From this afternoon children will be treated to children’s films originating from the Caribbean when the Sidewalk Cafe and the Cuban Embassy in Guyana join hands to screen the second Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase.

The films will be screened on Saturdays from 1.30pm and on Tuesdays from 6.30pm at Sidewalk Cafe. Admission is free.

According to a release this afternoon the programme caters for children eight years and older. The series includes some animations from Cuba and Haiti, and a short film I spy: things in my garden from Trinidad & Tobago, in which children from seven to ten years from varied walks of life used a video camera to express their points of view on their natural environment. There are also other short films on the programme from Nicaragua and Colombia.

Next Tuesday the programme is for children aged 12 years and older.  This will feature short films from Suriname, Jamaica, Belize and Nicaragua dealing with concerns about the environment, living with HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy, all told in the form of entertaining stories. The films are available for screening in other venues on request from the Sidewalk Cafe.

In all 44 films of varying lengths are expected to be shown, including documentaries, animated films, short narratives and full-length features  in either English, Spanish, French, Dutch or Haitian Creole. In the case of foreign language films, there will be English sub-titles.

The film festival will run for the entire month of August, but the films are also available for screenings in schools, youth groups and other venues where children can see them.

Arrangements can also be made for them to be shown in venues outside Georgetown and interested persons can contact Sidewalk Cafe or Gillian Mohabir on telephone number 227-0152.

The release said the idea of the film festival was born in Jamaica in 2005 during a Cuban Cinema Festival, during which officials from both countries solicited the support of several institutions and organisations so the idea could become a reality.