A new film initiative is set to introduce Caribbean storytelling to wider UK audiences, as Crossroads: Where Caribbean Cinema Meets the UK launches its inaugural edition across South East England this May.
The annual screening series is conceived as both a cultural exchange and a long-term audience development project. It will showcase contemporary Caribbean cinema in independent venues, drawing on standout selections from the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (TTFF). The initiative aims to increase visibility for Caribbean filmmakers while fostering sustained connections between UK cinemas and diverse audiences.
Widely regarded as the world’s leading Caribbean-focused film festival, TTFF has spent over two decades championing films from across the region and its diaspora. With Crossroads, that curatorial vision is now being extended into the UK exhibition landscape.
The first edition runs from 8–16 May, presenting a curated mix of fiction, documentary and short films that reflect the breadth of contemporary Caribbean filmmaking. Screenings will take place across South East England and Hertfordshire, with organisers signalling ambitions to expand the programme nationally in future years.
Opening the series on Friday 8 May is Queen of Soca (2024), a Trinidad and Tobago feature starring soca artist Terri Lyons in the lead role. The film follows Olivia, a young singer navigating poverty, faith and ambition as she pursues success in the competitive soca music industry, after a viral hit earns her a place in the country’s biggest music competition.
Saturday 9 May features a dual screening of Blue Heart (2025), a Haitian‑French short by Samuel Suffren, and Sugar Island (2024), a Dominican feature by Johanné Gómez Terrero. Blue Heart explores the emotional toll of migration through parents awaiting news from their son abroad, while Sugar Island blends coming-of-age storytelling with Afro-futurist elements as a Dominican-Haitian teenager confronts identity, pregnancy and spirituality.
Sunday 10 May includes a family-friendly shorts programme featuring Talisman the Goat (Jamaica), The Hip Hops (Dominican Republic), Smile (Trinidad and Tobago) and Charlotteville Tails (Tobago). The programme also includes Possible Landscapes (2025), a feature-length documentary by Kannan Arunasalam that examines environmental change, colonial legacies, and everyday life in Trinidad and Tobago.
The second weekend opens on Friday 15 May with Henri Pardo’s Kanaval (2023), set in 1970s Canada and centred on a young Haitian boy adjusting to migration. The series concludes on Saturday 16 May with Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story (2024), Alison Duke’s documentary chronicling the life and legacy of Jamaican dancehall icon Sister Nancy.
Designed as a sustained intervention in film culture, Crossroads seeks to address gaps in global film distribution and establish a consistent UK platform for Caribbean cinema. For more information and to book tickets, visit the Beam website.
