CASH PRIZES FOR REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL HONOUR AWARDS

Winners of Honour Awards for excellence in film making arts will each receive cash prizes of $50,000 in this year's REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL, to be held May 23-27 in Montego Bay. Honour Awards in 13 categories will be sponsored by organizations supporting the growth and development of Jamaican culture in fil m, who will also contribute a percentage of their sponsorship to a fund for future film productions to be administered by the Jamaica Film Academy which organizes the annual Reggae Film Festival.

UNESCO executives Dr. Maria Smith, Everton Hannam and Hilchuli Gurung
with JFA's Carl Bradshaw and RFF Barbara Blake Hannah

This was announced by Carl Bradshaw, Chairman of the Jamaica Film Academy, as he accepted a cheque from UNESCO to sponsor the International Documentary Honour Award. The presentation was made by Ms. Hilchuli Gurug, UNESCO Programme Specialist for Culture, Mr. Everton Hannam, Secretary General of the Jamaica National Commission forUNESCO, and Dr. Maria Smith, JNC-UNESCO Programme Manager at the New Kingston offices.

The UNESCO officials said they recognize the Reggae Film Festival as a positive celebration of the UN Year of African Descendants, and the fact that African Liberation Day occurs on May 25 during the film festival provides UNESCO with an opportunity to highlight Jamaica's reggae culture as an excellent expression of African Liberation by African descendants.

With the festival's move to the island's premier resort city, plans are in place to present an first class event that will make its mark among the premiere international film festivals. Invited celebrity guests include David 'Steel Pulse' Hinds, star of the US feature film “Rocksteady”, US actor Laurence Fishbourne, narrator of the music documentary “Everyday Sunshine”, Jeremy Marre, director of the BBC entry “Reggae Britannia”, Mitzie Allen of HamaFilms Antigua, Jamaican music video director Rass Kassa and actresses Sheryl Lee Ralph and Audrey Reid.
FURTHER INFO: reggaefilmfestival(at)gmail.com