VISHANNA PHAGOO
Filmmaker Riyadh Rahaman says his dream is one day to invite people to MovieTowne for the screening of his very first feature film, which will be an hour and a half long.
Rahaman has taken social media and the local film industry by storm, creating popular short comedy skits and films based on folklore. His recent work tells the story of the douen, an entity whose feet are said to be backwards and is faceless except for a small mouth.
Douens are said to be the souls of unbaptised children. It is believed that if they hear a child's name, they can call the child in a parent's voice, trying to lure them into the forest. Douens wear big, floppy straw hats to hide their faces and are known to be mischievous: they play pranks on people, raid gardens, and enjoy leading children astray until they are thoroughly lost in the woods.
Rahaman’s 15-minute-film takes the viewer to find the protagonist Steven’s little sister Emily, who has disappeared without a trace. The film took place near his Princes Town home.
The 23-year-old self-taught filmmaker spared no detail when it came to showing the douen and its abilities.
Douen was selected for last year’s Trinidad and Tobago Film and Folklore Festival, Halloween Horror Festival in London and Floripa Que Horror International Film Festival in Brazil. He said he was asked to resubmit it this year to TT’s film festival, as the organisers were partnering with MovieTowne and because of this, Douen screened at MovieTowne, Port of Spain on April 1.
In 2022 Rahaman won Best Horror Film, Best First-Time Director and Best VFX at the Hollywood Blood Horror Festival in Los Angeles. He also won Best Visual Effects at the Whistle to the Maples Horror Film Festival in Pennsylvania.
[caption id="attachment_1011598" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Riyadh Rahaman's film Douen won Best Horror Film, Best First-Time Director and Best VFX at the Hollywood Blood Horror Festival in Los Angeles. He also won Best Visual Effects at the Whistle to the Maples Horror Film Festival in Pennsylvania in 2022. -[/caption]
Asked why he chose the douen as his inspiration, he said, “I had done a lot of comedy sketches – and I don’t consider myself a comedian. So as a filmmaker, I wanted to try doing different genres and having different things to show my audience.”
His first horror film was released in 2018, entitled Lagahoo, after another local folklore character. The lagahoo is a shape-shifting monster that roams lonely areas stalking its prey. It is identified by a metal chain around its neck that makes noises every time it moves.
“I posted it on YouTube and I did not expect people to go crazy over it and tell me, ‘Thank you for showcasing local culture – and you have to do another one.’ I think that was consistently my most viewed video on my channel every month.”
He said he took a break from making these short films, but would constantly receive messages telling him to make another film. So he decided wit
