or  “A Trip to the Moon” but every time I look up at the Moon I see the dreams of Georges Méliès staring back at me even when the Moon turns red. 
 

Welcome to FILM 'n' TT Blog

Hey everyone and welcome to my very own blog. It is called FILM 'n' TT and I am here to inform you about all things film in Trinidad and Tobago. I have got a true passion for cinema as a fan and hopefully one day very soon, as a film maker. 

Trinidad and Tobago is a true blend of different races, religions, cultures and histories and it is reflected in the diversity of taste when it comes to our cinema. My aim is to expose you to the different developments of cinema in Trinidad and Tobago, look back at the history of cinema, enlightening you to the various films that were released and yet to be release and peak into the future of where the film industry of going.

So join me as we take this journey into the past, present and future of films in Trinidad and Tobago. I will be updating my blog every week and you can also find me on Facebook at FILM 'n' TT  So stay tuned and get your popcorn and comments ready. Thank you.