Latchmansingh, Ryan. Where the Sun Sets, uploaded by Studio Anansi, 14 August 2015, URL: https://vimeo.com/136361833
Pioneering Transnational Cinema and Cultural Identity: A Conversation with Ryan Latchmanshingh
Outline
Top of pageFull text
Introduction
1This article presents an edited conversation with filmmaker Ryan Latchmanshingh, a significant voice in contemporary Caribbean cinema whose work exemplifies the concept of “trans-American” artistic production. Born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1987 and educated in the United States, Latchmanshingh’s cinematic perspectives offer valuable insights into questions of cultural identity, diaspora, and artistic expression in an interconnected world. His film Where the Sun Sets serves as a focal point for examining how Caribbean filmmakers navigate the complex terrain between personal experience and universal themes while addressing social issues specific to their communities of origin.
Biographical Context and Early Development
2Latchmanshingh grew up in Trinidad during the early 2000s, an experience that profoundly shaped his artistic sensibilities. He attended St. Mary’s College for his secondary education before relocating to the United States at age nineteen to pursue higher education. His decision to study filmmaking was facilitated by family connections—his mother had moved to Los Angeles when he was fifteen, and he had aunts residing in the area. This familial presence eased his transition to life in California, where he enrolled at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television.
3The filmmaker reflects on his formative years in Trinidad with both fondness and critical awareness: “My childhood was fun and eventful... it was by no means safe. I kind of was in between two worlds.” This liminal positioning between different social contexts became instrumental in his creative development, providing the foundation for narratives that would later explore the tensions between competing value systems and life choices.
Cultural Transition and Educational Experience
4When discussing his adaptation to American life, Latchmanshingh notes that the transition was relatively seamless, attributing this smooth adjustment to the pervasive influence of Western media in the Caribbean: “We’re so knowledgeable of Western culture through media... when I got there... it wasn't any kind of culture shock.” This observation speaks to the complex media ecology of the Caribbean, where imported cultural products coexist with local traditions, creating hybrid cultural literacies among young people.
5The cultural differences he did encounter were subtle but revealing. Latchmanshingh describes the contrast between social interactions in Trinidad and those in Los Angeles: “In the Caribbean... we’re a little bit more communal and friendly... when you’re walking past people [in LA], they would say to you, ‘What’s up?’ And I would actually stop to answer them and they would just keep walking.” This anecdote illuminates the different ways in which community and interpersonal connections are structured in these distinct cultural contexts.
6Academically, Latchmanshingh found that his Caribbean education had prepared him well for the demands of an American university: “Academically, I did very well just because of the rigor that my school and, I think, in general the Caribbean has academically.” This comment challenges common assumptions about educational standards in developing nations and points to the sometimes unacknowledged strengths of Caribbean educational systems.
Genesis of Where the Sun Sets
7The genesis of Where the Sun Sets is directly tied to Latchmanshingh’s educational journey at Loyola Marymount University. He explains that film students there had two options for their senior thesis: writing an academic paper or producing a film. He chose the latter, despite the considerable challenges it presented: “It was an undertaking because most people... were writing short films that you could shoot in and around the area... but this was a whole different beast because I was taking the school's equipment and students to another country.”
8This decision to film in Trinidad rather than California demonstrates Latchmanshingh’s commitment to authentically representing his cultural background. Moreover, it reflects a distinctive aspect of Loyola Marymount’s film program: “One of the things about LMU’s film program is that you own the rights to the films that you make completely, but you have to pay for them, as opposed to other film schools where the film school owns the movie because they provide you with all the funding.”
9The production approach was notably collaborative, and community based. Many of the actors were not professionals but friends from Trinidad whose personalities informed the characters they portrayed: “A lot of the actors aren’t professional actors. They are just friends of mine who kind of fit the role of those characters that I had written. And in a lot of instances, I had actually written the characters based on the actual person.”
Cultural Identity and Artistic Expression
10When asked about his relationship with his native country, Latchmanshingh affirms a strong connection: “I have a good relationship with my country and culture and family. Born and raised Trini. I go back home for Carnival when I can.” This continuing engagement with Trinidadian cultural practices suggests that migration has not eroded his sense of cultural identification.
11Latchmanshingh contextualizes his decision to pursue film education in the United States within the limitations of educational opportunities in Trinidad at that time: “When I was in high school, there wasn’t any really established film program. University of West Indies had like a theater program... but they didn’t have a film program.” His statement reflects broader structural issues regarding arts education in the Caribbean and helps explain the pattern of creative emigration among Caribbean youth with artistic aspirations.
12Interestingly, this theme of seeking opportunities abroad is mirrored in Where the Sun Sets through the character Justin, who “is also looking for an opportunity to leave... to go to England to play football.” Latchmanshingh observes that this narrative element “mirrors my experience” and addresses a common reality in the Caribbean: “Sometimes your home doesn’t have what you need, and you have to go outside to explore and gain that knowledge and expertise.”
Storytelling Traditions and Cultural Influence
13When discussing the origins of his passion for filmmaking, Latchmanshingh connects his artistic inclinations to broader cultural patterns in the Caribbean: “In Trinidad and the Caribbean, we have a very big storytelling type culture... the oral histories.” He elaborates on how this manifests in everyday communication: “Even if you ask somebody for directions somewhere and they give you like a whole story... take a left here, you’ll see a house and inside that house... but don’t turn there because...”
14This cultural propensity for narrative is reflected in the performances of his non-professional actors: “That’s a good example of how much storytelling is in our DNA, because they’re not professional actors, but you say to any Trinidadian person, ‘This is what's going on,’ and play the scene, and you see this authenticity.” The observation suggests that narrative competence is widely distributed within Trinidadian culture, a resource that Latchmanshingh was able to draw upon in his filmmaking process.
Thematic Concerns and Narrative Structure
15Where the Sun Sets engages with significant social issues affecting Trinidad in the early 2000s. Latchmanshingh describes the context: “During that time, there was a lot of kidnapping going on... A lot of wealthier businessmen, their children were being kidnapped and held for ransom. And there was a lot of talk about corruption within the police, that they were in on it.”
16The film employs a non-linear narrative structure that moves between past and present. Latchmanshingh acknowledges possible influences while emphasizing the narrative purpose of this approach: “One of my favorite filmmakers is Christopher Nolan and he does a lot... utilizing this non-linear structure in his films.... I think that for a movie to be interesting it has to be a bit mysterious... it should always be a revelation to the audience.”
17The central conflict of the film revolves around the tension between positive social institutions (exemplified by a football camp) and criminal enterprises that exploit children: “This football camp is messing with the drug running because they’re using children to move the drugs. And if these kids are coming off the streets and getting involved in football, then this camp needs to be shut down.” This narrative setup allows the film to explore how individual lives are affected by broader social forces.
18At its emotional core, the film is about a friendship fractured by tragedy: “The past that they have is what’s revealed later on... Luke’s mother saves Justin's life, sacrificing her own. And then Luke’s life basically goes in a downward spiral... he resents him for that.” This personal dimension grounds the film’s social critique in human relationships and emotional consequences.
Cultural Hybridity and Aesthetic Choices
19The film’s soundtrack features music by the Mighty Sparrow, a calypso legend whose song “Dan is the Man in the Van” provides commentary on colonial education in Trinidad. Latchmanshingh explains: “The song is about this style... the British kind of imposing their stories, and Sparrow’s kind of saying, ‘Look how stupid it is.’ But it’s more commenting on that colonialism.” This musical choice connects the contemporary narrative to longer historical patterns of cultural imposition and resistance.
20The film’s temporal setting is deliberately ambiguous until late in the narrative: “In the scene where he goes to the party... before they go to Juve, the DJ actually says what year it is. He says, ‘Juve 2012.’” This subtle approach to establishing time period contributes to the film’s measured pacing and emphasis on character development over explicit contextual markers.
Conclusion
21Ryan Latchmanshingh represents an emergent generation of Caribbean filmmakers whose work navigates the complex terrain between cultural specificity and universal themes. His educational and professional trajectory demonstrates both the challenges facing aspiring filmmakers from the Caribbean and the creative strategies they employ to overcome these limitations. Where the Sun Sets offers a compelling case study in how personal experience can be transformed into narrative cinema that engages with social issues while remaining grounded in the particular textures of place and community.
22The filmmaker’s ongoing connection to Trinidad, combined with his professional development in the United States, positions him within a broader pattern of transnational Caribbean artistry that maintains meaningful ties to communities of origin while participating in global circuits of cultural production. His work exemplifies how contemporary Caribbean cinema can simultaneously serve as cultural expression, social critique, and artistic intervention.
References
Electronic reference
Frédéric Lefrançois, “Pioneering Transnational Cinema and Cultural Identity: A Conversation with Ryan Latchmanshingh”, Angles [Online], 19 | 2025, Online since 01 April 2025, connection on 23 June 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/angles/8876; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/13ofy
Top of pageCopyright
The text only may be used under licence CC BY 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.
Top of page