For fans of documentary films, the Cayman Documentary Festival – which ran from 16-21 March – was a excellent opportunity to watch award-winning productions on the big screen.
Held in Camana Bay Cinema, most of the evenings included a post-film panel with members discussing the subject matter of what had just been viewed, as well as Q&A sessions with audiences.
Proceeds from entry fees were donated to a number of local charities, including the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre.
Beyond internationally-recognised features such as ‘I am Greta’, ‘Tina’ and ‘Summer of Soul’ (which won Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars on 27 March), there were some locally-produced pieces on the schedule, such as ‘The Great Disconnect’ and shorts ‘Living on the Margins’ (Compass Media) and ‘Island Jobs: From Classrooms to Careers’ (Cayman Current).
James Whittaker and Alvaro Serey of Compass Media worked with Acts of Random Kindness to create ‘Living on the Margins’.
“It was an honour to be part of the festival and to share our work with a wider audience,” Whittaker said. “We hope it makes a small difference and the festival has inspired us to start thinking about other topics we could cover as similar documentary shorts.”
Creative director of the festival, Ana Russell-Omaljev, suggested that Cayman has incredible resources and it deserves better cultural programming in order that future generations have wider access to thought-provoking ideas and connect to modern trends in creative industries.
“We hope that CDF can raise awareness of important topics such as domestic abuse, as highlighted in ‘Tina’, the film about Tina Turner which CDF screened, and as further explored in the post-screening panel discussion with the Cayman Crisis Centre.”
After the success of the inaugural festival, organisers are already making plans for 2023.
For more information, visit the CDF Facebook page or the Cayman Film Society website.
Related Videos
