Screening at Barbados Community College

This afternoon, I screened ON THE MAP to staff and students at the BCC. The students, (although required by Melanie Springer, their tutor, to each ask a question,) had some good thoughts. They seemed less opinionated about the content of the film and the issue of un/documented Caribbean migrants than did the UWI students; and more concerned with the creative aspect of the work...not surprising given they are art students.
The art school context and discussion allowed me to talk about the film in more artistic ways as well as in social and political terms. It is interesting how each screening environment brings something new to the film project.


I spoke to the students about the film as an "Open Work" which is completed only when the film has been screened and the audience then responds and speaks to the work. The interaction allows the film to reach its potential through the unpacking of the ideas within the work and constantly evolves with each screening and discussion.


Ras Akyem spoke to the layers of information within the film - reading the film literally is only one way to see it. The juxtaposition of images begins to speak to the issues in other more poetic and lyrical ways. We spoke about the shift of working individually as a solitary artist to working collaboratively with a team and the loss of control as a single author. The question of the artist's voice being somewhat muted through the medium of film and the collaborative process was raised. I continue to welcome the students' comments in this web based forum.