Doubles

Ian Harnarine’s debut feature Doubles introduces us to Dhani, a disillusioned young man of Indo-Caribbean descent working at his mother’s doubles cart in Trinidad. Dhani is plagued with the typical agonies of a young adult in limbo – measuring himself against his peers, flinching away from confrontation, and obscuring his feelings from his concerned mother – all of which is exacerbated by his father’s continued absence in Toronto, and an unprecedented hit to the family’s finances. Determined to make his father answer for his estrangement, and to regain control of his life in Trinidad, Dhani sets off for Toronto. Upon arriving in Canada, he’s confronted with an uncomfortable realization: his father doesn’t possess the answers Dhani seeks. A diasporic narrative that is both tender and novel, Doubles highlights a universal turning point of adulthood: coming to terms with the fact that our parents, too, are human. (Ian Harnarine, 2023, Canada, 90 minutes, DCP)

Doubles is presented as part of an ongoing Caribbean screening series exploring contemporary Caribbean filmmakers and cinema. Presented in partnership with the UChicago Caribbean Studies Collective. Featuring director Ian Harnarine in person for a post-show Q&A. 

Ian Harnarine was born in Toronto, Canada and is the son of immigrants from Trinidad & Tobago. He attended York University earning a Bachelor’s degree in Physics & Astronomy, a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Illinois and an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Film School.

Harnarine is a member of the National Board of Review, The Television Academy and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Harnarine’s film Doubles With Slight Pepper (Executive Produced by Spike Lee), won the Best Short Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian Academy Award. Doubles, his first narrative feature film, is currently touring festivals while Harnarine adapts David Chariandy’s novel Soucouyant. Harnarine was selected by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film and profiled in the New York Times. He teaches writing and directing at New York University.

Doors open thirty minutes before showtime. This event is free and open to the public.