From 21 to 30 January 2021, Mission Cinéma Caraïbe will present the 12th edition of the Rencontres professionnelles du Cinéma Antilles Guyane (Professional Meetings of the West Indies-Guiana Cinema) and the 3rd edition of the Journées de Projections Cinévision Sud (Southern Cinévision Screening Days) at the Ernest Pépin media library and the film theatre in Le Lamentin.
On Thursday, January 14, the organizers invited the media of the archipelago to a press conference to present these two major events in relation to cinema in the Caribbean basin and elsewhere. In spite of the health situation, which is leading to strict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and now its variants, the association has prepared a rich online and face-to-face programme for professionals of the 7th art, schools and film lovers.
In her editorial published in the press kit for these two cultural events, Felly Sédécias said : “Despite the uncertainties, the Caribbean Cinema Mission team has been working since July on the preparation of this 12th edition of professional film meetings. “Helping and accompanying” is our main objective, in this difficult period for the cinema professions, in order to maintain the creative impetus of young authors and experienced directors. Believing in one’s possibilities, giving oneself the audacity to succeed in one’s work, this is the resolution that we are giving to all those involved in the work of this edition”.
The president of the current MCC, which for 24 years has organized the Guadeloupe International Film Festival also known as the FÉMI (1992-2019), intends to succeed in her new challenges.
It should be noted that the project to create an annual event dedicated to professional meetings of West-Indies (Guadeloupe & Martinique)-French Guiana-Caribbean cinema was born in 2008 during a conference entitled : “What are the economic stakes for a film market in the Caribbean?” Eight Caribbean countries were present – Jamaica, Cuba, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Lucia – and have supported the idea of creating a film market.
In 2010, the Caribbean International Film and Television Market (Marché international du film et de la télévision caribéens-MIFTC) was launched and, subsequently, Martinique, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and Belize have joined it.
Partnerships have also been established with several festivals in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Curaçao, Puerto Rico), Africa (Burkina Baso/Fespaco) and America (Brazil, United States) where the award-winning films by Guadeloupean directors are shown in cinemas. In 2019, the MIFTC became the Mission Cinema Caraïbe (Caribbean Film Mission).
During this 12th edition of the West-Indies (Guadeloupe & Martinique)-French Guiana-Caribbean Professional Meetings, it is planned from Thursday 21 January 9:00 am to Thursday 28 January 4:00 pm : workshops with groups of up to 6 people ; courses in filmmaking and in professional filming with a mobile phone ; an online conference with the theme : “What is the Afro-descendant diaspora in cinema?” with the participation of various speakers from the audiovisual sector ; a 48-hour scriptwriting marathon for Guadeloupeans, Martinicans and Guyanese aged between 16 and 25 ; individual talks with scriptwriting experts for personalized advice for future and experienced cinema professionals, etc.
As for the Southern Cinévision Screening Days, they plan to educate the general public, especially young people, about the image. Thus, on 21, 22, 23, 26 and 28 January, a West Indies-Guiana Africa short film competition, a school film competition as well as a selection of Southern feature films will be offered to the audience during this 3rd edition.
For five days, film lovers will be able to attend more than thirty films from Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, France, New Caledonia, Madagascar, Belgium, Japan, Mali, Rwanda, Cameroon, Togo, Burkina Faso, India, Germany…
The guests of this 2021 edition are : Christelle George (journalist and scriptwriter), Antoine Cupial (trainer and script-doctor), Caroline Bourgine (journalist and producer), Christophe Agélan (producer), Didier Mauro (filmmaker and sociologist of culture), Bruno Henri (actor) and Émeline Raholiarisoa (filmmaker).
The members of the jury for the short film and school film competitions are : Gislaine Masset (director and animator of art house cinemas in France), Bepé Néneb (director), Danielle Rémus (employee social sector), Guy Mémy (director, scriptwriter and actor), Coralie Tillé (young graduate in direction and production), Saïdou Bernabé (co-founder of the school of 3D animation, digital special effects and video game Parallel 14), Gilles Gace (director), Priscilhia Logis (employee Film Office of the Regional Council of La Guadeloupe) and Martine Sornay (sports teacher and cinema-audiovisual adviser).
5 prizes will be awarded during the ceremony which will take place on January 28 at 7:00 pm at Le Lamentin cine-theatre : Marathon Writing Prize, Best School Fiction Film Prize, Best Documentary Film Prize, Best Short Fiction Film Prize, Best Documentary Short Film Prize.
