Not all relationships between fathers and daughters are made in heaven or sugar n spice. Some can be rather tempestuous and estranged. The relationship between Mariel Brown and her late father, acclaimed writer Wayne Brown, is the germ that has inspired her film Unfinished Sentences.
The Trinidad filmmaker has been accepted to the IFF Panama’s Works in Progress section called Primera Mirada (First Look), with Unfinished Sentences.
This achievement is not just a milestone in Brown’s career but it is a further demonstration of the export potential for T&T films, not to mention an enhancement of the potential for the sales and distribution of locally made films.
A resident of Port-of-Spain, Brown said: “The film is about me and dad. Daddy died in 2009 and we had a very a tumultuous relationship but there was very much love for each other. When he died I had this very weird experience, akin to a nervous breakdown.
“I was really surprised how I fell apart because I am a fairly strong, brave person. I was dealing with profound attacks of anxiety and kept looking for daddy after his passing, but he just wasn’t there. Unfortunately I couldn’t call him to mind.
“All I felt was a kind of dark feeling of loss which was absolutely terrifying. Not only was he my father but he was probably also the most influential person in my life.”
About the genesis of Unfinished Sentences, Brown said: “I began developing this film in 2010, partly because I felt that I had to. I started doing interviews, primarily because I had to find somewhere to put the grief.
“So over the course of the ensuing three years, I just did interviews periodically and began writing a script. The film I initially had planned is very different to the film I eventually made. Initially I was looking at a film that would be far more biographical but as I worked on developing the idea and worked more on the script I realised that what I wanted to do was tell the story of a relationship—a father-daughter relationship—my relationship with daddy.”
Brown says she is over the moon with excitement about Unfinished Sentences being selected to the IFF Panama’s Works in Progress.
“I am beyond excited,” she said this week.
“I have an amazing crew and collaborators and I have been able to raise a lot of the budget here in Trinidad. The fund-raising has been incredibly difficult though. This has been a four year quest.
“And, when you add that the film industry is truly international you need to take your film out into the world.
“Primera Mirada is an international works in progress competition which got 48 films from around the Caribbean and Latin America. They choose four.
“What happens next is that I go to Panama with Unfinished Sentences and I present the film to private screening comprising sales agents, distributors and industry specialists and then they will give feedback. Not only do you get feedback from the screening panel but you are actually competing against three other films.
“The winning film is then taken to the Cannes Festival. Really, it’s a win win situation as whether I win the competition or not I would have the opportunity to meet all these amazing people and get feedback from them. It is also a nice way to increase the visibility of the film.”
Brown thinks that, despite strapped for funds, the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company (FilmTT) is doing a commendable job assisting local, aspiring film makers.
She said: “I think that the FilmTT budget has been slashed and they are trying their best to provide small amounts of support with what little they have.
“I am very grateful for the help I have received and I am incredibly grateful for the rebate that I will be applying for as this government is playing with the idea of revoking the rebate.”
She also believes that the private sector needs to step up to the plate to assist the local film industry.
“I think the private sector has an important role to play, as well as private citizens,” said Brown.
“Republic Bank came on board in the making of Unfinished Sentences very early on and that just gave me such a boost. Sagicor has also been of assistance, as well as the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts and the Office of the Prime Minister.
“I would have liked more private sector involvement and I tried really hard to get this. One of the things I have a big question mark is why couldn’t I also get some funding from the National Lotteries Board. I approached them two or three times with no success. The private sector has a huge role to play in the film-making industry but they can’t always see the benefits their companies will derive from such investment.”
Brown departs on Sunday for Panama.
I began developing this film in 2010, partly because I felt that I had to. I started doing interviews, primarily because I had to find somewhere to put the grief. So over the course of the ensuing three years, I just did interviews periodically and began writing a script. The film I initially had planned is very different to the film I eventually made. Initially I was looking at a film that would be far more biographical but as I worked on developing the idea and worked more on the script I realised that what I wanted to do was tell the a story of a relationship—a father-daughter relationship—my relationship with daddy
Mariel Brown