CTFF in association with JAMPRO, is proud to present Becoming a Queen; a special in-person encore screening during Jamaica Night at the Royal Cinema!

Hosted by Carrie Mullings, this event features a special in-person screening of the feature documentary 'Becoming a Queen' by Jamaican/Canadian, Toronto-based Filmmaker Chris Strikes and short film 'No Entry' by Jamaican Filmmaker Kaleb D'Aguilar. Meet select members of the Becoming a Queen cast and crew at our in-person, on-stage talkback.

The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival was made possible with funding provided by the Telefilm, The Canada Arts Presentation Fund, The Ontario Arts Council and The Toronto Arts Council.

Synopsis:

Joella Crichton aims to leverage her winning Caribbean Carnival Queen legacy to impact the larger society and reveal the level of fine art that Carnival truly is.

Director Bio: Chris Strikes

Chris Strikes is an award winning director who began his career in music videos working with artists including Nelly Furtado, Kardinal Offishall and Machel Montano. In 2013. In 2017 Chris’ animal awareness music video “Chains of Silence” for Stephanie Braganza collected three awards including the Best Music Video at the Global Music Awards and the Merit Award of Awareness.

Chris expanded to producing and directing internationally screened short narrative films. He was accepted into the HotDocs Accelerator Fellowship and was also one of only six recipients of HotDocs’ first CrossCurrents Fund for emerging Canadian documentary filmmakers, with Becoming a Queen.

Meet the Team behind the Film:

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Synopsis

Against the backdrop of the Windrush scandal, a Jamaican mother, Valerie Powell, struggles to keep her relationship with her son Eli intact. She suffers in silence as she battles with the government's hostile environment tactics, as she keeps the threat of deportation a secret, her psychological state begins to deteriorate as she grapples with the fear of losing her son and the country, she calls home.

Director Bio: Kaleb D'Aguilar

Kaleb is a Jamaican writer and filmmaker currently based in London. His background is in theatre and performance, but after completing his BSc in Anthropology, Kaleb transitioned to writing and directing for film. His curiosity in culture and the tensions between the individual and society drives his storytelling, which he hopes will help embolden the voices of the underclass and marginalised communities.