The experience of steelpan music is something that can be difficult to put into words, but when Attillah Springer was interviewed 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. Director Walt Lovelace, producer Janine Mendes-Franco, and photographer Jason C. Audain 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.

Role: Text, Voice Over