University of the Southern Caribbean Hosts Their First Film Festival
12 August 2024 |
The territory-wide Caribbean Union Youth Congress was the stage upon which the first-ever film festival for the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) played out. Over 500 young Adventists flooded Port of Spain, Trinidad, to attend one day of film screenings and workshops hosted by industry professionals. Named “Blessed,” the film festival featured five shorts from five production teams from varying sectors of the Caribbean Union based on the theme “Beatitudes of Jesus.” Young people submitted films from four minutes to 16 minutes while being guided in their craft by communications specialists such as Lizbeth Elejalde, programming director of Hope Channel Inter-America; Kivonne Ramsawak, a media professional from the East Caribbean Conference; and Dwyane A. Cheddar, director of Oakwood University Broadcasting Network (OUBN) and associate professor of Communication.
The first-place winner of the festival was “The Chair,” directed and written by Nikilli Gumbs from North Caribbean Conference. Second place went to “Saved for His Kingdom” by the Suriname Mission, and “The Be Attitude,” created by the South Leeward Conference, took third. The festival provided an opportunity for like-minded creatives to collect and connect, building a larger dialogue surrounding using the arts for the kingdom.
Using cinema as evangelism is a necessary tool. Not only this, but the event organizers wanted to highlight the importance of using creative skills for a higher calling, creating a space for innovative minds to diversify their approach to ministry. Though the film festival was not the main event of the youth congress, it took the spotlight. According to Royston Philbert, communication director of the Caribbean Union and main organizer of the festival, in an interview for the event, “We saw the young congress as the perfect place to motivate and inspire the next generation with the goal of nurturing their Christian craft and developing their spiritual life.”
By harnessing the power of storytelling, the Caribbean Union hopes to invest more time in media production training. This first step hopes to lay the groundwork for further film festivals and broader outreach for those who have been trying to utilize their creative abilities for the kingdom.
