EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED IN 2012 - Jamaican Reggae Film Festival News

WHAT’S IN STORE – REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL 2012 

Guests of the 2012 Reggae Film Festival can expect the the event to surpass previous presentations, with the world premiere of a Hollywood movie, the presence of a well-known African-American producer/director/actor and the award of Fifty Thousand Dollars and a trip to the Trinidad &Tobago Film Festival for the winner of the RBC Make A Film In 24 Hours competition, among the highlights.

The film festival, which takes place April 17-21, will be held at Red Bones Blue Cafe in New Kingston with 3 days of film screenings, seminars and awards. Films from Jamaica, Britain, Canada and the USA will join films from Iran, Serbia and Ethiopia

African-American actor Giancarlo Esposito, star of several Spike Lee films and recently lauded for his role as ‘Gus’ in the acclaimed ABC-TV series ‘Breaking Bad‘, will bring the feature film “Gospel Hill’ starring Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Danny Glover and himself which he produced and directed for his Quiet Hands film production company.

A first for the Reggae Film Festival, will be the world premiere of a Hollywood ‘horror’ movie starring Ryan O’Neal and Tom Sizemore that features a reggae soundtrack. Director Rebekah Chaney and Jamaican filmmaker/musician Wayne Jobson who composed reggae music for the soundtrack, will be among several members of the production team who will accompany the film to Jamaica for the premiere.

Cameron Bailey, deputy director of the Toronto International Film Festival, will act as chief judge of the RBC Make A Film In 24 Hours competition, which this year will present the winner with $50,000 and a trip to the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival , with prizes of $30,000 and $20,000 for second and third place winners. Competition is expected to be keen, as amateur and professional Jamaican film makers participate in the film festival and showcase their film making skills.

Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival director Annabelle Alcazar will bring a programme of 7 award-winning Caribbean films to the Jamaican festival to be be shown in a special programme at UWI, Mona hosted by Prof. Rachelle Moseley-Wood of the Department of Humanities in English.

Jamaican feature films include “Blind Shotta‘, an urban comedy by Diavallan Fearon whose Jamaican premiere is highly anticipated, and Julian Henriques 1990′s feature“We The Ragamuffin‘ set in London’s Jamaican community, with a cameo role by reggae artist Mikey General. Several documentaries are featured including ‘Studio Drummie One and the History of RockSteady Music” and 'The Invitation‘, an unusual entry from Iran made by escaping refugees and filmed on cellphone. Another outstanding documentary is ‘With Fidel, Whatever Happens” an inside look at Cuba by noted Serbian director Goran Radovanovic who will come to Jamaica with his film.


Seminars on Scriptwriting, Acting and Production are scheduled, as well as a Children’s programme of Jamaican films starring Elise Kelly, Freddie McGregor, Judy Mowatt and Storm Saulter. A Jamaica50 Retrospective will honour filmmaker Chris Browne with screenings of his early short films, and the films ‘The Harder They Come’ and ‘Life and Debt‘

The Reggae Film Festival is presented by the Jamaica Film Academy, a member of the Universal Film Festival Organization. JFA Directors are Carl Bradshaw, Chairman; Barbara Blake-Hannah, Festival Director; Peter Gittins, Cordel Green, Rick Elgood, George Tait and Kevin Jackson.

Reggae film festival(Best Of) launched on February 18th, 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - Article from Jamaican Observer
Selections from last year's award winners were shown including Mustapha Khan's Rocksteady, starring Grammy award winner, David 'Steel Pulse' Hinds. Rocksteady won Best International Feature Film in 2011. It featured BC Cook (Cedric Sanders), the son of Jamaican immigrants, who was left to support his mother in rural New York after the death of his father. In a unique coming of age story, his avid love for car racing provides lessons of patience, success, inner-growth and self-discovery.



‘ANIMATED’ DUO: Winner of the Digicel Animation Award, Reinardo ‘Mental’ Chung (left) and his brother Peter, are seen at the February 18 launch of the Reggae Film Festival at RedBones Blues Café. The latest episode of Chung’s film Dutty Bwoy was a part of the evening’s programme. The 2012 Reggae Film Festival runs April 17-21. (Photo: Paul G Slowley)



In keeping with the dynamic developments in film technology, Reinardo 'Mental' Chung floored judges with his eight-minute 3D computer animated film Bad Influence, which won the Digicel Animation Award in 2011. Chung's newest episode from his popular series Dutty Bwoy was shown much to the delight of the audience, receiving positive reviews all around.

"This is the next entertainment step for dancehall," noted Chung. "As animation deals with all the issues surrounding this genre in an interesting and entertaining way."

Selections from the RBC Bank sponsored 'Make a Film in 24 Hours' competition, including The Spirit of Life is in the Music by former Miss Jamaica, Regina Beavers, What If by Vanessa Phillips and Stay Firm by 'Amaziyah the Great' were also a part of the night's line-up.

The 2012 festival also promises the guest screening of an international film starring well-known Academy Award-winning actors and actresses. The Best of the Reggae Film Festival 2012 is a good opportunity to see films... that make you proud to be Jamaican" remarks Barbara Blake-Hannah, Reggae Film Festival Director.