Cassandra Joseph has found her work/life balance in something that had been right in front her her whole life – telling the stories of her life in the language of her subconscious – patois.
Born and raised in Paramin, Joseph creates documentary shorts of some of the traditions of the village. The films are done in French Creole with English sub-titles.
“I like that genre (documentary shorts). I like to see and hear people’s stories and I love shows that are based on true stories. I think it’s a way of finding common ground.”
She started making these documentaries in 2012, and over the years her films have been screened at the TT Film Festival; the Piton International Film Festival (PIFF), St Lucia; the 1261 Grenada Film Festival; and this year at the San Antonio Black International Film Festival (SABIFF), Texas.
She was able to attend the 2022 SABIFF in-person screening of her latest film, Vwe Kafe (Real Coffee).
“I saw an ad on local TV about the SABIFF. I submitted my info and my film was chosen to be screened,” Joseph told WMN.
“It was an amazing experience to have your work not only appreciated in the region, but internationally.”
While in the US, she also met with and was interviewed by founder and president of PIFF, Ed Umoja Herman.
Vwe Kafe documents the coffee-making process exactly as it is done in Paramin, and just as she has seen her late grandfather doing it.
[caption id="attachment_990462" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Cassandra Joseph's new film Vwe Kafe (Real Coffee) documents the coffee-making process as it is done in Paramin. - Senor Lopez Photography[/caption]
Her other documentaries include Broom Maker, Boukanem (The Art of Smoking Meat); Mayok (Bitter Cassava); and Septant Lanne Ansanm (70 Years Together), all of which she has written, directed and produced.
“All the films, except Broom Maker are in patois. Broom Maker was my first film and is about the process of making the brooms… I wasn’t used to seeing plastic brooms in Paramin, so when I’d go by friends I’d ask myself, ‘why do we have ugly brooms?’ Then I realised it was tradition and I now understand that it has a creole background, because I’ve seen the same type in St Lucia and Martinique.”
Now, she said, only a few people still make the brooms.
Her second documentary, Septant Lanne Ansanm is a love story – a celebration of her grandparents’ 70th anniversary. It was filmed in 2016 and screened at the 2017 TTFF.
“It was the first local foreign-language film to be included in the festival.”
At approximately 2,200 feet high, the view from Paramin is breathtaking and well worth the drive up the steep, winding road.
“I live seven corners up,” Joseph said with a laugh. “I don’t think it’s that high.”
Joseph attended school in Port of Spain and often wondered why the children and teachers spoke a “different language.” Because although she didn’t speak fluent patois, it was a language she grew up hearing.
[caption id="attachment_990463" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Fillmmaker Cassandra Joseph's document
