The 2022 Trinidad Tobago Film Festival celebrates the historical music documentary, One Hand Don’t Clap (1988), restored by the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television and the Academy Film Archive. The film will enjoy its international restoration premiere with live screenings taking place in Port of Spain along with a panel discussion, Film Archives as Repositories of History with filmmaker Kavery Kaul and others.
One Hand Don’t Clap (1988) captures the vibrant story of calypso and the emergence of soca through the eyes of two legendary artists, Lord Kitchener and Calypso Rose. Its infectious rhythms and exhilarating irreverence illuminate topical themes that continue to resonate.
Kavery Kaul is an award-winning director, producer, and writer, the founder of riverfilms. One Hand Don’t Clap originally premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. Her work has been featured at DOC NYC, London, Rotterdam, and Sydney Festivals, among other major festivals. It has reached wide audiences in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Bengali is currently in theatrical release in New York, Los Angeles, and New Jersey. Her other credits include Cuban Canvas, an Imagen Award Nominee which premiered at the Kennedy Center; Long Way from Home, a Film Threat and Time Out Critic’s Pick; and First Look, presented on PBS-TV by the National Latino Broadcasting Consortium (LPBP). Kavery has garnered Fulbright and Logan Fellowships and a New York City Proclamation of Excellence. Her TEDx talk speaks to the power of storytelling across divides. As Fulbright’s 75th anniversary arts speaker, she reminded listeners that “Stories Matter”. An India-born American, she serves on the Board of Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and is a member of New York Women in Film & Television, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Film Fatales, Women Independent Producers and Greenlight Women.
The Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television is the only program in the world dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of women in the industry through preserving films made by women. Founded in 1995 by NYWIFT in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), WFPF has preserved around 150 American films, across all genres, in which women have played key creative roles. The WFPF is rewriting the film history books, by saving one moving picture at a time. Learn more about the WFPF.
