Alyssa Charles
Directing
Biography
Alyssa Charles is a Barbadian filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. Her work is deeply influenced by Caribbean culture, identity, and storytelling, often exploring themes of memory, belonging, and cultural preservation through grounded, emotionally driven narratives. Drawing inspiration from her experience living away from home, Alyssa is passionate about telling stories that reflect the complexities of diaspora and the quiet fear of cultural loss. Her debut short film, Two Come Calling, blends Caribbean folklore with magical realism to examine identity and ancestral connection within the immigrant experience. Alyssa aspires to continue creating culturally rooted films that preserve and celebrate Caribbean stories while bringing underrepresented voices to the screen.
Known For
With everything to prove, a determined young painter competes in a twelve-hour art competition. But when her model becomes mysteriously frozen in time, she is forced to confront the truth that real creativity needs movement, vulnerability, and connection.
Hold Still
After having the feeling of being watched, a young and paranoid conspiracy theorist walks into a pawn shop and buys his first camcorder to share his findings of “truth”, only to find some chilling recordings of himself on it that certifies his fears and anxieties.
SECOND HAND
Anaya, a young Barbadian woman living in Toronto, is forced to confront her growing disconnection from home after she realizes she can no longer remember a song her late grandmother used to sing to her. When two Caribbean folklore spirits appear in her apartment offering to help, what begins as a search for memory transforms into a haunting test of identity, ancestry, and cultural belonging.