Film festival’s Carib roots
CARIBBEAT: African Diaspora International Film Festival touts its Caribbean connections
The Caribbean definitely has its place in the 2018 African Diaspora International Film Festival, which features “They Had a Dream” and other film works with connections to the region.
The festival runs through Dec. 9, with screenings at various locations.
The “They Had a Dream” TV miniseries (originally titled “Le Rêve Français”) — about realities of the 1960s French initiative to get residents of the French West Indies to “escape poverty” and find economic relief in Europe — can be seen Sunday 11.15 at 4 p.m. in the Milbank Chapel at Columbia University’s Teachers College, 525 W 120th St.
The festival’s Windrush Program — named for the Windrush immigration movement that brought many Caribbean residents to the United Kingdom — features films such as Barbados-born director Menelik Shabazz’s two offerings: “Time and Judgment,” an extensive look at the African Liberation Movement on the continent and in the Caribbean, with references to Maurice Bishop of Grenada, Walter Rodney of Guyana, Kwame Ture (Stokley Carmichael), Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey of Jamaica; and “The Story of Lover’s Rock, documenting the creation and evolution of the reggae music popular sub genre.
There are 61 films from 40 countries in the festival. For information and a complete lineup of films, visit www.nyadiff.org.
‘Island Girls’ online debut
St. Vincent-born activist and author Rosanne Small-Morgan is teaming up with Queens-born WPIX-TV journalist Mary Murphy to create the Caribbean-focused, New York-based online program “island girls.”
The pilot program debuts on Friday 11.30 before a live audience at Sam’s Caribbean Marketplace in West Hempstead, L.I., at 8 p.m., and can be seen on WPIX11’s Facebook, said Murphy.
“Mary Murphy (PIX11 News) and I have been given the green light to premiere the first online Caribbean talk show here in the city called “Island Girls,” said Small-Morgan.
Their first guest will be Hazell McKenzie — who suffered from depression and “was on the verge of suicide but had a spiritual epiphany” and won a top prize on a Food Network show, according to Murphy.
“The show will celebrate strong women and men, with a special emphasis on individuals from the Caribbean,” Murphy said.
Inspired by her autistic son, Zane, Small-Morgan wrote the book “Situation Zane — Autism … Who Knew?” to help families affected by autism.
Luxury resort’s discount
With the holiday gift-giving season — and the peak travel times — fast approaching, it is fitting that the Sailrock Resort in South Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands is offering special discounted rates.
Sailrock is offering a three-night minimum length of stay and includes complimentary daily breakfast and 50 percent off all suite categories as part of a big Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale.
To take advantage of the offer, travel must be booked by Monday for travel between now and Dec. 21, 2019. It also includes a round-trip flights between Providenciales and South Caicos on InterCaribbean Airways and ground transfers to and from the resort.
Kashmie Ali, managing director of the luxury Sailrock Resort, was in New York recently singing the praises of the five-star eco-friendly, low-density property, which opened in January 2017, and features 28 suites and villas and the Great House, “spread over 52 hilltop and oceanfront acres.”
Rates for the Sailrock Resort Black Friday/Cyber Monday offer start at $399 per night and apply to new bookings only. Blackout travel dates are Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, 2019.
For more information, visit www.sailrockresort.com or www.sailrockliving.com.
Birding Festival debut
The recent Belize Birding Festival — starring beautiful nation and close to 590 resident and migratory birds — really took off, and the preparation for next year’s event is already underway.
Held in October in Belmopan, Belize, the inaugural event — presented by the Belize Tourism Industry Association in partnership with the Belize Hotel Association, Belize Audubon Society, and the Belize Tourism Board — had workshops, vendors’ displays and bird-watching tours.
“The BTIA is proud to have been one of the leading organizers of the first annual Belize Birding Festival, said executive director, John Burgos.
“We are definitely looking forward to planning for the second annual Belize Birding Festival to be hosted in October 2019, which will see greater participation of international birders wanting to bird-watch in Belize.”
For festival information, visit www.belizebirdingfestival.bz
