Michael Mooleedhar (born 3 August 1985) is a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

director and producer, whose work includes documentaries, music videos and film. His first feature film, '' Green Days By The River'', opened the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2017. Winning People's Choice Award best Feature Film Narrative and Best Trinidad and Tobago Feature Film 201

Mooleedhar’s directorial debut, ''Queens Of Curepe'' (2008), is a revealing documentary focusing on transsexual sex workers from Trinidad and Tobago and other territories in the Caribbean, who work in the streets of

Curepe Curepe is a town in the East–West Corridor of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located west of St Augustine and east of St Joseph. Curepe adjacents the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies. Many of the students attending the un ...

, a town found along Trinidad and Tobago’s East-West Corridor."Transsexuals, Black Caribs and Bobo Shanti"
''Trinidad and Tobago Newsday'', 22 September 2008.

Early life and education

Michael Kenneth Mooleedhar was born on 3 August 1985 in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

, Trinidad and Tobago, the son of Carol Mooleedhar (née Brewster), a librarian and Timothy Mooleedhar, a city planner. He grew up in the

Trincity Trincity is a planned community in northern Trinidad. It is located along the East–West Corridor south of Tunapuna and north of Piarco. Trincity was developed by Home Construction Limited. In recent years Trincity has been one of the major gr ...

neighbourhood before moving to Glencoe, and graduated from Saint Mary's College (CIC) in 2006. Mooleedhar attended the

University of West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

, Saint Augustine campus, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) in Film in 2009, and a Master of Arts degree (MA) in Creative Design Entrepreneurship in 2012."Mooleedhar, a film-maker with cool"
''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'', 13 September 2012.

Career

Mooleedhar's first film, ''Queens Of Curepe'' (2008), was a critically acclaimed documentary that shone light on the world of sex workers in Trinidad and Tobago. The film was also met with concerns from Trinidad and Tobago’s Family Planning Association due to its content; however, Mooleedhar was able to work with the organization and allowed them to use the film for advocacy purposes. The FPA subsequently hired him to do additional projects for them. In 2009 he met his mentor and future collaborator Professor Patricia Mohammed and they worked together on Mohammed’s next project, ''Coolie Pink and Green'' (2009), for which Mooleedhar served as co-producer and editor. The film won the People’s Choice Award at the 2009 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. In 2010, Mooleedhar and Mohammed came together again to work on ''Seventeen Colors and a Sitar'', featuring Rex Dixon and Mungal Patasar, with Mooleedhar co-directing. Mooleedhar’s narrative short film ''The Cool Boys'' (2012) is an exploration of young man’s take of the reality around him and his attempt at expressing how he experiences life at this time. Mooleedhar returned to documentary film with ''City On The Hill'' (2015), this time exploring the region of

Laventille Laventille is a ward of Trinidad and Tobago. Etymology The name ''Laventille'' hearkens back to colonial times, especially when the French dominated the cultural traditions of the island. One etymological derivation of the name is because the no ...

in Trinidad and Tobago’s East Port of Spain. The documentary was praised for its understatement of the violence for which this neighbourhood is generally known. Mooleedhar's feature film directorial debut came in 2017 with '' Green Days By The River'', an adaptation of the classic Trinidadian novel of the same name by celebrated author Michael Anthony that opened the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival."‘Green Days By the River’”to openThe film opened the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. ttff/17"
''Daily Express'' (Trinidad), 3 August 2017.

Filmography

Film

*'' Green Days By The River'' (2017) *''City On The Hill'' (2015) - Documentary Short co-directed with Professor Patricia Mohammed *''The Cool Boys'' (2012) - Short *''Seventeen Colors and a Sitar'' (2010) - co-directed with Professor Patricia Mohammed *''Coolie Pink and Green (2009) -'' co-producer with Professor Patricia Mohammed and Editor *''Queens Of Curepe'' (2008) - Documentary

Music Videos

*Tennille Amor feat.

Bunji Garlin Ian Antonio Alvarez (born July 14, 1978), better known by his stage name Bunji Garlin, is a Trinidadian ragga soca artist. He is also affectionately known as the Viking of Soca. His spouse is Fay-Ann Lyons. Early life Bunji was born on July 1 ...

– ''I Want Your Love'' *Mark Hardy x Yung Rudd – Wuz D Scene w/ Justyn Mayers *Stef Kalloo x Mark Hardy – ''Dan It Up''

Awards and recognition

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

- Impact Award 2008 * Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival 2009 - People’s Choice Award for ''Coolie Pink & Green'' * Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival 2015 - People’s Choice Award for ''City On The Hill'' * Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival 2017 - Best Trinidad and Tobago Feature Film for ''Green Days by the River'' * Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival 2017 - People's Choice Award best Feature Film Narrative for ''Green Days by the River''
Barbados Independent Film Festival
2018- Carmichael Award for Exceptional storytelling for ''Green Days by the River''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mooleedhar, Michael 1985 births Living people People from Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago film directors Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent