We Going Pan

Photo by Jason C. Audain

Role: Producer

The experience of steelpan music is something that can be difficult to put into words, but when I interviewed Attillah Springer  as part of “Pan Is…” a short-format documentary for the National Gas Company (NGC) which explores the genesis and evolution of Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument, she managed to tap into it.

The feelings stirred by Attillah’s lively retelling of her adventures at Panorama, the instrument’s most illustrious music competition, seemed to naturally lend themselves to a short film format. The timing was perfect: after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, Carnival 2023 would be the first in-person festival.

It was a real privilege producing this short — director Walt Lovelace, photographer Jason C. Audain and I understood that while the experience of “going pan” is communal, it is at the same time, individual. Perhaps you will find some of the beauty of your own pan experience in it.

Watch the short film on YouTube and share your own stories of “Going Pan” in the comments section.

You can check out the full project page for “WE GOING PAN” here.