-now registered as a legal entity

THIS year’s filmmakers’ workshop by local filmmaker Rae Wiltshire has seen almost double the number of participants to the one he conducted last year, a testament to the fact that the Georgetown Film Festival (GFF) has been on a continuous path to progress.

Last year, due to a grant received from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport – the Creatives Industry Grant – Wiltshire was able to access funds to buy equipment and host a workshop where he trained filmmakers in different areas, like sound, lighting, writing, editing and so forth.

Some 18 persons participated last year, but this year has seen almost double that number of persons who registered for the workshop. It also saw more lecturers and persons assisting with the sessions, as opposed to Wiltshire alone conducting all.

“So the workshop in itself increased just from that one grant last year,” Nickose Layne, who works closely with GFF told Buzz this week. Even as they didn’t manage to get the ministry grant this year again, they were able to secure support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Herdmanston Lodge, where the workshop was kept this year.

“Had we done the workshop alone, that would have been seen as a success to us because we doubled the participants, thereby doubling the number of people who have some amount of training in filmmaking,” Layne expressed.

For this year alone, they were able to shoot four different short films which emanated from the workshop last year: Into the Room – directed by Wiltshire; Old Toy Train – written and directed by Kevin Garbaran and Wiltshire; The Fix – written by Jamohl Alexander and directed by Wiltshire; and Lamaha Lily – written and directed by Layne.

A highlight of this year has also been when the GFF was registered as its own entity; a board was established and it’s now a legal entity in Guyana.

Meanwhile, the workshop recently produced very engaging sessions on a number of topics. There were also round table discussions where multiple issues, such as the nuances of diversity, inclusivity, and equity in filmmaking, perspectives of minorities and women in creative spaces, were dealt with.

“We were pleased to host Ms. Lorena Solorzano Salazar, IDB Country Representative…where she shared her unique experiences and chatted with workshop participants. Special thanks to the Inter-American Development Bank for their support in this year’s workshops,” GFF said in a social media post.