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Fri, Sept 11 – We Ting Nice!

September 11 @ 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

PART 1

We Ting Nice!

6:00PM-8:30PM | Dundas West Studio

✦  Horsepower by Tittel Del Mar | Curaçao / Netherlands | 2025 | 21min 26s
✦  Nani’s Kitchen by Stephanie Sonny Hooker | Canada | 2025 | 11min
✦  The Cold Ride by Cherene Francis | Canada | 2025 | 15min
✦  Bumpa by Kayla Naomi Watkins | United States | 2026 | 31min
✦  Crossroads by Horane Henry | USA | 2025 | 19min
✦  The Sight Unseen by Shawn Antoine II USA | 2026 | 40min
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Filmmaker Talkback

A showcase of outstanding Caribbean and diaspora short films.

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Horsepower

Directed by Tittel Del Mar, Curaçao / Netherlands, 2025

Logline: A daredevil influencer from Curaçao known for his wild stunts and viral fame faces the ultimate collision; not on the streets, but within himself, caught between the man he’s been and the man he’s trying to become.

Synopsis: In ‘Horsepower,’ a daredevil influencer from Curaçao navigates the tension between high-octane chaos and grounded purpose. As his public persona races at full throttle pulling stunts, chasing thrills, and outrunning pain, a quieter truth begins to surface. Beneath the viral fame lies a man reckoning with depression, family expectations, and the pressure to become someone better. With everything on the line, Alex becomes increasingly aware that it’s time to choose between the version of himself the world sees and the one he hopes to become.

Runtime: 21m 26s

Nanis Kitchen Poster 5 (With Laurels Nov.) (1) (1) Stephanie Sonny Hooker

Nani’s Kitchen

Directed by Stephanie Sonny Hooker, Canada, 2025

Logline: After the death of her husband, an Indo-Caribbean matriarch must confront family secrets and questions of identity when her daughter uncovers a painful truth about the man they both loved.

Synopsis: Nani’s Kitchen is a dramatic short film about grief, identity, and the quiet burdens carried by family matriarchs. Recently widowed, Nani embraces a newfound sense of freedom, filling her home with music and moving through her days on her own terms. Her peace is disrupted when her daughter Renee arrives for a family lunch and confronts her about an affair involving Nani’s late husband. As old wounds surface, Nani reveals the complexity of their marriage while protecting a deeper truth—that her husband was queer. Choosing love over resentment, she affirms the life they built together. Through loss and revelation, Nani emerges as a powerful portrait of resilience, dignity, and renewal.

Runtime: 10m 28s

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The Cold Ride

Directed by Cherene Francis, Canada, 2025

Logline: Struggling mother Xen kidnaps the woman she feels is responsible for her daughter’s death hoping to have her answer for her crime. As events unfold, she begins to see she may not be able to go through with things as planned.

Synopsis: Set in a near future, The Cold Ride follows Xen Feore, a grieving mother determined to avenge the death of her daughter by kidnapping Elena Perdona, the engineer she believes caused the fatal accident. Bringing Elena back to the crash site, Xen prepares to carry out her revenge, but their confrontation gradually reveals a more complicated truth. As the two women reflect on motherhood, loss, and responsibility, each is forced to confront the consequences of the tragedy from opposing sides. Tense and emotionally charged, the film explores grief, accountability, and the difficult choice between retribution and forgiveness.

Runtime: 14m 46s

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Bumpa

Directed by Kayla Naomi Watkins, USA, 2026

Logline: Through the voices of dancers, cultural practitioners, and scholars, Bumpa reclaims twerking and whining as powerful expressions of African diasporic culture, exploring their role in community, healing, identity, and resistance.

Synopsis: Bumpa is a documentary that examines the history, artistry, and cultural significance of twerking and whining through conversations with dancers across the African diaspora. Featuring Trinidadian Carnival masquerader Vera, hip-hop dancers Nyla and Quadrelle, and Philadelphia burlesque performer Queen Nzinga, the film explores how these often-misunderstood dance forms foster community, joy, and self-expression. Participants reflect on the impacts of misogynoir, classism, and fatphobia that have shaped public perceptions of their art. Complementing these perspectives, Dr. Rivera discusses the therapeutic and spiritual dimensions of Afro-Caribbean dance traditions. Both celebration and cultural intervention, Bumpa argues for the preservation and recognition of these embodied practices as sites of empowerment, identity, and collective resilience.

Runtime: 30m 51s

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Crossroads

Directed by Horane Henry, USA, 2025

Logline: A wrongfully fired financier and a guarded lawyer connect unexpectedly on a blind date, turning a night of bad news into something more.

Synopsis: Malcolm Reid, a hardworking Caribbean financier devoted to supporting his family, is blindsided when he is wrongfully fired just before a long-awaited blind date. Trying to hold himself together, he picks up Elaine Thomas, a sharp and emotionally guarded lawyer who has grown cynical about love after years of disappointment. Confined to the intimacy of Malcolm’s car, their awkward evening slowly transforms into an honest conversation about pressure, sacrifice, loneliness, and fear. As Malcolm struggles with the uncertainty of his future and Elaine lowers her defenses, the two discover an unexpected connection that challenges their assumptions about love, vulnerability, and second chances.

Runtime: 18m 56s

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The Sight Unseen

Directed by Shawn Antoine II, USA, 2026

Logline: In 1971, a six-year-old girl in the Bronx discovers a glowing cross in her bathroom window, igniting awe and doubt across her community. Fifty years later, she returns to confront the mystery that shaped her faith—and her understanding of miracles.

Synopsis: The Sight Unseen is a hybrid film revisiting the miraculous events of 1971 in the Bronx, when six-year-old Sharon Wilson discovered a glowing cross in her apartment bathroom window— that drew crowds from across the community and became a moment of collective awe and curiosity. Now, more than five decades later, Sharon reflects on her vivid memories, interwoven with the reporting of Amsterdam News journalist Melvin Tapley. Through reenactments, archival research, and Sharon’s voice, the film constructs an evocative portrait of faith, and uncertainty, illuminating how extraordinary histories survive even as those who lived them pass on.

Runtime: 40m

Watch the Trailer

Venue

Organizers

  • CaribbeanTales International Film Festival
  • Caribbean Film Festival