Bahamas International Film Festival returns with special guest Morgan Freeman

By CARA HUNT | Tribune Features Writer | cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas International Film Festival is returning to its traditional live, inperson format following a COVID hiatus with a new date and legendary Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman scheduled to be in attendance for “cinema in paradise”.

BIFF founder Leslie Vanderpool told Tribune Weekend that the festival has made some significant changes following the pandemic, including the new May 3-7 dates.

“We made the decision to move the festival date from December, when it has always been held, to May,” she said.

“We just found that there were too many other things happening with the holidays at the end of the year and we really wanted to be sure that we had a time where we could accommodate everyone who want to attend. And a lot of people have said that the new time frame works a lot better for their schedule. So I think we have found a nice home for the festival in the beginning of May.”

Leslie said she hopes the festival will receive a small boost from tourists, as the month of May is usually the time when visitor numbers start increasing in the Bahamas.

May is also the month that the Cannes Film Festival takes place in France, but Leslie is hoping that festival enthusiasts will make plans to attend both.

“They can come here and then hop over to Cannes; from one Riviera to the next,” she said.

Leslie said it’s been exciting to get back into the organising the festival, especially as they have been able to revert back to an in-person event following the virtual post-pandemic version.

“We did a virtual event, but I have to say I think it was difficult for our local audience to engage with the concept of logging into a portal to watch the films,” she said.

However, for this year, she added, organisers are ready to go and excited about the event.

“The planning is the easy part,” she said. “We have a great staff and team of volunteers and we are looking forward to it. We are overjoyed to be back with an in-person film festival. We look forward to bringing Hollywood and the who’s who of cinema for everyone to meet. Film is a tapestry of the life lived and the Bahamas International Film Festival will continue to showcase first-rate films from the Bahamas and around the globe from all genres and all voices.”

Of course, the event’s big draw will be the attendance of Morgan Freeman, who appears in the closing night film, the acclaimed documentary “Sidney”, by director Reginald Hudlin and producers Derik Murray, Anika Poitier and Oprah Winfrey. Historians, film experts and fellow actors, including Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, honour the legendary Sir Sidney and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the centre of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement.

“Sir Sidney’s daughters were very instrumental in organising Mr Freeman’s attendance, as he was a very good friend of Sir Sidney and his family. He is honoured to be receiving The Sidney Poitier Tribute Award,” said Leslie. Unfortunately, Halle Berry and Denzel Washington had scheduling conflicts and will not be able to attend.

A Morgan Freeman retrospective will be screened for free at ECCHO on Saturday, May 6, at 7.30pm. And then on May 7, Mr Freeman will receive his Sir Sidney Poitier at the Atlantis Theatre at 7pm. The festival will include 55 films – a combination of feature length films, shorts and documentaries from a wide array of countries.

“We have combined two years of submissions to finalise the list that will be shown,” Leslie explained. “We had so many people who wanted their work to be included and we always want to provide a platform for new voices.”

The festival will commence on May 3 at the Atlantis Theatre, opening with the film “Rock ’N’ Roll Is Not Dead” by filmmaker Charlie Cepeda, Mauricio Angulo, and the Bahamas’ very own executive producer Edgar Seligman.

For the duration of the festival, films will be screened at both the Atlantis Theatre on Paradise Island and the ECCHO museum at Baha Mar.

The local film community will be well-represented with about a dozen submissions scheduled.

In addition to the films, there will be master classes in acting and directing, as well as workshops for writers and a pitching and producing panel.

BIFF is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing the local community and international visitors with a diverse presentation of films from around the world. In addition to offering films that might not otherwise be released theatrically in the Bahamas, BIFF aims to provide unique cultural experiences, educational programmess, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema.

“BIFF has created a legacy of excellence in presenting the Bahamas as a premier film destination to the international cinematic community. Apart from showcasing 1,000 plus local and international films, we have introduced our culture to more than one million film professionals and enthusiasts from around the world,” said Leslie.

Each successive year, BIFF grows significantly, with a public relations dollar value over $20 million, according to the renowned publicity firm Rogers and Cowan. BIFF has attracted A-list celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Sir Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Grace Jones, Chaz Ebert, Debra Messing, Danny Glover, Heather Graham, Alan Arkin, Roger Corman, Daryl Hannah, Sophie Okonedo, Anna Faris, Naomie Harris, Zoe Kravitz, Lenny Kravitz, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Roger Guenveur Smith, Lee Daniels, Rae Dawn Chong, Michael K Williams, and many more.

The films competing at BIFF will be in the festival’s four competitive categories:

Spirit of Freedom (Narrative), Spirit of Freedom (Documentary), New Visions and Short Films.

For the full schedule of films and other activities, visit the website www.bintlfilmfest.com.

5

TARGET

Best described as a number crossword, the task in Kakuro is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Kakuro increases from Monday to Sunday.

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Cryptic Puzzle

Across

1 Unsuspected faults that weaken one’s standing (4,2,4)

6 Record finish of race (4)

10 Pest possibly slain in the garden (5)

11 It gives time for music (9)

12 Express dissatisfaction with a break in service (8)

13 It’s not clear it’s changing in my case (5)

15 Slipped away unusually pleased (7)

17 Not a subject put on in advance (7)

19 To look one’s years requires nobility (7)

21 Intervenes in measure to confront crime (5,2)

22 Teacher’s pet almost (5)

24 One way of saying one doesn’t like it? (8)

27 Not a protracted romance? (9)

28 Spin a yarn (5)

29 Shocking swimmers (4)

30 It makes a topping sweet (5,5)

Down

1 Refuse to eat quickly (4)

2 Vanish with girl quietly so to speak (9)

3 Deck or dock (5)

4 Order the ambitious officer hopes to get (7)

5 Not many can provide a word of opposite meaning (7)

7 Little matters as Tom found out (5)

8 Extremely slender for example; that’s about all (10)

9 A hundred men come in prepared to start (8)

14 A sober habit (10)

16 Painless treatment for animals (8)

18 Engaged in renovation or doing nothing about it (9)

20 A commodity extensively used (7)

21 She has visited an unlicensed drinking establishment (7)

23 Joiner’s instrument giving angles that aren’t right (5)

25 Grounds worth seeing one hears (5)

26 Highlight in the theatrical world (4)

Across

1 Find by chance (4,6)

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Across: 1 General, 5 Crash, 8 Full-blown, 9 Owl, 10 Etch, 12 Dividend, 14 Rumpus, 15 Verify, 17 To a fault, 18 Left, 21 Art, 22 Old stager, 24 Terse, 25 Engaged.

Down: 1 Gaffe, 2 Nil, 3 Robe, 4 Look-in, 5 Consider, 6 At one time, 7 Holiday, 11 Come after, 13 Cut above, 14 Retract, 16 Pledge, 19 Tired, 20 Stag, 23 Gag.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution

Across: 1 Attuned, 5 Moses, 8 Important, 9 Age, 10 Eked, 12 Strike up, 14 Ration, 15 Bazaar, 17 Pomander, 18 Nemo, 21 Ego, 22 On the mend, 24 Sweet, 25 Rooster.

Down: 1 Alice, 2 Tip, 3 Nero, 4 Dearth, 5 Mythical, 6 Stage name, 7 Sleeper, 11 Extempore, 13 Point out, 14 Repress, 16 Debtor, 19 Order, 20 Veto, 23 Eat.

Easy Puzzle

Down

1 Instance (4)

6 Make a mistake (4)

10 Brushwood (5)

11 An alien (9)

12 Without reservation (8)

13 Removal of undesirable members (5)

15 Embodiment (7)

17 Holder of unorthodox opinion (7)

19 Combat aircraft (7)

21 Small spot (7)

22 Ingenuous (5)

24 Superficially improving (8)

27 Paying (9)

28 Malicious burning (5)

29 Sinister (4)

30 Careful watch for changes (7,3)

2 Subdued vocal dissent (9)

3 Yellowish fossil resin (5)

4 Asylum-seeker (7)

5 Continuous expanse (7)

7 Possessor (5)

8 Unconvincing (3-7)

9 Scatter in all directions (8)

14 Excessively modern (10)

16 During a journey (2,3,3)

18 Disagree (4,5)

20 Lean backwards (7)

21 Be inclined to think (7)

23 Bring upon oneself (5)

25 To dodge (5)

26 As soon as (4)

Y C A S R U A T N

HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here?

In making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. No plurals. Verb forms ending in S permitted’.

TODAY’S TARGET

Yesterday’s Sudoku Answer tomorrow ● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 edition) Call 0907 181 2585 for today’s Target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. targEt thE alphapuzzl flaShback aback back backlash black cabal calf casbah cash cask chalk clash FLASHBACK hack halfback lack sack scab shack slack tomorrow

Solution tomorrow A 1 B C D E F G H I J 23456789 10 133222141 3 1 3 1 3 2 1 4 1 1 1 1 x Battleship 4 x Submarine 3 x Destroyer 2 x Cruiser

Yesterday’s Kakuro Answer

All over Instagram and Facebook, you can see gorgeous photos from a bird’s eye view of people paddling, kayaking or even swimming in crystal clear waters.

Drone photography is, of course, to thank for these breathtaking shots from above. Popular tourist destinations like Aruba, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands have been offering their visitors drone photography for the last few years and it’s been a massive hit.

Here in the Bahamas, locals have started a new company, Open Water Tours, to give visitors a similar experience in New Providence.

“We were looking for creative ways to enhance the visitor experience; especially in the Downtown Nassau area where a lot of guests seek new and interesting experiences. Our goal was to give them an opportunity to experience the Bahamas in a unique and innovative way,” said Alex Dean of Open Water Tours.

“We provide our guests with highquality shoots, as well as kayak and paddle board adventures.”

Alex said she believes allure of the turquoise waters of the Bahamas is unmatched and the contrast with the kayaks makes for the most