Guyana’s Timehri Film Festival returns to Georgetown from 6 to 8 November 2026, offering audiences a weekend of Guyanese and Caribbean cinema before a linked writing programme turns attention to stories still being developed.

The festival’s official website confirms the dates. Its published programme places the opening evening at The Black Magenta, 208–209 Camp Street, beginning at 6pm on Friday, 6 November.

This is a preview of the coming weekend, checked on 2 November. It is not an eyewitness account of screenings, filmmaker discussions or audience responses.

### Folklore in a contemporary setting

The opening Guyanese film block includes Isaiah Thomas’s “Ol’ Higue”. The festival’s film entry identifies it as a 15-minute Guyanese fiction film from 2026 and schedules a discussion with the director after its presentation.

The synopsis describes a woman dealing with the collapse of her marriage while confronting a presence linked to a Guyanese folktale. That is the organiser’s account of the story, rather than a claim that the film documents an actual supernatural event.

The selection offers one route into a broader question for regional cinema: how can familiar cultural stories become material for contemporary filmmaking? Audiences can consider the choices a filmmaker makes about character, atmosphere and setting, rather than treating folklore only as an object to preserve unchanged.

The festival schedule gives the opening block a 6pm start. Individual films within a block should not be assumed to begin at that exact minute; viewers should follow the full running order and admission instructions.

### A connection with the wider Caribbean

On Saturday, 7 November, the programme schedules Maxime Jean-Baptiste’s “Kouté Vwa (Listen to the Voices)” at 2:30pm.

The festival describes the film through a teenager’s summer with his grandmother in Cayenne, French Guiana, where drumming brings family grief and questions of forgiveness into view. Its listing gives French Guianese Creole and French as the languages, with English subtitles, and says an audience discussion will follow.

For viewers unfamiliar with French Guiana, that provides a specific point of entry through a family story. It also places different Caribbean languages and histories within the same festival encounter without assuming they are interchangeable.

The film guide includes other work from across the region and diaspora. The value for audiences lies partly in seeing those different forms and perspectives together, then having space to discuss them.

### Beyond the screening weekend

Maribunta Pictures’ official Story Lab page schedules an in-person narrative-development workshop in Georgetown from 9 to 13 November, after the festival. It describes a programme intended for three emerging Guyana-based screenwriters.

The announced process continues beyond the workshop through guided writing, a table read and revision. This connects the experience of watching films with the longer work involved in developing another story for the screen.

There is an important practical limit: the published submission deadline was 16 October 2026 at 11:59pm. The page’s surviving submission button should not be interpreted as proof that applications remain open. This article does not announce a new call or confirm the selected participants.

The distinction matters for diaspora readers considering participation. The lab specifies residence in Guyana and the ability to take part fully in person; it is not presented as a general remote workshop for international applicants.

### Planning a visit

A Guyana Directory event listing independently corroborates the festival dates, opening time and Camp Street venue. Readers should use the organiser’s linked ticket page to confirm current prices, pass coverage and availability.

Times in this article are local to Georgetown. A programme listing establishes an announced screening, not a reserved seat. The edition number differs between the festival’s programme text and the directory, so dates and current programme details are the more dependable planning reference.

RIM’s guide to planning an African film screening explores the audience preparation and discussion that can make a screening useful. Timehri’s announced weekend offers a Caribbean example: locally rooted work, regional encounters and a connection with the development of future films.

*Illustration: AI-generated film and writing objects with tropical shapes; no actual film still, festival venue or screening is depicted.*

Why this matters

Regional film festivals can give locally rooted stories a public audience and connect viewers with work from neighbouring cultures. Timehri’s programme offers specific opportunities to encounter Guyanese folklore and French Guianese family memory, while the linked lab shows another stage of building screen stories. Accurate dates, subtitles and access information help readers plan. The expired lab deadline also needs to remain clear so an upcoming event is not mistaken for an open application opportunity.

Sources

Topics: Guyana · Caribbean cinema · Timehri Film Festival · French Guiana · Screenwriting · Film audiences

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