The only thing more depressing than watching Mitt Romney manage to avoid making a fool of himself in the first US presidential debate last night was the understanding that it would translate into a Romeny ‘victory’ in the half-asleep mind of the American voter and a full-scale rout for the half-dead media. This morning, even the BBC, the last bastion of reporting facts instead of trends on the Twitterscape, gave in and proceeded from the starting point that President Obama “lost”.

Lost what? Not his dignity. Mitt Romney kept repeating empty phrases - “I’m going to put Middle Class America back to work” - and that

The ttff ends today, I'm sad to say. But the extra film I pick is by itself worth journeying to Tobago for; by flying fish, if necessary. So, here is my last Film of the Day (and the lanyap; I was wrong about Curacao but the film that did win the award, The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song, I had also tipped for success):

Curacao (Sarah Voss & Sander  Snoep/ 2012/ Netherlands/ Documentary/ Dutch and Papiamentu with English sub-titles/ 71 mins) 3pm Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook.

Curacao could easily win the TTFF’s Best Caribbean Film by an International Filmmaker award this year. Sarah Voss & Sander Snoep’s tautly woven film shockingly portrays life under slavery in the former Dutch possession by simply

Only two more days of the TT Film Festival left! Dang! i've been choosing a Film of the Day since the festival began on 19 September. Today’s choice won the Best Narrative Film prize, if that kind of thing motivates you to get up and go see it, but the film would have been just as powerful if it hadn't. The film that I pick for "Best of the Rest" won the Best Local Feature prize, so big BC on TV congratulations to Mariel Brown for another ttff win.

Choco (Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza/ 2012/ Colombia/ Drama/ Spanish with English subtitles/ 80 mins) 5.30pm Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook. Q+A.

One of the most emotionally wrenching films in this year’s festival, Choco is exactly the kind of film the ttff should be screening, if only to show the large number of young filmmakers in Trinidad copycatting Hollywood

Skip work but dopn't miss the last screening of this excellent film, part of the TT Film Festival's Canada thing, with the Canadian High Commission and RBC (that used to be RBTT, that used to be the Royal Bank of Trinidad & Tobago, that used to be, and is again, the Royal Bank of Canada).

Today’s ttff Film of the Day is:

Monsieur Lazhar (Philippe Falardeau/ 2011/ Canada/ Drama/ French with English subtitles/ 94 mins) 11am MovieTowne Port of Spain.

Keep your children home from school and miss work yourself to see this film: both you and your offspring will benefit more. One of the highlights of the festival, Monsieur Lazhar tells, in a relatively short runtime, given what it accomplishes, an epic human story of tragedy, loss and the healing power of love. If you are unaffected by it, you’re beyond redemption yourself. Apart from

Since the TT Film Festiival began, I've been picking a Film of the Day for the Guardian - and I think we're the only paper that has been doing that, for what it's worth, which is a lot, to the filmi people, probably not a lot to the money ones. I'd chosen The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song (8pm Little Carib) since last week or it would have been the pick. The festival has been really, really good. If you've never been to a festival film, make Rumble or the Bastard your first experience (or both). Both offer a Q+A at the end and a chance to understand why people all over the world flock to film festivals.

Today’s choice is:

The Rumble of the Stones (Alejandro Bellame Palacios/ 2011/ Venezuela/ Drama/ Spanish with English subtitles/ 100 mins) 6pm MovieTowne Port of Spain. Q+A.

The Rumble of the Stones must be a leading contender for the ttff’s Best Caribbean Film by an International Filmmaker, if only because it could easily have been the Best Trinidad & Tobago Film Made in Spanish. (It is actually eligible for Best Caribbean Film under ttff rules.) Set in Caracas, the