‘DANM’ Dominates TTFF/26 as Caribbean Cinema Breaks Through With Double Win
Originally published by South Florida Caribbean News Read the original
Teneille Newallo’s psychological horror feature scores jury and audience honors at the Trinidad+Tobago Film Festival’s 20th anniversary edition. At the same time, emerging filmmakers from across the Caribbean and diaspora share the spotlight.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago — DANM emerged as the breakout title of the 20th Trinidad+Tobago Film Festival. It won Best Film Made in Trinidad and Tobago and the People’s Choice Award in a milestone showing for homegrown Caribbean cinema.
Directed by Trinidadian filmmaker Teneille Newallo, the psychological horror feature opened TTFF/26 as its world-premiere gala film before converting festival buzz into both jury recognition and the audience vote.
The winners’ slate stretched across the Caribbean and its diaspora. Cuban filmmaker Paloma Gomide’s If Life Gave Me a Wish (Si la vida me diera un deseo) took the Paddington Prize for Best Student Film. Meanwhile, Maya Annik Bedward’s Black Zombie won Best Documentary Feature. The Canadian filmmaker is of Jamaican parentage.
Bumpa, directed by U.S. filmmaker Kayla Watkins, was named Best Short Documentary. St. Lucia’s Kyvon Edwin won Best Fiction Short for The Things We Carry. Dominica’s Christelle Powell received an Honourable Mention for From Fortune. Moreover, Kearra Amaya Gopee’s Car(r)milla earned an Honourable Mention for Best Film Made in T&T.
For Gomide, the regional recognition lands as she prepares to move from shorts into her first feature.
“Winning an award right here in the Caribbean, the very region where If Life Gave Me a Wish was made, makes me deeply happy,” Gomide said. “It means the film successfully connected with its closest audience, which was ultimately one of my primary goals.”
The film grew out of Gomide’s encounter with Cuban women whose husbands were incarcerated, turning their experience of prolonged uncertainty into a story of female strength, intimacy and solidarity.
“Beyond serving as a vital affirmation that we are on the right path regarding language and aesthetics, this award significantly strengthens my profile as I seek financing and partners for future projects,” she said.
‘DANM’ Turns Festival Buzz Into a Double Win
Newallo said the Best T+T Feature prize carried special weight because DANM was selected from a strong field of local productions during the festival’s 20th anniversary.
“Winning Best T+T Feature is a profound honour, as I know it was judged amongst some other great quality films that I was lucky enough to have had a chance to see,” she said.
The People’s Choice win gave the film a second, audience-driven vote of confidence — and, for Newallo, an early signal that its distinctly Trinbagonian story could connect beyond the festival circuit.
Inspired by Newallo’s daughter, Trinidad and Tobago folklore and a drive to create substantial roles for local actors, DANM now heads into its next chapter. The film enters this phase with fresh momentum for regional and international exposure.
Newallo said the dual honors strengthened the film’s case as both culturally specific entertainment and a commercially viable Caribbean feature.
“To win both the People’s Choice Award and Best T+T Film, with a purely authentic Trinbagonian film on its 20th anniversary, is a statement that DANM is both an entertaining film and a movie of good quality,” she said.
Caribbean Cinema’s Regional-to-Global Pipeline
Festival Director Mariel Brown said the winners captured the breadth of talent moving through Caribbean cinema. Emerging talents include student filmmakers and short-form storytellers. Additionally, feature directors are building connections across the region and diaspora.
“Our 20th anniversary edition has given us much to celebrate, particularly the breadth of voices and stories represented across this year’s programme. The award winners reflect the diversity of Caribbean cinema from student filmmakers and short documentaries to feature films and the increasingly strong connections among filmmakers across the region and its diaspora. We congratulate all the filmmakers whose work was recognised and, equally, all those who shared their films and perspectives with our audiences.”
TTFF/26 ran Sept. 23-27, with DANM launching the anniversary program Sept. 22 at the Central Bank Auditorium. The 20th edition reinforced the festival’s role as a launchpad for Caribbean stories. It also helped with independent film discovery and diaspora-driven talent.
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