Caribbean Focus 1
Relationships
Caribbean Focus 1 – Relationships
Introduced in 2025 as a tribute to Curaçaoan filmmaker Wilbert Tecla, the Watapana Award celebrates compelling short films within the Caribbean Focus and highlights the growing strength of local and regional storytelling.
The Retreat
Director full name: Jaydev Hemrajani
Country of Production: Curaçao
Year of Production: 2025
Length in Minutes: 7 minutes 42 seconds
Spoken Language: English
Subtitles: English
Shanti Iyer has planned a retreat that has everything,
from acupuncture to yoga, a nature walk and even a
cacao ceremony.
The 4 participants, who signed up to find themselves,
end up finding other distractions.
Through all the chaos, Shanti tries to persist with
the Retreat hoping her participants walk away with
what they are looking for.
De Oversteek
Director full name: Maarten van Zadelhoff
Country of Production: Curaçao
Year of Production: 2025
Length in Minutes: 7 minutes
Spoken Language: Dutch
Subtitles: English
Out of love, a woman chooses to cross
the border to the afterlife. Not because
she wants to die but to keep on living
forever with the lover she lost.
No por ning’é
Director full name: Angely Lobo Ludovic
Country of Production: Curaçao
Year of Production: 2024
Length in Minutes: 9 minutes
Spoken Language: Papiamentu
Subtitles: English
The elusive owner of a well known bar,
hides a truth that threatens to unravel
her carefully constructed life. As her
old life resurfaces, she begins plotting
to escape the life she’s been forced
to live. Her choices lead her down
a path where passion and betrayal
intertwine, and where the truth may
be more dangerous than any lie she
has told.
Adrift Wak Leu
Director full name: Velvet Zoé Ramos
Country of Production: Aruba
Year of Production: 2026
Length in Minutes: 17 minutes
Spoken Language: No dialogues
A dreamscape unraveling through
abstraction—where land, sound, and
memory merge in a poetic echo. A
coming-of-age of wakefulness within
the dream. The film is an invitation
to immerse yourself in a visual
exploration of the relationship to the
self.
This film will also be screened in our ‘Studio
Caribe’ program on Friday 17 April. Please
refer to our program schedule for details.
Normale Burgers van Suriname
Director full name: Morena Leter
Country of Production: Suriname
Year of Production: 2025
Length in Minutes: 19 minutes
Spoken Language: Dutch
Subtitles: English.
This documentary highlights the life
of Dennis Baarn, a man who hunts
for worms in the forest as a means
to survive. As we see him in his daily
routines and the special people he
meets, he takes us along in his stream
of thoughts, his simple wisdom,
reminiscing about his youth, and how
his life is shaped today.
Mane Hòmbu
Director full name: Angelo Lourens
Country of Production: Curaçao
Year of Production: 2026
Length in Minutes: 20 minutes
Spoken Language: Papiamentu
Subtitles: English
Wendell, a mechanic and his partner
Angelique prepare to welcome
their first child. He feels the weight
of expectations, and the lingering
influence of his older brother Jaïr.
When tragedy strikes, he retreats
deeper into himself. He is forced to
question what is real, what is memory,
and what he has tried for too long not
to face.
This film will also be screened in our ‘Studio
Caribe’ program on Friday 17 April. Please
refer to our program schedule for details.
Amor – watapana award nominee
Director full name: Myra Fanta Bodian
Country of Production: Netherlands
Year of Production: 2025
Length in Minutes: 23 minutes
Spoken Language: Dutch
Subtitles: English
In the intimate setting of a photo
booth, Eduard who is young and
queer, shares with us his search
for self-acceptance. Outside the
booth, his search translates through
choreography with the Curaçaoan
dance styles tambú and seú, which
symbolize strength and harvest.
Djis Bisami Si – watapana award nominee
Director full name: Clayton G.N. Ignecia
Country of Production: Curaçao
Year of Production: 2025
Length in Minutes: 29 minutes
Spoken Language: Papiamentu
Subtitles: English
Kevin is in love with Sharinela but
unfortunately life has other plans for
this couple. Their love holds on but
without an answer or an ending they
still can’t let go. Next to a love story,
this film also is a declaration of love to
the town center of Willemstad.
WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2026 | 13:30 | THEATER 1
Otrobanda 1 @ The Movies
FRIDAY 17 APRIL 2026 | 18:15 | THEATER 3
Otrobanda 1 @ The Movies
SATURDAY 18 APRIL 2026 | 19:45 | THEATER 3
Otrobanda 1 @ The Movies