Global - That unforgettable sight—for those who have been to “the front,”—of the battery being poured over in preparation for firing, is the opening salvo of insight into the short documentary about War and Peace, co-produced by roycrosse and Dalton Narine, both steelband men in their own right, and both at one time having been rooted in the legendary Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra in Trinidad & Tobago. “And Great Showers Of Tears Came Down” – the antiwar short film about a Marine Vietnam veteran (not Narine, who is himself one such), who becomes an avatar for peace – is an exercise immersed in imagery and personal accounting, thrusting outward to be visualized by all who would take so-called ‘peaceful’ existence for granted.
But that tale is told within the film itself, which is brought to life through the twin-labors of roycrosse and Narine, the latter involved in his capacity of film maker, director et al, alongside the life experience and skill set of artist, composer, writer, musician and pan man roycrosse – both joined in committing the enterprise to the ‘moving screen.’ The personal toils of both are also enshrined in this work of life, even as the spirit of roycrosse sharply answers back on a daily basis, the colorectal cancer that would be the challenger to his existence for the past five years, while Narine tussles recurrently with combat fatigue and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) from his tour in Vietnam.
roycrosse
roycrosse’s steel pan beginnings harken back to elementary school; the days of his mom discovering his pan hiding under his bed and the ensuing chase are still fondly etched in the memory of roycrosse who subsequently left Trinidad in 1962 for Canada. He would eventually become a member of a small ensemble attached to the University of Toronto, though still tasting the sweetness of Trinidad panorama, like when he played Lord Kitchener’s “The Bull” with Starlift Steel Orchestra in their Panorama-winning year of 1969. Based outside of his homeland for many years, roycrosse’s musicality manifests also via other conventional instruments in addition to the steel pan, and in his own multitude of compositions. And his musical expression both as composer and performer, is the soundtrack which accompanies the film he and Narine are working on.
One does not have to walk in the shoes of the Marine Vietnam vet whose revelations are the substance of the film which will bear the penchant for perfection of both roycrosse and Narine, but glimpsing the reality, and coming into the raw realization of wars as told through the vision of one who has, is as close to actuality as some dare come, or want to. Make this happen – take in the trailer and brief at the following link - www.indiegogo.com/projects/and-great-showers-of-tears-came-down - and take your own steps if you will, in shouldering the fruition of this work.
Contact
roycrosse: roycrosse@gmail.com
Contact
Dalton Narine:
narain67@gmail.com
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