AFTER MAS

category: caribbean, narratives, short films

AFTER MAS

"AFTER MAS," is a new short film from London-based Trinidadian filmmaker Karen Martinez. It tells the story of a love that flourishes under the cover of darkness during the festival of J’ouvert on the streets of Port-of-Spain. Shot in Trinidad in February 2013 during Carnival, we experience the charge of this bacchanalian drama before following the characters return to their separate lives. In the cold light of day, can these young lovers from very different backgrounds stay true to their desires?

A richly textured film about identity, desire and conformity, After Mas had its world premiere at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival in September 2013 where it picked up the Best Local Short award.

directed by KAREN MARTINEZ
KAREN MARTINEZ is a dual national UK/Trinidad & Tobago filmmaker, with a degree in Film, Video & Photographic Arts from The University of Westminster, London.

After university, Karen worked in Trinidad for a number of years producing and directing several Caribbean TV series, including the popular Gayelle, as well as Body Beat, which both won National Media Awards.

Later, Karen returned to the UK and directed two documentaries: Kaiso For July 27, for the Channel 4 series ‘South’, which looked at Trinidad and Tobago one year after an attempted muslim coup, using calypso to help explore the story; and Chutney in yuh Soca, for the Channel 4 music series Black Trax, about an Indian-soca musical hybrid in the Caribbean.

More recently, Karen wrote and directed DREAMS IN TRANSIT, a 29 minute essay style documentary that explores the meaning of home and belonging for contemporary migrants. It won the CARIBBEAN SPIRIT AWARD at Caribbean Tales Film Festival in Toronto.

Karen is currently in development with her first narrative feature, SCATTERED, a Caribbean road movie that collected the award for the BEST FEATURE FILM IN DEVELOPMENT at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival 2017.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO || 2013 || 20 MINS