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Banyan's Programme
Catalogue |
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MICHAEL
BOOTHMAN 1979
A half
hour documentary on the music of composer, guitarist Michael Boothman.
_
Bele
20 minute instructional documentary - 1979
Anthropologist Beth Ryan explores the traditions
of the belaire dance in the rural village bele feasts of Trinidad, Tobago and Martinique analyses its components
and compares the traditional folk form to the staged presentation of this
graceful and dignified dance. African traditions in European courtly form.
EPIPHANY
Four part half hour drama series - 1981
A family
facing life in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1980s
after the death of their mother. the father - played by Wilbert Holder - and
eldest daughter - played by Joanne Kilgour - try holding the family together to
provide a home for adolescent daughter - Martina Laird - to grow up in and a
base for son - Tony Hall - recently returned from graduate studies abroad, to
regain his footing and find a place in the society.
In this
they are joined by childhood friend and neighbour - Christopher Pinheiro - who in many ways acts as a foil for
the family's efforts.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO AT CARIFESTA
One hour documentary- 1981
Trinidad
& Tobago's contribution to the Caribbean Festival of the Arts in Barbados in 1981. Dance, drama, visual arts, literature and
music.
THE RIG
90 minute drama - 1983
The
Anglophone Caribbean's first 'made for TV movie'. Written and directed by Derek Walcott, The Rig explores the impact of the oil
discoveries off the East Coast of Trinidad on the village life of the area and
the society of Trinidad & Tobago in general through a story of international
intrigue and local fantasy.
The main
character, played by Maurice Brash, finds
himself in love and in conflict with Mayaro village girl - Joanne Kilgour - and
her ' sort of' boyfriend - John Isaacs - when he returns to Mayaro from
University.
THE FAMILY OF THE CARIBBEAN
One hour documentary - 1983
The only work of its kind in the world. The Family of the Caribbean, for the first time, looks at Caribbean Culture - music, visual arts, dance, theatre, literature and people as a whole. Taking CARIFESTA 1981, the Caribbean festival of the Arts as itÕs touchstone, the documentary reveals the many levels of shared experience and expression in the worldÕs most multicultural region as a new civilisation begins to define itself.
Written
and Narrated by Dr. Michael Gilkes of the
University of the West Indies, The Family of the Caribbean is a unique and
exciting testament to the Caribbean and its
people.
CARIBBEAN VISION
Half hour magazine - 1984
The
prototype for the Caribbean Broadcasting UnionÕs long running Caribscope and for BanyanÕs Caribbean
Eye.
This magazine is the first Caribbean co-production for television where each
segment is introduced by its own presenter in their island linking directly to
their counterparts in the other islands. Features from St. Lucia (geothermal
energy exploration), St. Vincent (the history of the Black Caribs), Dominica
(Mountain Chicken), Montserrat (Sea-island Cotton), Antigua (Calypsonian and
Restaurateur, Short Shirt) and St. Kitts (traditional acrobatic players).
ASTOR JOHNSON: REFLECTIONS ON THE DANCE
One hour documentary/dance- 1983
A
documentary on Trinidad & Tobago's most exciting and original dance company
and its choreographer/artistic director, the late Astor Johnson. The programme features seven dance items
interspersed with interviews with Astor Johnson and some of his dancers. An
exciting and moving tribute to a landmark of Caribbean dance.
GOING FOREIGN
Half hour drama/documentary - 1983
Joanne
Kilgour, John Isaacs and Natalie Rogers, three talented performers who have
worked with Banyan for many years and have now completed training in New York's
Julliard School and New York University, dance, role play, discuss and perform
one afternoon/evening expressing what they feel about having to go abroad
("Foreign") to study; what life means and how it changes their
perception of home. Throughout it all they examine their careers in Trinidad
& Tobago, and their influence on their present and future achievements.
Hilarious, touching, serious and, above all, entertaining tribute to youth and
to Caribbean talent.
STORYTELLING
Half hour - 1984
A group
of actors/musicians visit a school for the handicapped and provide Christmas
entertainment through music and stories.
SOCA IN SHE SAMBA
David Rudder in Bahia
One hour documentary - 1987
1986
Calypso monarch, Young King and road march champion, David Rudder, travels to Bahia in Brazil in search of the
"Bahia Gyal" the subject of his winning road march. The programme
examines African roots and traditions shared by Brazilians, Trinidadians and
Tobagonians and most New World people.
MUSICAL EPIDEMIC
Four part half hour series - 1986
Comprised
mainly of performance in calypso 'tents' and in 'fetes' at the height of the
Carnival season, these programmes look at calypso and calypso music today.
Features calypsonians Mighty Sparrow, Gypsy, Brigo, David Rudder, Bally,
Singing Sandra, and many more as well as the top calypso bands in the world,
Charlie's Roots, Sound Revolution, Byron Lee etc.
Musical
epidemic remains the most exciting series on calypso music made to date.
RAMLEELA
Episodes from the Holy Ramayana as enacted by
the villagers of Dow Village, California.
Five part half hour community drama - 1987
This ancient
community drama has been played out over the past 116 years in Dow Village in Central Trinidad. Every year before the Divali
festival, the beloved characters from the Hindu Holy Ramayana come to life as
their story is told with colourful pageantry, drama and humour by and before
the villagers of Dow village in a unique display of true community
action.
CROSSING OVER
One hour musical documentary - 1988
Trinidadian
calypso musician, Lancelot Layne, visits Ghana
in Africa, the land of his ancestors, for the first time. Together with
Ghanaian highlife musician Koo Nimo, they explore the roots of Highlife.
The
rhythms of the people, of Koo Nimo and his musicians, the music, the markets,
brass bands and masqueraders set up reverberations for the Trinidadian that
reach far back into his New World experience. This segment is directed by
Trinidadian Christopher Laird.
When Koo Nimo visits Lance in Trinidad to experience the music of
Trinidad and particularly the Calypso, he meets the legendary Lord Kitchener,
Grand master of the Calypso, is welcomed by practitioners of the ancient West
African Orisha religion, plays with the world's greatest steelpan player and
explores the influence of East Indian music on modern Trinidadian music. This
segment is directed by Ghanaian Nii Bampoe Ado.
In a
unique South-South co-production, Crossing Over begins to bridge
a gap of history between Africa and the
Caribbean which has never before been explored by television. It was
awarded Best Documentary in the National Media Awards for Excellence in
Trinidad in 1989 and Best Documentary and Best Environmental Documentary at Images
Caraibes, Second Caribbean Film Festival in Martinique
in 1990. It has been selected for showing at numerous film festivals including
the INPUT festival in Stockholm in 1989, the Tam Tam festival in Rome 1989, the
Rienna Festival in Paris 1992.
God Give Us the Talent - The
hucksters of Dominica
20
minute Documentary - 1989
The Hucksters of
Dominica are followed from Dominica to
Guadeloupe as they ply their trade and tell their stories. This film documents
an important economic sector of Caribbean life while attesting to the
creativity, resilience and determination of the regionÕs women.
santimanitay - A
Mas by Minshall
23
minutes MasÕ
The work of
internationally recognised Carnival Artist, Peter
Minshall, has never been captured in quite as awe-inspiring completeness as
this video version of a full length MasÕ performance in the National Stadium of
Trinidad & Tobago on Carnival Monday night in 1989. In this spectacular
film can be seen the roots of MinshallÕs subsequent triumphs at the opening
ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Barcelona and Atlanta.
(Produced with Peter Minshall)
GAYELLE
Half hour weekly cultural magazine series - 1985
- 1992.
Over 300
episodes of the most innovative and exciting cultural television. Gayelle has
been acclaimed at many international festivals and showings, it has served as a
model for the creation of similar productions in the Caribbean, Central America and Canada and is used in
television training institutes in the U.S. as an example of how exciting
television can be made with simple resources. Without doubt the most exciting
series to come out of the Anglophone Caribbean. Gayelle is a nation's complete
television programming in half an hour.
CARIBBEAN EYE
13
half hour documentaries on Caribbean Culture - 1992
Presented
by veteran Caribbean broadcaster, Ken Corsbie, Caribbean
Eye
represents a pioneering effort in regional television. It is the first
documentary series about the Caribbean and it is
made by the Caribbean. Thirteen areas of regional culture are surveyed from a
Caribbean perspective:
Community Celebrations (other Caribbean festivals)
The
Caribbean is a meeting place of all the worldÕs cultures. Festivals create and
sustain a sense of community. This programme looks at some of the folk
festivals of the region (other than carnivals):_ the Hindu festival of Phagwa in Trinidad & Guyana; the La Rose & La
Marguerite flowers festivals in St. Lucia; the Johnkunnu of Jamaica, Belize and
Bahamas; Masquerade in Guyana and St. Kitts and the ShiÕite festival of Hosein in Trinidad &
Jamaica.
Indigenous Survivors
Although
the indigenous population of the region was decimated by the Europeans, many survived.
This programme looks at these survivors from Guyana,
Trinidad, St. Vincent, Dominica and Belize, and examines the movements they are
making towards exchange, co-operation and united action.
Musique Antillean
French caribbean musical tradition has heavily influenced the
calypso and other folk music in the region. Recently, ÔcadanceÕ and ÔZoukÕ have proven themselves
internationally successful musical forms. This programme is linked in
Martinique and surveys the roots and current forms of this type of music.
Pan Caribbean
One
of the only acoustic musical instruments invented in the last century is the
steelpan of Trinidad & Tobago. The spread of this instrument in the popular
culture of the other islands of the region has made the instrument almost synonymous
with the Caribbean. Pan Caribbean looks at this
phenomenon and the use of the steelpan in the popular, jazz and classical music
of the rest of the world.
Dramatic Actions
Drama
pre-history in folk festivals is followed through the formal theatre of
playwright and entertainer to popular theatre for social action. Examples from
the entire region are used in this brief but entirely unique survey of Caribbean drama.
Talk and More Talk
Much
of Caribbean culture is oral if not aural. This programme looks at oral
ÔliteratureÕ and the role of talk in the region and features many of the CaribbeanÕs best oral performers and ÔcomposersÕ: Louise
Bennett, Paul Keens-Douglas, Edward Brathwaite, Michael Smith, Mutabaruka,
Jeannette Layne-Clarke, Bruce St. John, Dennis ÔSprangalangÕ Hall.
Independent Voices
Five
Caribbean writers whose works are manifestos for Caribbean independence are featured in this programme: CLR
James of Trinidad, Martin Carter of Guyana, VS Reid of Jamaica, Nicolas Guillen
of Cuba, Aime C_saire of Martinique.
Women in Action
Women
have always been the prime movers in the Ôinformal economyÕ of the region.
This programme looks in at some projects centred on women and work in Dominica,
Jamaica and Guyana. The show is co-hosted by Vincentian Earlene Horne - mother,
farmer and Secretary of the St. Vincent farmersÕ Union - and follows her
through a busy day.
Caribbean Carnivals
This programme is linked from the streets of TrinidadÕs Carnival and
visits carnivals in all the other Caribbean islands, looking at their unique
forms and examining their shared role which is essentially the liberation of
the spirit.
Visionaries
This production looks at four visual artists who work on a large scale:
intuitive sculptor and painter Philip Moore of
Guyana, monumental sculptor Alvin Marriott of Jamaica and masÕ artist Peter
Minshall of Trinidad. The programme is co-hosted by the ground-breaking St.
Lucian muralist, Dunstan St. Omer.
Games we Play
Caribbean
children, like children the world over, grow up singing and playing games which
shape the attitudes and expectations of our roles in later life. This programme
looks at these as well as the adult games of draughts in Barbados, dominoes in Dominica, All Fours in Trinidad, Warri
in Antigua, and of course, cricket. It questions the low involvement of women
in these games and looks at the way this is changing.
Soca - Soul to Sale
Soca
music is the latest version of the calypso to impact on international markets.
This programme traces its history and the many forms it takes in the region
from Ras Shorty I and CharlieÕs Roots of Trinidad, through
GuyanaÕs Eddie Grant, AntiguaÕs Burning Flames, MontserratÕs Arrow and many
others.
Film Caribbean
Except
for Cuba, there has been very limited film
production in the Caribbean. Fortunately, this is changing, and Film Caribbean
looks at some of the factors which influence regional production, reviewing
some of the best of what has been done, and is being done, and what the future
holds for Caribbean film-making. Located at the Images Caraibes, Caribbean Film
Festival in Martinique, Film Caribbean
interviews film makers from the Dutch, French, Spanish and English speaking
Caribbean and show excerpts from their films. This is the only video programme
available on this subject to date.
The series won the award for Best Series from the Caribbean Publishers and Broadcasting Association and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union. It was awarded a special prize by the Caribbean Community for its role in the Caribbean Integration Movement.
Kali Worship in Trinidad &
Tobago
27 minutes Documentary 1991
Trinidad & Tobago is one of the few places in the New World where worship of the Hindu Goddess, Kali, is so accessible. Involving the legendary ÔFire-passÕ (walking over a pit of glowing coals) ceremony, possession rituals and Healing ceremonies, in this documentary the presenter and the camera become players and participants as this dramatic and fascinating devotion to one of the most ancient of deities plays out in the context of one of the most multi-cultural societies in the world.
LATE NIGHT LIME
Thirteen one hour programmes - 1990
A Caribbean late night talk show featuring two guests, including
at least one musician. Each programme also features a six minute monologue by
Trinidad's premier stand-up comic/commentator, Dennis 'Sprangalang' Hall. The
series is hosted by Tony Hall.
- Holly Betaudier (popular broadcaster) & Daisy Voisin (Queen of parang music). Dennis Hall on 'Stickfighting in schools'
- Carlisle Chang (painter) & Andre Tanker (innovative folk/pop musician). Dennis hall on 'Language and Computers'
- Boscoe Holder (painter & dancer) & Geraldine Connor (musician). Dennis Hall on 'Code of Ethics'.
- Lennox Pierre (trade union lawyer & activist) & The Lord Pretender (veteran calypsonian & master of extemporaneous singing). Dennis Hall on 'Changes in Local Diet'
- Gordon Rohlehr (authority on calypso) & David Rudder (innovative young calypsonian). Dennis Hall on 'Have you ever had one of those days?'
- Fitzroy Coleman (innovative calypso guitarist) & Clive Zanda (exponent of calypso jazz). Dennis Hall on 'The Confusions of Life'.
- Lord Kitchener (veteran calypsonian) & Peter Pitts (calypso commentator and performer). Dennis Hall on 'Confusion in Food Names'.
- Byron Lee (band leader & impresario) & Ras Shorty I (calypsonian and originator of Soca music). Dennis Hall on 'Upholding the Law'.
- Merle Hodge (novelist & feminist) & Drupatie Ramgooni calypso/chutney singer). Dennis Hall on 'Confusing Directions'.
- Hans Hanoomansingh (broadcaster & cultural activist) & Narsaloo Ramaya (musician). Dennis Hall on 'Taxi Drivers'.
- Pat Bishop (musician & painter) & Ray Holman (steelpan composer and soloist). Dennis Hall on 'Women's Day'.
- Andrew Bedeau (master drummer) & Jah Jah Oga Onilu (young master drummer). Dennis Hall on 'The cycle of Nature and The Three Booms'.
- Peter Minshall (carnival/mas' artist) & Theresa Montano ( old mas' player). Dennis Hall on 'Parenting'.
- The Roaring Lion (One of the greatest Calypsonians of the 20th century)
THE DISH RAN AWAY WITH THE SPOON
One hour - 1992
Produced as part of the BBC/TVE Developing World series, Dish is a lively and
entertaining sweep through the Caribbean looking
at the effect of US television programming on local culture. Hosted by Gayelle
hosts, Tony Hall and Errol Sitahal, Dish visits St. Lucia, Cuba and Miami. Winner of Best Video Documentary
and Best Film on the Environment at Images Caraibes_ Third Caribbean
Film festival 1992 and Best Public Affairs Documentary at Prized Pieces, 13th Annual
International Video and Film Festival of the National Black Programmers
Consortium, Maryland, USA 1993
Sargasso
40
minute drama - 1994
Highlights of Jean RhysÕs classic novel Wide Sargasso Sea _dramatised with a
preface about the writerÕs life and work. Written and directed by Dr. Michael Gilkes. At last a Caribbean treatment of this
important novel.
(Produced for The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill)
womwrite.jpg
Caribbean Women Writers
46
minutes Documentary
Centred around the
First Conference of Caribbean Women Writers held in Wellesley College, Boston, this entertaining and thought
provoking programme looks at the most exciting development in Caribbean
literature since the fifties, women writers. Featuring readings and discussion
by the major figures of Caribbean literature by women, it is the only
television document of its kind in the world.
(Produced for Wellesley College, Boston)
ONE CARIBBEAN
The first assembly of Caribbean peoples
24 minutes - 1995
A
spirited and inspiring documentary covering the first assembly of Caribbean peoples in Trinidad in 1994. Features contemporary
and traditional Caribbean music from the cultural evening held during the Assembly.
Signals the beginnings of the movement for Civil Society in the region.
SMELL THE EARTH-TASTE THE WATER
Towards the Development of a National
Conservation Strategy
24 minutes - 1995
A documentary
which looks at two very different fishing communities in Trinidad and examines, through popular drama their ecological
problems and their solutions.
Open A Door - CARNIVAL
Five minute drama for children - 1995
Music,
disguise, strangers who become friends. A young boy opens his front door
dressed as a pirate and launches into an adventure. No dialogue, just music and
effects.
THE MUSIC OF THE STREET
10 minute drama/storytelling for children -
1995
A young
boy growing up with his father away at sea finds his talent and fascination for
music gets him into trouble in the multicultural environment of St. James, Port of Spain, Trinidad. An adventure in many
cultures and traditions.
WALK LIKE A DRAGON
15 minute drama - 1997
Talented young
pannist Smallman finds himself in jail on a murder charge. Pan pioneer, Mannie,
visits him to try to help him. A pilot for a feature film set around the
history of the steelband, Walk Like A Dragon is an intriguing drama replete
with extraordinary images and useful to stimulate discussion on the history of
the national instrument of Trinidad & Tobago
ATIBA WILLIAMS - Pan Prodigy
7 minute docudrama 2000
9 year
old Atiba Williams is the youngest person ever
to arrange for a steelband at_ the premier steelband competition, Panorama.
This film looks at a day in his life, from home to school to rehearsal to
performance.
bigRiver 1999
One hour documentary - 2000
22 International visual artists come together for a two week workshop in the fishing village of Grande Riviere, Trinidad & Tobago on a beach where hundreds of the largest turtles in the world come to nest every night. The interaction between the artists, the community and the environment results in the creation of amazing installations and stimulating work which has left an indelible mark both on the community and the artists themselves. An fascinating and provoking document told by the participants themselves.
36 minute documentary - 2001
Legendary Ghanaian High Life guitarist, Koo Nimo (Daniel Amponsah)
speaks to Christopher Laird about his life and music intercut with numerous
performances of his songs (with English subtitles) at various venues in Ghana
as well as a musical meeting with the late, great Lord Kitchener, ÔGrandmasterÕ
of calypso, and jamming with Len ÔBoogsieÕ Sharpe, perhaps the worldÕs greatest steelpan virtuoso.
MUSIC VIDEOS
Banyan
has a large collection of Music Videos from Trinidad & Tobago including a
comprehensive collection of the videos of David
Rudder.