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DVD copies of Banyan productions may be ordered from Banyan
by email, telephone, fax or regular mail for $75 US plus shipping. Discounts
are available for individual purchasers for domestic use only.

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 it's touchstone, the documentary reveals the many levels of shared experience and expression in the world's 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 Union's long running Caribscope and for Banyan's 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 region's women.

santimanitay - A
Mas by Minshall
23
minutes Mas'
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 Mas' performance in the National Stadium of
Trinidad & Tobago on Carnival Monday night in 1989. In this spectacular
film can be seen the roots of Minshall's 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 world's 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 Shi'ite 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, 'cadance' and 'Zouk' 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
'literature' and the role of talk in the region and features many of the Caribbean's best oral performers and 'composers': Louise
Bennett, Paul Keens-Douglas, Edward Brathwaite, Michael Smith, Mutabaruka,
Jeannette Layne-Clarke, Bruce St. John, Dennis 'Sprangalang' 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 'informal economy' 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 farmers' Union - and follows her
through a busy day.
Caribbean Carnivals
This programme is linked from the streets of Trinidad's 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 mas' 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 Charlie's Roots of Trinidad, through Guyana's Eddie Grant,
Antigua's Burning Flames, Montserrat's 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 'Fire-pass' (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.

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 Rhys's classic novel Wide Sargasso Sea _dramatised with a
preface about the writer's 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, 'Grandmaster'
of calypso, and jamming with Len 'Boogsie' Sharpe, perhaps the world's 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.
OTHER
BANYAN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE

WHO THE C.A.P. FITS...
13 half-hour
episode drama serial - 1977
The stories of four
families interweave in this 'soap-opera' style series which explores Caribbean family life situations and problems.
(Produced for the Family Planning Association of Trinidad & Tobago with
the assistance of the International Planned Parenthood Federation)

MORRAL
12_
half-hour episode drama series - 1979
Twelve stories of
a family demonstrate the Rights of the Child as laid down by the United
Nations.
(Produced for the Ministry of Community development of Trinidad &
Tobago)

THROW
AWAY THE PACK
30
minute drama - 1978
A satirical look
at the forces behind the an attempt by the tobacco industry to lure young
people into smoking.
(Produced for the Trinidad & Tobago Cancer Society)

A FLORAL FANTASY
Half
Hour Documentary -_ 1992
A colourful and
sensuous look at the growing and use of Heliconias in Trinidad & Tobago
(Produced for Magnolia Productions, UK)

Village to best Village
One
Hour Documentary_ - 1980
Prize winning
documentary on the Prime Minister's best Village Trophy Competition which
follows three villages on their stirring and hard fought journey from the their
village to the grand finals at the Queen's Park savannah.
(Produced for the Ministry of Community Development - Trinidad & Tobago)

FootprintS
10
five minute features - 1992
Ten of the Caribbean's leading cultural figures are featured in these vignettes:
Beryl McBurnie - Choreographer, Trinidad
Phillip Moore - Visual Artist - Guyana
Felix De Rooy - Film Director - Curacao
Derek Walcott - Poet - St. Lucia
Arrow - Soca Artist - Montserrat
Aime Cesaire - Poet - Martinique
Ophelia - Singer - Dominica
Nicholas Guillen - Poet, Cuba
George Lamming - Novelist, Barbados
hurricane construction programme
21
Minutes, Public Information - 1993
An entertaining and informative treatment of a vital subject - the construction of housing resistant to hurricanes.

getting back on your feet
12
Minutes, Public Information - 1993
Survival and
rebuilding after a Hurricane

Fight cancer, don't fear it
15
minute Documentary - 1982
Four people with
Cancer talk of their experiences and tell how they have fought the dreaded.
Inspiring and moving.

breast self examination - A
healthy Habit
9
minutes, Public Information - 1982
A practical guide
to Breast Self Examination.

Prelude to Finale
Half
Hour Documentary - 1988
Three women
arrangers are followed as they rehearse and put their steelbands through their
paces for the biennial Pan is Beautiful festival. One of them is in winners
row but for all of them it is a triumph for women and for the steelband.
(Produced for JEL Productions)

Cavalleria Rusticana
67
minute_ Opera - 1982
A full length
Opera lushly presented and performed.
(Produced for the Opera Society of Trinidad & Tobago)

triumphs
Five_
five minute vignettes of Women in the Caribbean - 1992

dwight, world class, naturally good
Half
Hour documentary - 1992
This programme
looks at the Tobagonian footballer, Dwight York after
his first year with Aston Villa. Shot in England and in Tobago it portrays a
Caribbean sportsman of international quality who went on to lead his team to
its first FA Cup with a record number of goals scored.
(Produced with the Caribbean Development Company)

Surviving Rape
1
Hour Public Information - 1988
An intense public
discussion of the issues surrounding rape, illustrated_ with drama.
(Produced for Rape Crisis Centre of Trinidad & Tobago)

ENTRY DENIED
21
Minutes 1997
A young Jamaican footballer, from the 'ghetto' areas of Kingston, is refused a visa to take up a scholarship at a university in the US. Dramatic events and coincidences conspire to take the story to an alternate conclusion.
Directed by Christopher Browne and produced by Banyan.

LIVE AND LET LIVE
25
Minutes 2003
A lively and touching documentary on a verse and song contest in Trinidad and Tobago schools to reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS.
Made by Banyan for
the Embassy of the United States of America.

CONCERT IN THE RAINFORST
25
Minutes 2002
In November 2000, British
explorer, John Blashford Snell, wishing to fulfill the desire of the Waiwai
people for a keyboard instrument, transported a grand piano to their village
deep in the rainforest of Guyana.
Since then, the piano has remained largely unused in a corner of the village
church.
In May 2002, Guyanese filmmaker
and cultural activist, Michael Gilkes, led a team including Guyanese
international concert pianist, Ray Luck, piano technician, Remington Ally, and
the Banyan crew to join the Waiwai in a concert of song and music.
With an
engaging style that reflects the quiet observant reserve of the Waiwai, CONCERT
IN THE RAINFOREST documents this opportunity grasped by fellow Guyanese to
rehabilitate the instrument and integrate it more usefully into the musical
life of the Waiwai.
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
Banyan
has the most extensive cultural video archive in the southern Caribbean.
Extensive
material exists in Dance, Drama, Music, Poetry, Visual Arts, Festivals and exhaustive
interviews with Caribbean luminaries such as
C.L.R. James, Derek Walcott, Slade Hopkinson, Lord Melody, Fitzroy Coleman, Pat
Castagne, Ken Morris, Dionne Brand, Marc Matthews, Errol Jones, Carlisle Chang,
James Boodhoo, Sterling Betancourt, Colin Laird, Boscoe Holder, Ken Corsbie,
Henry Muttoo and many others.
A Summary of the Archive is available from
Banyan.