More support needed for regional film industry

2011-03-18

Film Makers Need To Roll Up Their Sleeves

The Caribbean film industry can be a viable and profitable industry, but it lacks the support needed to take it to the next level.

Chief Executive Officer of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, Frances Anne Solomon, made the point at the opening of the second annual CaribbeanTales Film Festival and Symposium, at the Frank Collymore Hall last night.

"We don't have the broadcasters on board, we don't have what countries like the UK, US and Canada have, [which are] incentives across the board, across the region to support the region to make the product and make it viable... and make it work as an industry," she said.

Solomon admitted it was difficult to start CaribbeanTales, as well as stage the film festival, but the team pressed on in order to create a structure to assist other film makers to work and make money.

However, she urged that the film makers must be ready to put their hands to the plough to reap the rewards.

"We have to be prepared to roll up our sleeves and do the dirty work. It is a very tough industry, but it is going to deliver returns..."

Manager of Island Inn and platinum sponsor of the film festival, Peter Odle, said he believed the industry could be beneficial to the region.

Noting that CaribbeanTales came at a "critical juncture" for the region, he said: "The prevailing global economic challenges require that our region exploits all opportunities available to provide greater economic benefits to the people of the region. Film and tourism, or film tourism can help to reposition our regional economies by being a key growth industry."

Odle asserted the film industry could result in increased foreign spending and jobs in both the tourism and non-tourism sectors.

But more than the economic benefits, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Celia Toppin, linked the regional film industry's benefits to the issue of identity.

"We see that having an indigenous film industry goes a long way towards helping us enforce that Caribbean identity that we have... Being able to see ourselves reflected back at us for a change makes a very big difference."

At the opening, the audience was treated to a snippet of new comedy series by Rommel Hall, Keeping Up with the Joneses, as well as web series Dominion, starring Sean Michael Field.

The evening closed with A Hand Full of Dirt, a full-length feature by Russell Watson. (LW)