CSIFF - Chat with Magaly Colimon

Yé Moun La! The Conch Shell International Film Festival was held online May 21 - 23 2021. Karukerament was a media partner and I even moderated a panel on Caribbean Films & Language: strategies to highlight authentic narratives in a multilingual setting. Actress/producer/playwright/artistic director Magaly Colimon founded this festival dedicated to filmmakers from the Caribbean and from the Caribbean diaspora. In this episode, she tells us about how she came up with the idea of this festival, her mission to get more and more Caribbean voices to be heard, and to get people to create.

0:00 - 3:30: intro + opening credits + greetings

3:31 - 14:30: how her experience as an actress and as a playwright led Magaly to end up creating the Conch Shell International Film Festival

14:31 - 20:21: how Karukerament became a media partner for the CSIFF (shoutout to Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown from Carry On Friends and Breadfruit Media)

20:22 - 27:50: how Magaly curated the panels with the “let’s disrupt the system” mindset + the intention behind the festival structure with meet & greet and afterparties

27:51 - 31:00: Magaly’s 3 highlights of the festival

31:01 - 38:00: Karukerament’s 3 highlights of the festival

38:01 - 46:51: the issues on film financing and the need to bring our resources together

46:52 - 52:59: Magaly tells us how she wants to improve accessibility to the festival + what element of the 1st edition she’s the proudest of.

53:00 - 55:54: the festival’s future as a bigger platform to embrace more and more Caribbean filmmakers and from the diaspora

55:55 - 59:08: the meaning behind Karukerament

59:09 - 1:03:40: the importance of celebrating ourselves and taking back control over our narratives.

1:03:41 - 1:04:40: thank you + ending credits