September 3, 2025 • 24 mins
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Storytelling lies at the heart of Caribbean identity. Award-winning filmmaker Alyscia Cunningham joins us to unravel the power of Caribbean folklore through the lens of modern cinema. As a first-generation Trinidadian-American, Cunningham's childhood was filled with spine-tingling tales from her parents' homeland in southern Trinidad. Today, she channels those experiences into her documentary and narrative horror films, creating what she calls "impact art" – creative works designed to educate audiences and spark meaningful conversation.
We dive deep into Cunningham's filmmaking journey with Douen and Douen II, exploring why this particular folklore figure – a mischievous childlike spirit who died before baptism – resonated so strongly with her. The conversation reveals fascinating insights about the challenges Caribbean filmmakers. Beyond entertainment, Cunningham's work serves as a crucial bridge between generations, preserving cultural knowledge while making it accessible to contemporary audiences who might otherwise never encounter these traditional tales. Her approach demonstrates how Caribbean horror folklore can evolve without losing its essence, honoring ancestral wisdom while ensuring its survival. Discover how ancient Caribbean folklore finds new life on screen, and why these stories matter now more than ever.
Alyscia Cunningham is an award-winning impact artist, author, filmmaker, tactile artist, and photographer who has contributed to the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and AOL. Her work focuses on women discovering their strengths and surviving challenging circumstances. Rooted in her identity as a first-generation Trinidadian American, Alyscia’s early fascination with storytelling was sparked by the tales of resilience, folklore, and life lessons shared by her Caribbean elders. These narratives of triumph over adversity and cultural heritage fuel her creative passion, driving her work in both documentary and narrative filmmaking. Alyscia is also the Founder and Executive Director of Her House Media LLC, focusing on production of documentary and horror films written and directed by women of color.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Strictly Facts, a guide to Caribbean
history and culture, hosted byme, alexandria Miller.
Strictly Facts teaches thehistory, politics and activism
of the Caribbean and connectsthese themes to contemporary
music and popular culture.
Hello, hello everybody.
(00:23):
Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Strictly
Facts, a guide to Caribbeanhistory and culture.
We talk about history andstories so much on this show,
but what about the process ofdocumenting our stories?
There are many ways to do that,of course, passing them down
through our families, verballywriting them down, but what
about the films that really makeour moments right and bring
(00:47):
Caribbean stories to life?
In the last year alone, I canthink of several incredible
powerhouse films and shows thatdocument Caribbean experiences
at home and in the diaspora.
Special shout out to my podcastaunties, carrie Ann Reed Brown
and Michaela Malcolm, doing allof the unpacking of some of
these shows over on theirpodcast Reels and Rhythms.
(01:09):
But nonetheless, what is theprocess like for creating films
on Caribbean stories and how dowe ensure that?
You know, we're bringing someof the things like our folklore
and these things to life in themodern day our folklore and
these things to life in themodern day.
Here with us to unpack thesequestions today is Alicia
Cunningham, a multifaceted,award-winning author, filmmaker,
(01:31):
of course, tactile artist andphotographer, and the founder
and executive director of HerHouse Media, through which she
creates narratives of resilienceand triumph over adversity.
Alicia, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Why don't you tell ourlisteners a little bit more
about yourself, your connectionto the Caribbean and what
motivated your interest inCaribbean storytelling,
(01:53):
particularly through filmmaking?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yes, well, thank you for having me, alexandria.
It's nice to be here Again.
My name is Alicia Cunninghamand I am an independent
filmmaker as well as anindependent author and impact
artist.
What does that mean?
It means that I create works ofart that has an impact within
the community.
You walk away with somethingthat you've learned or something
that you want to make a changeon into your life, and
(02:15):
background is I'm a firstgeneration American.
I still say that I'm Trini.
Despite that, my parents arefrom Trinidad, from down south,
so anybody who knows is SanFernando and Princess Town,
where it's still pretty countryand I appreciate it, and a lot
of the folklore stories thatwere shared to me from my
parents, I think also stemmedfrom those areas as well, down
south, and so my focus in thework that I create is
(02:38):
documentary and narrative horror.
It doesn't mean that I'm notinterested in other subjects or
genres, but those are my twofavorite subjects.
So the mean that I'm notinterested in other subjects or
genres, but those are my twofavorite subjects.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
The stories that I was told as a kid inspired the
work that I create now as anartist.
You bring me, of course, to ourfirst question in that just you
know mentioning the impact ofyour parents telling you stories
of Caribbean folklore and itsimpact on you.
And so, for you, as a filmmaker, what is the sort of power of
Caribbean storytelling?
How would you define that andhow have you seen it evolve
(03:10):
through your own work and, ofcourse, through other works of
film that have come out out ofthe region or, of course, the
diaspora as well?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So storytelling is everything, whether it is the
genre or it's a play or anexhibition.
Whether it is the genre or it'sa play or an exhibition,
(03:41):
there's a story in everythingand it inspired me because I
mean the stories of my elders,my parents specifically, but
then also my grandparents, greatgrandparents.
I had auntie.
That inspired.
The film that I did with mereally stuck with me and I also
I was one of those children thatreally enjoyed sitting down
with my elders and just havingconversations.
I enjoy talking to people.
Now I'm not surprised that I amactually in the field of
filmmaking because I enjoyhaving conversations and I feel
personally that storytellingisn't everything and the power
(04:02):
in that is based on what you dowith it really.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
you brought up your own work I'm talking about Duane
2 but before we, you know,really dive into that short film
that you have more specifically, I know, you know, and you also
mentioned, that horror is amajor genre for you in terms of
some of that work.
And you know, when I think ofCaribbean stories that were told
(04:27):
to me by my grandparents, by myparents, et cetera, they
definitely have that spooky,haunting, you know, horrid
element.
There are places in Clarendonthat my mom talks about, you
know, walking.
you know she needs to go fromone auntie's house to a next
auntie's house and has to pass agraveyard and because, somebody
told her a story about such manin the graveyard she used to
(04:50):
run past to try to get to whereshe needs to go, right, and so
all that to say, those sort ofhaunting stories are such an
integral part of who we are.
But I can't think of you knowas many films that are sort of
replicative of that you know,hauntingness or the Duffy
stories or whatever, right, andso in your own estimation,
(05:13):
either, maybe why aren't thereas many Caribbean horror films,
or why has it really beenimportant for you to bring that
sort of element of folklore,specifically from the, the
element of our scary stories, tolife?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Yeah, so well.
First is why there aren't asmany horror films.
Relative to Caribbean stories,I think one of the biggest
things is exposure.
So on the other side, I'm alsoa panel judge, right, so I sit
on panels or with organizationswhere I can read different
grants and although I can'tshare what I've read or the
(05:49):
people who've submitted toorganizations, I've noticed that
actually not one grant thatI've seen so far from the panels
I've sat on have been fromCaribbean-based filmmakers.
So then the question for me Iknow the playing field is not
level when it comes to fundingis always, always the biggest
hurdle, I would say as afilmmaker, as an artist in
general, when you want to createa project.
(06:09):
But it's also what are we beingexposed to like?
Why aren't there any Caribbeanfilm makers that are securing or
looking for funding?
Um, and then that then comesdown to the same thing as why
there aren't films, caribbeanhorror films that have been
released, because I've knownlocally the independent, you
(06:30):
know, filmmakers who have donesome films, but nothing to the
scale of like a feature filmthere is.
Just there's an unawareness ofopportunities there, so that if
funding it's hard and I'm notgoing to, you know, sit and try
to sugarcoat.
It is very hard to raise funds,but I just think that there has
(06:53):
not been the exposure.
So, within our community,unfortunately, to say, hey, you
know what, I know the situation,I know where this funding is or
I can help you to create this,and I'm not saying that to in
any way to knock us down, but wedefinitely need to be able to,
like, support one another.
Um, to get to a higher level ofdoing things is definitely
(07:13):
needed.
So, um, it's important to me toto bring the Caribbean folklore
into filmmaking, because it ismy culture, you know, number one
, I grew up with these storiesand then I want to honor my
ancestors and to be able toshowcase the stories that were
told, that are honestly fadingat the moment, because we're in
(07:34):
a situation now where you don'thave as many of the younger
generation that are spendingtime with the elders as they did
when I was growing up, and it'san unfortunate truth.
It's a beautiful thing when I'mnow sharing this.
So, for example, dwayne, I hada recent premiere, a screening,
and to hear the older people inthe audience say, oh my gosh,
this brought memories back to me.
You know, like I learnedsomething that I didn't learn
(07:55):
before.
And then the younger generationsay I've never even known about
this.
So for me it's a bridge, youknow.
It's a bridge, you know, withthe gap between the young and
the old, and that bridge, whichis the film or the work that I
create as a filmmaker, is thebridge with this, specifically
with this horror that I justrecently did with Dwayne and
(08:15):
then leading into a feature film.
But it is the bridge with theyoung and the old to be able to
have conversations and to sharethese stories again, you know,
to just open up the conversation, for the stories to be told.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So you mentioned Duen too.
Of course, your recent piecethere was also a precursor, so
there's a first Duen or Duen oneand then Duen two, right.
And so for our listeners whoare not familiar, Duen is one of
the figures in Trinidadianfolklore and, I think, one of
the ones that's interesting tome because of the focus on
(08:48):
children.
When we think of various partsof folklore culture, right,
they're usually more general,like not specifically targeting
any, like particular person orgender or whatever, but duens
definitely are connected to sortof pranking children
specifically.
There's this whole sort ofdescription of the Duen, as you
(09:11):
know, being faceless, their feetare kind of turned backwards in
a sense, right, and they'realways sort of trying to lure
children back out into theforest with them, and so that's
a little bit about the Duen foranybody who's, you know,
unfamiliar and sort ofinterested.
You know, I really want to askyou why did you choose the Duen
(09:33):
of all of the characters and youknow all of the varieties of
our folklore?
What was it about the Duen foryou that you thought?
You know, you really wanted tobase your feelings specifically
on that character and why do youthink it's sort of distinct in
terms of our folklore.
Apart from you know some of theother characters.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
So I always tell people that Dwayne was one of
those stories as a kid thatscared me really good.
It was, and I think alsorelative to me being a child,
like I've heard about Sukunyaand Laja Bless and all the other
characters, but it was that Ithink, relative to me being
young and thinking aboutchildren being young and that
they have no face and only amouth.
To call children into theforest was really scary, you
(10:14):
know.
And then also the connection tosaying that you know these
children.
So the with the duane they saidthat they they have mischievous
childlike spirits who diedbefore they were baptized and
they were known to prankchildren specifically but also
raid gardens and terrorize theneighborhood.
But the fact that they wouldscare kids there was nights when
I know I could not sleep when Ifirst would hear it or my
(10:35):
parents would share the story.
When I went to Trinidad and mycousins are sharing the story in
Saparia, which is reallycountry it scared me really good
because it was relative to myage.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Why don't you tell us a little bit?
You know, I know you don'tmight not want to give away the
full storylines, right?
Um, but you know, for ourlisteners turning in who
definitely might be interested,um, and are looking forward to,
you know, the short film and,you know, hopefully feature film
later.
Um, do you want to share a bitabout the duen and duen two
storylines?
Um, and in addition to thatsort of, what stylistic choices
(11:09):
do you feel like you've made inorder to give it that Caribbean
horror feel?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yes, yes, so Dwayne one actually was still based on.
Of course I put my own twist toit, but it was based on the two
young ladies, and people cansee it on YouTube.
I have it posted on there.
Sisters who happen to survive.
They're in a world right nowwhere they are doing outside,
you know.
So they were very careful tonot speak too loud because,
(11:38):
again, the same with Duane goesis that you don't respond if
they call your name.
That was one of the things as akid also was like if you hear
anybody call your name in thewoods.
I think also maybe relative tomaybe the folklore was created
based on children being safe too, you know.
So don't respond if somebodycalls your name.
And so the Duane One was basedon that.
It was a grandmother tellingher grandchildren the story, but
(11:59):
the person who plays thegrandmother in that story it
really encouraged me to expandon it, to make it into a feature
film.
So that's Diane Marshall.
She plays the Auntie Sybil inthe Duane Two, and Duane Two is
it's a proof of concept.
So it's a short based on thestory world of the feature film.
So we start off in the kitchenwhere she is making sweet bread
(12:22):
with her niece, her great niece,and then things kind of take a
turn for the worse.
The folklore really evolvesinto the physical world and I
won't go much more there so thatpeople can see the film once it
reaches the local film festivalcircuit.
But that is the incitingincident.
The folklore opens up sometrauma because it's relative to
(12:43):
family trauma, and I'll leave itthere.
But you find out at the end.
So that's where I am right.
Now is I'm in fundraising phase, raising money.
It'll be my first feature film.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I mean, I'm certainly interested, so I'll definitely
be sure to add our link for, youknow, duen 1 for our listeners
to check out.
But, you know, definitely alsoreally looking forward to you
know you hopefully producingDuen 2 into a full feature film,
right?
I think, again, somethingthat's super needed and maybe
(13:17):
sort of wanted to push you alittle bit more to think about
the feature film side of things.
In terms of horror, I know Isort of in a way, asked this
question earlier Do you feellike there's something about
horror for us that hastranslated?
It obviously translates well interms of you know us, you know,
having had grandparents tellthese stories, etc.
(13:39):
Um, I feel like I can think ofa million films on music from
the Caribbean, right, andnothing as much significantly on
our horror stories and so so Ijust, I don't know, I find that
discrepancy really interestingand don't know if you have any
thoughts specifically to that.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yeah.
So that's kind of similar towhat was mentioned earlier and
why.
You know the sit on the panel.
I'm not seeing any storiesperiod from Caribbean filmmakers
, but especially the horrorgenre.
There's also a bit of anignorance, I would say from my
own personal experience, when Ihorror genre.
There's also a bit of anignorance.
I would say from my ownpersonal experience.
Um, when I talk about that, I'minto horror and I'm speaking to
the Caribbean community and Iget two responses um, it's
(14:18):
either people like oh, you knowthat's.
Oh, that's cool, I like thatyou're doing the folklore.
Um, oh, I know, you know thatfolk, I remember these stories
as a kid, you know that, andpeople get into the conversation
.
I love having that conversation, it's that.
Or I get the people who arelike you do horror.
So then it's like um, it's kindof like um, taboo, I would feel
.
You know, um, some peoplereally love it and they love the
(14:40):
memories.
Or some people tend to stay awayfrom it because it feels to
them as if it's um, I'm not surehow to word that you know a
little bit, a little skepticalwhen it comes to to that, that
side of horror.
So I think that might also beum a reason why we may not have
as many of cabin people intothat horror genre.
I know money is an issue that'salways an issue but actually
(15:00):
getting into it I feel likepeople might tend to step away
from it because of the the fearof maybe bringing something else
into the space, um of horror,or maybe people assuming that
you're working on horror so youmight be into something that you
know that might not be so nice.
So I think that that is a levelof ignorance.
(15:21):
To be honest, you and on whyyou might not see as many horror
stories, aside from, of course,funding yeah, I definitely
would agree with that.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
I think, you know, our horror stories can tend to
lead into a place of, you know,talking about, maybe, things
like abia and other sort ofpractices and things that of
course, from a hmm or not, wantto uplift to again a sort of
earlier point that you made.
(15:54):
Right, there is a little bit ofthat distinction between
generations and something that Ihope, you know, we sort of
preserve, right, we don't wantto sort of lose the stories that
made us who we are, because,while you know, it's in a sense
difficult to figure out andpinpoint the like origins of
some of these particularfolkloric stories.
(16:15):
Right, there, of course, aredeeper messages, right, like,
I'm sure you know, if we gotinto the analysis of the duet a
little bit more, right, I'm surethere's a piece of it that's
also parents wanting to, youknow, caution their children to
maybe listen a little bit more,don't, you know, don't be out
there playing for how much hours?
And you know you could getsnatched and what may have you.
(16:37):
Right, like, all of thesethings are, of course, important
lessons that are ingrained insome of these stories that we
just, you know, without the careand the concern of sort of
continuing to bring them to lifeand to shed light on them.
We sort of you know, get awayfrom the origins of our culture
and who we are.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Right, yeah, I agree, and I think history, too, is
important in that, because thereare lessons.
If you want to think aboutSequoia, the lady with the red
dress who is, you know, lookssexy and she knows how to entice
men, and then she ends upturning into a bloodsucker,
right?
So then, what is the lesson?
There is, like, everything thatlooks sweet may not always be
sweet.
You know, you're a married man.
Maybe you should make sure thatyou pay attention to your wife.
(17:16):
Then go in and see a womanwho's enticing you to do
something you know.
So I just think that's veryinteresting.
It's an interesting story andthe lesson in it, yeah, To your
point, your earlier point.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
You made a point about, you know, you putting
your twist on it.
There is like there's still away to bring these things into
today's context.
It's not like, oh, this Duanestory from, you know, the 1800s
has no relevance.
There's, there's still ways ofus.
You know, and I've watchedDuane one, of course, and then
the trailer for Duane two in thetrailer for duane 2, and like
(17:52):
it didn't feel like this wassome old, you know, I guess some
people I'm not necessarily thatperson, but I know some people
might not necessarily beinterested in, you know,
watching something that feelsold or whatever.
But it didn't feel that that wayat all right, um, and so
there's certainly relevance tothese things and something that
you know very much, to yourpoint of you know wanting to
create these films, I think isdefinitely relevant for us today
(18:14):
yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
And then, on another note too, with that, I do
remember having a conversationrecently with an organization
that I wouldn't mention that wasgoing to share my film
screening the premiere, and theywanted to see it first, and
this is one of the big trainingorganizations in the area, and
the concern for them was that Iwant to make sure that our story
is authentic and I'm like, well, you know what, you have to be
able to think outside the box.
(18:35):
That was a conversation I hadwith them.
So that's also, when it comesdown to being judgmental, right.
So now some people may say, oh,I'm not going to do the story
because people might judge itand say, um, this is not an
authentic story told.
We have the freedom to do as weplease with our creativity.
So, as you mentioned, you knowthat you can have your own twist
to it and that's important,having your own twist as an
(18:56):
artist, but intertwining orweaving the story within the
story you know into your storyworld.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
So I just think that we have to be able to think
outside the box and be lessjudgmental as well and be less
judgmental as well, anddefinitely want to congratulate
you for the recent screening ofDwayne 2 at the AFI Silver
Theater and Cultural Center andso definitely wishing for more
premieres and the feature filmsso that we can all definitely
(19:22):
check out the long range versionof the film.
Our listeners know by now we'refour years in what my favorite
question is of all of our Strict.
By now you know we're fouryears in what my favorite
question is of all of our youknow, strictly facts um
discussions here and so what aresort of some, uh, your favorite
ways?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
caribbean folklore, especially when it comes to
horror, shows up in popularculture huh, um, that's a good
question, but honestly I don'tsee as far as horror folklore
contributing to um the popularculture, but I know I've seen
like bits and pieces of it.
So, for example, americanguides had the um anancy story.
(20:00):
Um, I actually really love thatone.
I cannot remember the gentlemanwho, um, who uh, did the speech
, but um, there was also a filmthat was based on Elijah Bliss
and Lisa Bonet played that part,so that was another one.
Well, I love that.
You know they had that Nancy inTribe.
Tribe was a masked man inTrinidad.
(20:23):
I loved love like love theircostumes.
I just I ended up signing uptoo late and I cannot play mask
with them.
I did last year oh, did you?
oh nice, okay, I'll be playingwith them next year, though, but
um yeah.
So I loved how they created.
You know, recreated this, thiscostume theme with Anansi.
I think things like that, youknow, um is beautiful, but
(20:43):
there's definitely room for moreof it, because there's so much
um beauty in the culture itself,you know certainly so.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Duen one and duen two are certainly just the
beginning, right, I think, notonly for your own projects,
especially wanting to expand outfor um further audiences in
terms of feature films andthings to that nature.
Um, but what other caribbeanfolklore characters, um and
themes would you love to see onthe big screen?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Other, folklores I would love to see.
I would say Elijah Bless, Iwish.
Actually I started doing thefeature a couple years ago and I
have not finished it, buteventually I will get back to it
.
I would like to see somethingon Sukunya, would love to see
something on Papa Boys.
Um, would love to see somethingon um, papa Boys and, honestly,
all the folklore characters.
(21:32):
I would like to see that.
I would like to also see adocumentary that is.
I'm probably, you know, givingthis away too, but I, I, I don't
have time to work on this, butI would like to see the
relativeness of these folklores.
So, for example, um aleprechaun has similar, there's
a similar theme to the duen, andthen there's also I have a
(21:52):
friend from she's from Jamaica,but she told me that I don't
remember what she mentioned butthere's something similar in
Jamaica with the same likelittle children I don't know if
you know the name of them likechildlike spirits.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
I would love to be able to see a documentary on how
all of these cultures, althoughthey might be called different
names, but they're all relativein the same, as you said, right,
put your twist on it.
There's a way that it you knowit doesn't have to feel like
you're telling some story fromthe 17th century if that's not
what you want to do yeah so.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, and my hope too is that, with the work that I
do create, with what I just didwith Dwayne, and then the
feature film that I will produceI know it's a, it's a journey,
but I will produce it that italso encourages other Caribbean
filmmakers to to do the same,you know that put a twist on
their own on the folklore andput it out there definitely.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, alicia, I am so grateful to have had you on the
show to not only, you know,talk to me a little bit about
horror and folklore, but also,of course, uplifting, dlifting
Duen and Duen 2, you know thatyou've most recently released.
I'm really excited for thejourney.
I know it'll be a little whilebecause it's still in sort of
premiere season in terms of Duen2 being shown, you know,
(23:21):
publicly and stuff, but I willdefinitely again be sure to link
Duen 1 on our Strictly Factssyllabus for our listeners, who
you know want to tune in andwatch it and really get excited
and find out other ways tosupport you in definitely making
this feature film for Duane 2.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate you.
Thank you for having me, yes,and for our listeners.
(23:42):
As always, I hope you enjoyed.
Until next time, look for more.
Thanks for tuning in toStrictly Facts.
Visit strictlyfactspodcastcomfor more information from each
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at Strictly Facts PD on Twitter.
Welcome to Strictly Facts, a guide to Caribbean
history and culture, hosted byme, alexandria Miller.
Strictly Facts teaches thehistory, politics and activism
of the Caribbean and connectsthese themes to contemporary
music and popular culture.
Hello, hello everybody.
(00:23):
Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Strictly
Facts, a guide to Caribbeanhistory and culture.
We talk about history andstories so much on this show,
but what about the process ofdocumenting our stories?
There are many ways to do that,of course, passing them down
through our families, verballywriting them down, but what
about the films that really makeour moments right and bring
(00:47):
Caribbean stories to life?
In the last year alone, I canthink of several incredible
powerhouse films and shows thatdocument Caribbean experiences
at home and in the diaspora.
Special shout out to my podcastaunties, carrie Ann Reed Brown
and Michaela Malcolm, doing allof the unpacking of some of
these shows over on theirpodcast Reels and Rhythms.
(01:09):
But nonetheless, what is theprocess like for creating films
on Caribbean stories and how dowe ensure that?
You know, we're bringing someof the things like our folklore
and these things to life in themodern day our folklore and
these things to life in themodern day.
Here with us to unpack thesequestions today is Alicia
Cunningham, a multifaceted,award-winning author, filmmaker,
(01:31):
of course, tactile artist andphotographer, and the founder
and executive director of HerHouse Media, through which she
creates narratives of resilienceand triumph over adversity.
Alicia, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Why don't you tell ourlisteners a little bit more
about yourself, your connectionto the Caribbean and what
motivated your interest inCaribbean storytelling,
(01:53):
particularly through filmmaking?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yes, well, thank you for having me, alexandria.
It's nice to be here Again.
My name is Alicia Cunninghamand I am an independent
filmmaker as well as anindependent author and impact
artist.
What does that mean?
It means that I create works ofart that has an impact within
the community.
You walk away with somethingthat you've learned or something
that you want to make a changeon into your life, and
(02:15):
background is I'm a firstgeneration American.
I still say that I'm Trini.
Despite that, my parents arefrom Trinidad, from down south,
so anybody who knows is SanFernando and Princess Town,
where it's still pretty countryand I appreciate it, and a lot
of the folklore stories thatwere shared to me from my
parents, I think also stemmedfrom those areas as well, down
south, and so my focus in thework that I create is
(02:38):
documentary and narrative horror.
It doesn't mean that I'm notinterested in other subjects or
genres, but those are my twofavorite subjects.
So the mean that I'm notinterested in other subjects or
genres, but those are my twofavorite subjects.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
The stories that I was told as a kid inspired the
work that I create now as anartist.
You bring me, of course, to ourfirst question in that just you
know mentioning the impact ofyour parents telling you stories
of Caribbean folklore and itsimpact on you.
And so, for you, as a filmmaker, what is the sort of power of
Caribbean storytelling?
How would you define that andhow have you seen it evolve
(03:10):
through your own work and, ofcourse, through other works of
film that have come out out ofthe region or, of course, the
diaspora as well?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So storytelling is everything, whether it is the
genre or it's a play or anexhibition.
Whether it is the genre or it'sa play or an exhibition,
(03:41):
there's a story in everythingand it inspired me because I
mean the stories of my elders,my parents specifically, but
then also my grandparents, greatgrandparents.
I had auntie.
That inspired.
The film that I did with mereally stuck with me and I also
I was one of those children thatreally enjoyed sitting down
with my elders and just havingconversations.
I enjoy talking to people.
Now I'm not surprised that I amactually in the field of
filmmaking because I enjoyhaving conversations and I feel
personally that storytellingisn't everything and the power
(04:02):
in that is based on what you dowith it really.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
you brought up your own work I'm talking about Duane
2 but before we, you know,really dive into that short film
that you have more specifically, I know, you know, and you also
mentioned, that horror is amajor genre for you in terms of
some of that work.
And you know, when I think ofCaribbean stories that were told
(04:27):
to me by my grandparents, by myparents, et cetera, they
definitely have that spooky,haunting, you know, horrid
element.
There are places in Clarendonthat my mom talks about, you
know, walking.
you know she needs to go fromone auntie's house to a next
auntie's house and has to pass agraveyard and because, somebody
told her a story about such manin the graveyard she used to
(04:50):
run past to try to get to whereshe needs to go, right, and so
all that to say, those sort ofhaunting stories are such an
integral part of who we are.
But I can't think of you knowas many films that are sort of
replicative of that you know,hauntingness or the Duffy
stories or whatever, right, andso in your own estimation,
(05:13):
either, maybe why aren't thereas many Caribbean horror films,
or why has it really beenimportant for you to bring that
sort of element of folklore,specifically from the, the
element of our scary stories, tolife?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Yeah, so well.
First is why there aren't asmany horror films.
Relative to Caribbean stories,I think one of the biggest
things is exposure.
So on the other side, I'm alsoa panel judge, right, so I sit
on panels or with organizationswhere I can read different
grants and although I can'tshare what I've read or the
(05:49):
people who've submitted toorganizations, I've noticed that
actually not one grant thatI've seen so far from the panels
I've sat on have been fromCaribbean-based filmmakers.
So then the question for me Iknow the playing field is not
level when it comes to fundingis always, always the biggest
hurdle, I would say as afilmmaker, as an artist in
general, when you want to createa project.
(06:09):
But it's also what are we beingexposed to like?
Why aren't there any Caribbeanfilm makers that are securing or
looking for funding?
Um, and then that then comesdown to the same thing as why
there aren't films, caribbeanhorror films that have been
released, because I've knownlocally the independent, you
(06:30):
know, filmmakers who have donesome films, but nothing to the
scale of like a feature filmthere is.
Just there's an unawareness ofopportunities there, so that if
funding it's hard and I'm notgoing to, you know, sit and try
to sugarcoat.
It is very hard to raise funds,but I just think that there has
(06:53):
not been the exposure.
So, within our community,unfortunately, to say, hey, you
know what, I know the situation,I know where this funding is or
I can help you to create this,and I'm not saying that to in
any way to knock us down, but wedefinitely need to be able to,
like, support one another.
Um, to get to a higher level ofdoing things is definitely
(07:13):
needed.
So, um, it's important to me toto bring the Caribbean folklore
into filmmaking, because it ismy culture, you know, number one
, I grew up with these storiesand then I want to honor my
ancestors and to be able toshowcase the stories that were
told, that are honestly fadingat the moment, because we're in
(07:34):
a situation now where you don'thave as many of the younger
generation that are spendingtime with the elders as they did
when I was growing up, and it'san unfortunate truth.
It's a beautiful thing when I'mnow sharing this.
So, for example, dwayne, I hada recent premiere, a screening,
and to hear the older people inthe audience say, oh my gosh,
this brought memories back to me.
You know, like I learnedsomething that I didn't learn
(07:55):
before.
And then the younger generationsay I've never even known about
this.
So for me it's a bridge, youknow.
It's a bridge, you know, withthe gap between the young and
the old, and that bridge, whichis the film or the work that I
create as a filmmaker, is thebridge with this, specifically
with this horror that I justrecently did with Dwayne and
(08:15):
then leading into a feature film.
But it is the bridge with theyoung and the old to be able to
have conversations and to sharethese stories again, you know,
to just open up the conversation, for the stories to be told.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So you mentioned Duen too.
Of course, your recent piecethere was also a precursor, so
there's a first Duen or Duen oneand then Duen two, right.
And so for our listeners whoare not familiar, Duen is one of
the figures in Trinidadianfolklore and, I think, one of
the ones that's interesting tome because of the focus on
(08:48):
children.
When we think of various partsof folklore culture, right,
they're usually more general,like not specifically targeting
any, like particular person orgender or whatever, but duens
definitely are connected to sortof pranking children
specifically.
There's this whole sort ofdescription of the Duen, as you
(09:11):
know, being faceless, their feetare kind of turned backwards in
a sense, right, and they'realways sort of trying to lure
children back out into theforest with them, and so that's
a little bit about the Duen foranybody who's, you know,
unfamiliar and sort ofinterested.
You know, I really want to askyou why did you choose the Duen
(09:33):
of all of the characters and youknow all of the varieties of
our folklore?
What was it about the Duen foryou that you thought?
You know, you really wanted tobase your feelings specifically
on that character and why do youthink it's sort of distinct in
terms of our folklore.
Apart from you know some of theother characters.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
So I always tell people that Dwayne was one of
those stories as a kid thatscared me really good.
It was, and I think alsorelative to me being a child,
like I've heard about Sukunyaand Laja Bless and all the other
characters, but it was that Ithink, relative to me being
young and thinking aboutchildren being young and that
they have no face and only amouth.
To call children into theforest was really scary, you
(10:14):
know.
And then also the connection tosaying that you know these
children.
So the with the duane they saidthat they they have mischievous
childlike spirits who diedbefore they were baptized and
they were known to prankchildren specifically but also
raid gardens and terrorize theneighborhood.
But the fact that they wouldscare kids there was nights when
I know I could not sleep when Ifirst would hear it or my
(10:35):
parents would share the story.
When I went to Trinidad and mycousins are sharing the story in
Saparia, which is reallycountry it scared me really good
because it was relative to myage.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Why don't you tell us a little bit?
You know, I know you don'tmight not want to give away the
full storylines, right?
Um, but you know, for ourlisteners turning in who
definitely might be interested,um, and are looking forward to,
you know, the short film and,you know, hopefully feature film
later.
Um, do you want to share a bitabout the duen and duen two
storylines?
Um, and in addition to thatsort of, what stylistic choices
(11:09):
do you feel like you've made inorder to give it that Caribbean
horror feel?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yes, yes, so Dwayne one actually was still based on.
Of course I put my own twist toit, but it was based on the two
young ladies, and people cansee it on YouTube.
I have it posted on there.
Sisters who happen to survive.
They're in a world right nowwhere they are doing outside,
you know.
So they were very careful tonot speak too loud because,
(11:38):
again, the same with Duane goesis that you don't respond if
they call your name.
That was one of the things as akid also was like if you hear
anybody call your name in thewoods.
I think also maybe relative tomaybe the folklore was created
based on children being safe too, you know.
So don't respond if somebodycalls your name.
And so the Duane One was basedon that.
It was a grandmother tellingher grandchildren the story, but
(11:59):
the person who plays thegrandmother in that story it
really encouraged me to expandon it, to make it into a feature
film.
So that's Diane Marshall.
She plays the Auntie Sybil inthe Duane Two, and Duane Two is
it's a proof of concept.
So it's a short based on thestory world of the feature film.
So we start off in the kitchenwhere she is making sweet bread
(12:22):
with her niece, her great niece,and then things kind of take a
turn for the worse.
The folklore really evolvesinto the physical world and I
won't go much more there so thatpeople can see the film once it
reaches the local film festivalcircuit.
But that is the incitingincident.
The folklore opens up sometrauma because it's relative to
(12:43):
family trauma, and I'll leave itthere.
But you find out at the end.
So that's where I am right.
Now is I'm in fundraising phase, raising money.
It'll be my first feature film.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I mean, I'm certainly interested, so I'll definitely
be sure to add our link for, youknow, duen 1 for our listeners
to check out.
But, you know, definitely alsoreally looking forward to you
know you hopefully producingDuen 2 into a full feature film,
right?
I think, again, somethingthat's super needed and maybe
(13:17):
sort of wanted to push you alittle bit more to think about
the feature film side of things.
In terms of horror, I know Isort of in a way, asked this
question earlier Do you feellike there's something about
horror for us that hastranslated?
It obviously translates well interms of you know us, you know,
having had grandparents tellthese stories, etc.
(13:39):
Um, I feel like I can think ofa million films on music from
the Caribbean, right, andnothing as much significantly on
our horror stories and so so Ijust, I don't know, I find that
discrepancy really interestingand don't know if you have any
thoughts specifically to that.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yeah.
So that's kind of similar towhat was mentioned earlier and
why.
You know the sit on the panel.
I'm not seeing any storiesperiod from Caribbean filmmakers
, but especially the horrorgenre.
There's also a bit of anignorance, I would say from my
own personal experience, when Ihorror genre.
There's also a bit of anignorance.
I would say from my ownpersonal experience.
Um, when I talk about that, I'minto horror and I'm speaking to
the Caribbean community and Iget two responses um, it's
(14:18):
either people like oh, you knowthat's.
Oh, that's cool, I like thatyou're doing the folklore.
Um, oh, I know, you know thatfolk, I remember these stories
as a kid, you know that, andpeople get into the conversation
.
I love having that conversation, it's that.
Or I get the people who arelike you do horror.
So then it's like um, it's kindof like um, taboo, I would feel
.
You know, um, some peoplereally love it and they love the
(14:40):
memories.
Or some people tend to stay awayfrom it because it feels to
them as if it's um, I'm not surehow to word that you know a
little bit, a little skepticalwhen it comes to to that, that
side of horror.
So I think that might also beum a reason why we may not have
as many of cabin people intothat horror genre.
I know money is an issue that'salways an issue but actually
(15:00):
getting into it I feel likepeople might tend to step away
from it because of the the fearof maybe bringing something else
into the space, um of horror,or maybe people assuming that
you're working on horror so youmight be into something that you
know that might not be so nice.
So I think that that is a levelof ignorance.
(15:21):
To be honest, you and on whyyou might not see as many horror
stories, aside from, of course,funding yeah, I definitely
would agree with that.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
I think, you know, our horror stories can tend to
lead into a place of, you know,talking about, maybe, things
like abia and other sort ofpractices and things that of
course, from a hmm or not, wantto uplift to again a sort of
earlier point that you made.
(15:54):
Right, there is a little bit ofthat distinction between
generations and something that Ihope, you know, we sort of
preserve, right, we don't wantto sort of lose the stories that
made us who we are, because,while you know, it's in a sense
difficult to figure out andpinpoint the like origins of
some of these particularfolkloric stories.
(16:15):
Right, there, of course, aredeeper messages, right, like,
I'm sure you know, if we gotinto the analysis of the duet a
little bit more, right, I'm surethere's a piece of it that's
also parents wanting to, youknow, caution their children to
maybe listen a little bit more,don't, you know, don't be out
there playing for how much hours?
And you know you could getsnatched and what may have you.
(16:37):
Right, like, all of thesethings are, of course, important
lessons that are ingrained insome of these stories that we
just, you know, without the careand the concern of sort of
continuing to bring them to lifeand to shed light on them.
We sort of you know, get awayfrom the origins of our culture
and who we are.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Right, yeah, I agree, and I think history, too, is
important in that, because thereare lessons.
If you want to think aboutSequoia, the lady with the red
dress who is, you know, lookssexy and she knows how to entice
men, and then she ends upturning into a bloodsucker,
right?
So then, what is the lesson?
There is, like, everything thatlooks sweet may not always be
sweet.
You know, you're a married man.
Maybe you should make sure thatyou pay attention to your wife.
(17:16):
Then go in and see a womanwho's enticing you to do
something you know.
So I just think that's veryinteresting.
It's an interesting story andthe lesson in it, yeah, To your
point, your earlier point.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
You made a point about, you know, you putting
your twist on it.
There is like there's still away to bring these things into
today's context.
It's not like, oh, this Duanestory from, you know, the 1800s
has no relevance.
There's, there's still ways ofus.
You know, and I've watchedDuane one, of course, and then
the trailer for Duane two in thetrailer for duane 2, and like
(17:52):
it didn't feel like this wassome old, you know, I guess some
people I'm not necessarily thatperson, but I know some people
might not necessarily beinterested in, you know,
watching something that feelsold or whatever.
But it didn't feel that that wayat all right, um, and so
there's certainly relevance tothese things and something that
you know very much, to yourpoint of you know wanting to
create these films, I think isdefinitely relevant for us today
(18:14):
yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
And then, on another note too, with that, I do
remember having a conversationrecently with an organization
that I wouldn't mention that wasgoing to share my film
screening the premiere, and theywanted to see it first, and
this is one of the big trainingorganizations in the area, and
the concern for them was that Iwant to make sure that our story
is authentic and I'm like, well, you know what, you have to be
able to think outside the box.
(18:35):
That was a conversation I hadwith them.
So that's also, when it comesdown to being judgmental, right.
So now some people may say, oh,I'm not going to do the story
because people might judge itand say, um, this is not an
authentic story told.
We have the freedom to do as weplease with our creativity.
So, as you mentioned, you knowthat you can have your own twist
to it and that's important,having your own twist as an
(18:56):
artist, but intertwining orweaving the story within the
story you know into your storyworld.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
So I just think that we have to be able to think
outside the box and be lessjudgmental as well and be less
judgmental as well, anddefinitely want to congratulate
you for the recent screening ofDwayne 2 at the AFI Silver
Theater and Cultural Center andso definitely wishing for more
premieres and the feature filmsso that we can all definitely
(19:22):
check out the long range versionof the film.
Our listeners know by now we'refour years in what my favorite
question is of all of our Strict.
By now you know we're fouryears in what my favorite
question is of all of our youknow, strictly facts um
discussions here and so what aresort of some, uh, your favorite
ways?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
caribbean folklore, especially when it comes to
horror, shows up in popularculture huh, um, that's a good
question, but honestly I don'tsee as far as horror folklore
contributing to um the popularculture, but I know I've seen
like bits and pieces of it.
So, for example, americanguides had the um anancy story.
(20:00):
Um, I actually really love thatone.
I cannot remember the gentlemanwho, um, who uh, did the speech
, but um, there was also a filmthat was based on Elijah Bliss
and Lisa Bonet played that part,so that was another one.
Well, I love that.
You know they had that Nancy inTribe.
Tribe was a masked man inTrinidad.
(20:23):
I loved love like love theircostumes.
I just I ended up signing uptoo late and I cannot play mask
with them.
I did last year oh, did you?
oh nice, okay, I'll be playingwith them next year, though, but
um yeah.
So I loved how they created.
You know, recreated this, thiscostume theme with Anansi.
I think things like that, youknow, um is beautiful, but
(20:43):
there's definitely room for moreof it, because there's so much
um beauty in the culture itself,you know certainly so.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Duen one and duen two are certainly just the
beginning, right, I think, notonly for your own projects,
especially wanting to expand outfor um further audiences in
terms of feature films andthings to that nature.
Um, but what other caribbeanfolklore characters, um and
themes would you love to see onthe big screen?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Other, folklores I would love to see.
I would say Elijah Bless, Iwish.
Actually I started doing thefeature a couple years ago and I
have not finished it, buteventually I will get back to it
.
I would like to see somethingon Sukunya, would love to see
something on Papa Boys.
Um, would love to see somethingon um, papa Boys and, honestly,
all the folklore characters.
(21:32):
I would like to see that.
I would like to also see adocumentary that is.
I'm probably, you know, givingthis away too, but I, I, I don't
have time to work on this, butI would like to see the
relativeness of these folklores.
So, for example, um aleprechaun has similar, there's
a similar theme to the duen, andthen there's also I have a
(21:52):
friend from she's from Jamaica,but she told me that I don't
remember what she mentioned butthere's something similar in
Jamaica with the same likelittle children I don't know if
you know the name of them likechildlike spirits.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
I would love to be able to see a documentary on how
all of these cultures, althoughthey might be called different
names, but they're all relativein the same, as you said, right,
put your twist on it.
There's a way that it you knowit doesn't have to feel like
you're telling some story fromthe 17th century if that's not
what you want to do yeah so.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, and my hope too is that, with the work that I
do create, with what I just didwith Dwayne, and then the
feature film that I will produceI know it's a, it's a journey,
but I will produce it that italso encourages other Caribbean
filmmakers to to do the same,you know that put a twist on
their own on the folklore andput it out there definitely.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, alicia, I am so grateful to have had you on the
show to not only, you know,talk to me a little bit about
horror and folklore, but also,of course, uplifting, dlifting
Duen and Duen 2, you know thatyou've most recently released.
I'm really excited for thejourney.
I know it'll be a little whilebecause it's still in sort of
premiere season in terms of Duen2 being shown, you know,
(23:21):
publicly and stuff, but I willdefinitely again be sure to link
Duen 1 on our Strictly Factssyllabus for our listeners, who
you know want to tune in andwatch it and really get excited
and find out other ways tosupport you in definitely making
this feature film for Duane 2.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate you.
Thank you for having me, yes,and for our listeners.
(23:42):
As always, I hope you enjoyed.
Until next time, look for more.
Thanks for tuning in toStrictly Facts.
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