Redmangoreviews in its partnership CaribbeanTales-TV is shining a light on Caribbean women of film this month with its collection 30 Days of Women Filmmakers. For this article we will be looking at the 2008 short film Invisible by Elspeth Duncan from my home country of Trinidad and Tobago. Go T&T!
Invisible is the story of an HIV-positive woman called “Veronica” who has an HIV-negative son and an HIV-positive daughter. As hinted by the title neither Veronica nor her children are ever fully seen and most shots are of their hands and items around the house. The film is interspersed with a child’s drawings which capture the moods of the different scenes. Duncan, also a musician, composed the haunting music featured in the short.
You never hear the interviewer asking questions and it is only Veronica’s voice that is heard, giving the film an intimate feel. The most touching parts of the film are when Veronica speaks about her daughter who cries when she is told there is no cure for her HIV, and faces discrimination from parents at her pre-school. The short film is a revealing, sometimes difficult watch that lamentably shows that despite so much knowledge and information about HIV ignorance and discrimination remains a scourge.
For more from Caribbean Tales-TV you can check out the review of feature length animated film from Martinique Battledream here. And to view Invisible or to check out all the other female directors featured in 30 Days of Women Filmmakers by Caribbean Tales-TV you can click here.