The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony today endorsed the Loyola Documentary Film Festival as an avenue for creative Guyanese to showcase their talents.
The festival is organized by CatholicTV Guyana and aims to promote and create awareness among people on socio-economic and cultural issues that affect the nation. It also allows film makers and corporate bodies to actively engage in the promotion and development of skills and expertise of Guyanese.
The objectives of the festival are to document livelihood issues of the rural and urban poor across Guyana; to identify and bring to light situations that affect the survival and human rights of the people, and to advocate with policy makers for changes in policies, and with social leaders for change in practices.
Amateur and professional producers are encouraged to participate in the festival, and apart from the monetary prizes, the best films will be broadcast on local and international TV stations. It is important to note that the subject of the films must be on socio-economic and cultural issues of Guyana only.
Minister Anthony indicated that the film festival offers a good opportunity for youths to express their views through film. Further, it is anticipated that the films produced would be a catalyst to inspire people to take action.
He explained that while it is easy for people to criticize aspects of life they must also offer solutions. In this regard, he spoke about a short film produced by Margaret Lawrence on masquerade which addressed the issue and solutions.
The Minister also recalled that in 2012 a group of Guyanese residing in the United States of America came to Guyana and held a workshop about masquerade. The importance of that event, Minister Anthony acknowledged, was that people were inspired to take action to encourage the thriving of the art form.
While commending this effort, he noted that the National Drama Festival also serves a similar purpose, and through that avenue about 41 plays were written specifically for the festival. Those plays were based on issues affecting Guyanese.
The Minister also recalled that in 2012 a group of Guyanese residing in the United States of America came to Guyana and held a workshop about masquerade. The importance of that event, Minister Anthony acknowledged, was that people were inspired to take action to encourage the thriving of the art form.
While endorsing the festival, Minister Anthony spoke about some of the programmes offered by his Ministry; these include the Music and Drama schools. He added that the Ministry is working on developing a film school.
The Minister commended the Catholic Church for its continued contributions to the development of Guyana.
In his remarks, Bishop Francis Alleyne commended the group for developing the project since it intends to engage youths and help them to develop their skills in the field. Through this project they will be able to make a valuable contribution to their communities.
He illustrated that for particular events a saint is chosen to be patron, and in this instance, the Archangel Gabriel is the best selection since he is the patron of communication. Bishop Alleyne also noted the angel’s role in communicating with Mary prior to the conception and birth of Jesus.
The Director of CatholicTV Guyana, Justin Prabhu, in his presentation, explained that the church is at a cross-road with regards to meeting and reaching people through the various existing mediums. The Catholic Church in Guyana is already using the televised and printed mediums, in this regard this is the first time the church is venturing into the use of film.
Prabhu noted that the film festival gives the participants, especially the youths, an opportunity to share their views on social issues while at the same time develop their skills in the new media. He added that the church would be using its media partners to give guidance to those who need assistance in the production of their short films.
SASOD’s Zenita Nicholson noted that the film industry in Guyana needs these kinds of initiatives to foster development, and there is also need for the private sector to get on board.
She emphasized that through short films SASOD has been able to highlight issues regarding the stigma attached to Guyana’s LBGT community and the poor and vulnerable. In this regard, film is a good tool for the awareness cause.
Carolyn Walcott, Director of the Centre for Communication Studies at the University of Guyana noted her satisfaction with the initiation of the festival especially since it is targeting human rights and other social issues.
She noted that students at the centre recently did short films on issues such as corporal punishment and domestic violence. This is an indication that the centre is nurturing ideas.