Trinidad

One of my students from my short-lived Plympton's School of Animation, said that he had returned from the Animae Caribe Festival and had a ball-- So I suggested to him to mention my name next year as a possible participant. Well, they accepted my offer and last week I hopped on a plane to visit the animation festival in Trinidad and Tobago (the origin of the word tobacco.)

The rumor was that everyone in Trinidad (the home of Calypso) is very nice, and that certainly was the case. Camille, who is the director of the festival, made sure I had a great time.

At the packed house for my master class, I met one of the participants in my Guard Dog Global Jam – a “jammer”, Ansar Sattar. And he presented the world premiere of his section, which went over very well.

Another of the participants was the great cartoonist and animator, Kyle Baker. We spent a lot of time together roaming the charming, gingerbread homed streets. Then on Sunday, we took a trip to the lovely Maracas beach for a little R&R. We feasted on a Trinidad specialty, “Bake and Shark”, a delicious fish sandwich.

The festival itself concentrated on Caribbean and regional films although I did see a few films from the US and Europe. The quality wasn't the highest, but because there was such a large group of young animation students I believe that in a few years the quality will certainly improve. So if you're looking to escape the cold North American winter, definitely check out the Animae Caribe Festival – you'll love it.