Now that the entire world has embraced “The Black Panther,” perhaps the introduction of the first, female, Caribbean, superhero might seem more bankable.
At least this is the hope of Frances Ann Solomon, of Caribbean Tales.
“At a time when the world is celebrating Black superheroes, we at Caribbean Tales are proud to present the very first Caribbean animated Superhero — and she is a woman.”
The Toronto, Canada-based, Barbadian film distributor announced her intent to release “Battledream Chronicle,” the Caribbean’s first full-length animated feature film.
“Films like this outline not only our talent and hard work but the diversity of our creativity and of our film industry.”
Representing a group of media companies that produces, markets, and exhibits Caribbean-themed films for regional and international distribution, Solomon’s reputation with the first full-service film distribution company in the English-speaking Caribbean and the go-to solution for producers and buyers of Caribbean-themed content has placed her as one of the leading distributors of Caribbean films in North America.
Launched regionally in Barbados in May 2010 and internationally during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, its world-wide distribution now represents more than 500 hundred films from the region and Diaspora.
In addition, CTWD provides co-production services to producers of Caribbean-themed content. “The film is set in the year 2100.The digital realm of Farandjun has been usurped by a tyrannical computer virus that pits the nations of the world against each other in a virtual-reality tournament to select who will reign supreme and who will be subjugated. As the last hope for liberty, Syanna is a young slave woman whose true nature remains a secret — even to her. The odds against Syanna and her Battledream team seem insurmountable, but the heroes will not back down. Syanna confronts the fiercest fighters of Mortemonde, to kill the masters inside them and the slave inside herself.”
Chronicled by Alain Bidard who has worked as an animation film director in Martinique for the last 17 years, he applied the skills he was taught at SUPINFOCOM — one of the best 3D animation schools in Europe — to tell a trailblazing sci-fi story.
He earned distinctions after graduation in 1999 by presenting his first film “Pixies,” which was nominated for top honors at many European festivals.
Between 2000 and 2015, he directed several short films, documentaries and live action films that were nominated internationally and received several awards. In 2015, he released his first animation feature film — and earned the privilege of having the first animation feature ever made in the Caribbean – “Battledream Chronicle.”
It is an Afro-futuristic feature film that has become one of the most awarded French animation feature films with 20 awards and more than 70 nominations worldwide.
Of the film critic Julien Neaves said “On the surface Battledream may seem like your typical good versus evil, topple evil empire in a Matrix-like world story. But there are deeper historical themes of slavery, power and control presented that are unique to Martinique and the Caribbean as a whole. Bidard must also be complimented on crafting such a layered, complex world with such internal history and depth.”
Already the film has won prizes in the category of Best Feature Film at the 2016 Caribbean Tales International Film Festival; Best Feature Film Soundtrack at the 2016 Cinefantasy International Fantastic Cinema Festival and Best Animation at the 2016 Mexico International Film Festival. Most recently, “Battledream” won special mention in the animated film category at the 2017 Cannes Pan-African Film Festival and the Best Animated film at the 2017 Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival.
This award-winning science fiction film is available now for streaming via CaribbeanTales-TV and on televisions throughout the Caribbean on Flow’s Video-on-Demand service.
