NARA GARBER + MELISSA MILLETT

On the Saturday September 6, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show documentary filmmaker Nara Garber. Specializing in observational social issue documentaries, her work as a cinematographer has been featured in the Peabody Award winner Best Kept Secret, the Academy Award winner Alex Gibney’s “Finding Fela” and Emmy-nominated “End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock.” Today we talk about her latest film “Bankie Banx: King of the Dune,” explores the life of Anguillian reggae legend Bankie Banx.

He’s a singer-songwriter known by many as “the Bob Dylan of the Caribbean.” Growing up in Anguilla Bankie made his first guitar and voraciously soaked up everything from British top 40 and folk to Rastafarianism and the Pan-Africanism of Walter Rodney. In 1978 he released his first album, and his breakout hit “Prince of Darkness” put both Bankie and Anguilla on the map.

After a decade of touring and battling industry executives determined to pigeonhole his sound, Bankie came home and created the Moonsplash music festival and the Dune Preserve – a beach bar and performance venue.

Nara Garber’s film about his remarkable life, “Bankie Banx: King of the Dune,” is part of this year’s CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, which takes place in Toronto from until Saturday September 13th, 2025, and streaming worldwide until October 3rd. Get more details at caribbeantalesfestival.com.

Then, we get to know world renowned animal trainer Melissa Millett. With 25 years experience training animals, Melissa is known for the Ultimutt Animal Actors and Ontario Animal Actors, which provides animal actors for the motion picture industry in Canada. With a passion for positive reinforcement, she’s trained dogs, cats, and more for blockbuster films like “Pet Sematary,” major commercials, and captivating live performances, which were recently featured on Canada’s Got Talent. A five-time Guinness World Record holder for extreme animal tricks, Melissa has also educated thousands through workshops and ClickerExpo, transforming the art of animal training with her innovative approach.