Reggae Film Festival grows

Carl Bradshaw speaking at the launch of the 2011 Reggae Film Festival. - Photo by Mel Cooke

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Long before declaring the 2011 Jamaica Reggae Film Festival officially open on Monday night at Studio 38, Trafalgar Road, New Kingston, a beaming Barbara Blake Hannah remarked "my, how we have grown!"

She said that at four years old, the festival is almost standing on its own feet, thanking the sponsors for their support.

Among the growth areas is the Make a Film in 24 Hours competition, sponsored by RBC/RBTT, which started at 9 a.m. on Monday, with 16 teams of one to five persons each slated to hand in their films yesterday at 9 a.m.

It was also noted that 11 Jamaican films are being screened this year, only two were shown at the festival's first staging.

Celebrated actor Carl Bradshaw said that creativity is a composition of sight and sound and, having done well worldwide with the sound, it was now time for Jamaica do the same with sight through film.

Still, the music has formed a good foundation for the sight, as Spanish Ambassador to Jamaica Celsa Nuno Garcia said that in looking for the link between Spain and Jamaica, she recognised that Rototom Sunsplash hosts its second staging in Benicassim this year.

For good measure, she said that a bar named Old Jamaica has opened in Madrid.

Garcia spoke to the financial side of creativity, noting that the "potential of Jamaican culture has not been economised and exploited". Also, she pointed out that "the combination of the film industry and reggae holds an endless array of possibilities".

Still, it is not all finances, as Garcia also pointed to the sense of national identity and social cohesion which the arts bring.

"These become even more important when there is a tendency towards uniformity," she said.

"Creativity makes sense, not just for economic reasons, but social reasons."

Roxanne Linsday of RBTT spoke to the bank's support of the 24 Hour Film contest and also noted that the bank supports festivals in Trinidad and Toronto, Canada.

"We trust this signals your entry into a world where great opportunities abound for the emerging artist," she said.

Digcel's Sandra Lindsay reiterated the company's commitment to the festival before blessings from Rastafari elder Sam Clayton and Blake Hannah declared the festival officially open.

Two shorts, Bad Influence and Reckoning, were slated to be screened right after the opening, with the full-length Holding On To Jah and Rocksteady following. The short Dinner was scheduled for screening before Endless Sunshine.

Yesterday's schedule included an acting seminar with Audrey Reid, Carl Bradshaw and Carl Davis in the afternoon, with Come Forward - Intensified, Invitation, Sweetest Mango and the documentary Lee Scratch Perry part of the night's fare.

Today, a music seminar with David Hinds and Sugashak Records is set for 2 p.m. and the 24 Hours entries are slotted in at 6:30 p.m. Heaven and Hellshire, Reggae Britannia, Beyond Babylon, Pages of Life, Supersonic Sound, Rastafari and Case of Thuggy Thuggy Rufus complete the night.

SPECIAL GUESTS TO ATTEND THE REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL

Several international guests will join Jamaican film makers including actors Audrey Reid, Carl Davis and Carl Bradshaw as special guests of the Reggae Film Festival. They include CEDRIC SANDERS, stars and Emmy-Award winning director MUSTAPHA KHAN of ROCKSTEADY – THE MOVIE, a major US feature film that opens the festival on Monday, May 23. Sanders performance in ROCKSTEADY was so impressive, he won a small part in THE SOCIAL NETWORK.

Cedric Sanders & Mustapha Khan (Emmy Award winning Director)

Jep Jorba 

JEP JORBA – film director, whose trip is sponsored by the Embassy of Spain. He came to the first Reggae Film Festival in 2008 with his documentary film on Jamaican musician “Rico Rodriques – the Legacy” and this year has entered the documentary “Intensified” about the British band that revitalized interest in Ska in England and Europe.

MIKE JOHNS, Founder and CEO of new US start-up venture Digital Mind State creating a unique digital entertainment experience combining social media interaction and television. He recently signed a deal with Maverick Entertainment, largest independent distributor of urban and Black films, to oversee digital distribution of their films and will be seeking to sign deals at the Reggae Film Festival with qualified film makers for digital distribution. He is a frequent speaker at US entertainment industry events including Mobile Marketing Forum, iHollywood Forum, Billboard, Multi-Cultural Media Expo and Showbiz Expo.

They will participate in the Film Seminar along with Jamaican directors Wayne Jobson and Ras Kassa, as well as Peter Hargitay of Pictures in Motion, producers of the Festival entry FIRE IN BABYLON.

Female directors Tameka Jarvis-George of Antigua, director of the short film “Dinner”; Jamaicans Jovel Johnson, director of “Reckoning” and Denisse Campbell, director of “Bubblin' both of whom live in the USA, are attending to see their films screened. Journalists from Los Angeles and USA, including Billboard Magazine, will be in Jamaica to cover the Reggae Film Festival, which runs from May 23 -28 at Studio 38, Trafalgar Road, New Kingston.

Kenia Mattis – JP tropical Foods marketing Manager

REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL NEWS - RBTT/RBC SPONSORS 'MAKE A FILM IN 24 HOURS'

RBTT/RBC SPONSORS 'MAKE A FILM IN 24 HOURS'
Kingston, Jamaica: May 5, 2011

The Jamaica Film Academy is happy to announce that first time sponsors, RBC/RBTT will lend their corporate support to the special programme “Make a Film in 24 Hours” in the REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL 2011. A prize of JA$50,000 will be awarded by RBC/RBTT to the competition winner, and prizes of Jamaican vacations and film school scholarships are among the incentives to enter the competition.

This is the 2nd staging of this competition in which the producers of the REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL invite Jamaica-based film makers, professionals or amateurs, to use film, video or cell phone cameras to make a 5 minute film in 24 hours. The competition will see teams and individuals commencing their film on Monday morning, May 23 and handing in the finished film on Tuesday morning, May 24. Entries will be shown nightly during the REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL .

This key sponsorship supports the objectives of the RBC Emerging Artist programme in which the company seeks to inspire development of the arts, particularly for emerging artists in the Caribbean and Canada. RBC/RBTT already sponsors the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival and the Toronto International film festival, so the Bank considered the Reggae Film Festival was a “perfect fit” in terms of the potential benefits to the Bank's business, corporate brand visibility and employee engagement plans.

All production in the 24 Hours Film Competition takes place in 24 hours only. To ensure that no pre-filming takes place before the competition begins, entrants are informed one hour before the competition starts of a Theme and/or Element that must be incorporated in their film. Films must be 5 minutes long, submitted in mini-DV, DVD or DATA-mpeg and contain no explicit sexual, violent or illegal images. Ten films will be selected for final awards using a judging criteria of 25% for Story, 40% for Directing, Editing and Cinematography, 20% for Production Values and 15% for Acting/Presenter.

Films will be shown at the Reggae Film Festival on each night's programme and become part of the travelling showcase 'The Best of the Reggae Film Festival' to be presented in Jamaica and internationally. The Reggae film is presented by the Jamaica Film Academy with sponsorship support from RBC/RBTT, UNESCO, the EMBASSY OF SPAIN IN JAMAICA, IRIE-FM, TAIT COMPUTER SERVICES, REGGAE FILMS UK, SUGASHAK RECORDS.

More Info: reggaefilmfestival@gmail.com

SPANISH EMBASSY SUPPORTS JAMAICAN REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL

“Cinema is the art of our time and there is no future without culture”. This statement by H.E. Ambassador Celso Nuno encapsulate the reasons why the Spanish Embassy in Jamaica has decided to lend its support to the 2011 edition of the Reggae Film Festival by facilitating the participation of Spanish film maker Jep Jorba. The film director, who attended the first Reggae Film Festival in 2008 with his film “Rico Rodriques: The Legacy” will travel to Jamaica as a guest of the Spanish Embassy with his film entry “Intensified”, a documentary about the British band that revived interest in Ska in Europe in the 1980s and since.

Ambassador Nuno says that the economic potential of the audiovisual industry as a country´s soft power tool is widely recognised. “Reggae is undoubtedly one of Jamaica´s most genuine identity trademarks and appeals strongly to foreign markets,” says the Ambassador. “One may therefore conclude that the combination of cinema and Reggae is a cocktail which guarantees success.”

Jep Jorba is a musician himself and member of a Spanish ska band. While in Jamaica Jorba, who comes from the Catalonia region of Spain, will film a documentary on the film festival and Jamaica, which he intends to enter in the 2012 Reggae Film Festival.

The Reggae film Festival is presented by the Jamaica Film Academy with sponsorship support from RBC/RBTT, UNESCO, the EMBASSY OF SPAIN IN JAMAICA, IRIE-FM, TAIT COMPUTER SERVICES, REGGAE FILMS UK, SUGASHAK RECORDS.

Reggae Film Festival relocates to Kingston

The JAMAICA FILM ACADEMY has announced final plans for the 4th JAMAICA REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL to be held at STUDIO 38, Trafalgar Road, New Kingston from May 23-27. STUDIO 38 CEO Kingsley Cooper, has welcomed the REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL to the venue's calendar of events, and all is set for a five- night programme of film screenings, seminars and meetings of the Jamaican and international film communities.

A main focus of interest at the festival this year is the Make A Film In 24 Hours competition, in which teams will use any media to make a 5-minute film in 24 hours and compete for prizes including cash, Jamaican vacations and entry in international film festivals.

UNESCO, through the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO, is supporting the Reggae Film Festival as an event celebrating the UN Year of African Descendants which will be celebrated at the Festival on May 25, African Liberation Day. UNESCO will present the Honour Award for Best Documentary.

Entries in the Reggae Film Festival have come from the USA, UK, Antigua, Poland, Brazil and Catalonia, with the largest number of entries from Jamaica whose 11 entries include animation, short and long features and documentaries. Films include:

• 'Rocksteady – The Movie', (USA) A brilliant feature film starring Cedric Sanders, whose performance won him a role in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, and David Hinds, lead singer of Steel Pulse reggae band which provided the film's soundtrack.
• 'Reggae Britannia (UK) – the February 2011 BBC documentary tribute to Jamaica's reggae and its influence on Britain.
• 'Intensified' (SPAIN)– A look at the British band that revived interest in Ska in the 80s, long after it was no longer popular in Jamaica, and inspired scores of European bands to follow their example.
• 'Bob Marley – Making Of A Legend (JA/UK) – Rare footage by Jamaican actress Esther Anderson of Marley and musicians in the early years before the 'Catch A Fire” album.
• 'Room For Rent' (JA) – Film of Ginger Knight's popular roots play, a load of laughs starring Volier Johnson, Deon Silvera.

This year's festival includes five films by female directors, including the short features 'Dinner' by Tameka Jarvis-George of Antigua, and 'Reckoning' by Jamaican film student Jovel Johnson. Innovative entries from Jamaica include animated films “Bad Influence' byReinardo “Menta l” Chung and 'Cabbie Chronicles' by Alison Tabois Latchman.

Among the unusual entries are 'David Is Dying' -- a Black British feature by director Stephen Lloyd Jackson, and 'Bubblin', a feature by new Jamaican director Denisse Campbell in which a country girl turns go-go dancer to make ends meet. Both films will be shown in the Midnight Movies programme to be screened after midnight.

Special guests of the REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL are David 'Steel Pulse' Hinds, who stars in the US feature film 'Rocksteady – The Movie; producers Mitzie and Howard Allen of HamaFilms Antigua, directors of 'Skin”; and Jamaican actors Audrey Reid and Carl Davis – all of whom will participate in the Film Festival Seminars. A contingent of supporters from the 'Rocksteady' film production company led by producer Stephen Mays will be attending the festival. Antiguan producer-director Tamika Jarvis-George of the short film 'Dinner', British director Stephen Lloyd Jackson, and first-time director Jamaican Denisse Campbell of the feature film 'Bubblin'', are all expected in Jamaica for the week-long event.

The REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL is an annual event presented by the JAMAICA FILM ACADEMY to inspire and influence the development of the Jamaican film industry, with special emphasis on films that focus on or include Jamaica's reggae music culture. Winning entries will be included in the Best of the Reggae Film Festival international tour to the UK, USA and Europe.

FURTHER INFORMATION: reggaefilmfestival@gmail.com

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

Jamaica Reggae Film Festival preview 25th Feb. Bob Marley Museum, Hope Rd., Kingston, JA

The Jamaica Reggae Film Festival will be giving the public a sneak preview of some of the films it will be showing at the Film Festival in May(23rd-27th). The annual film festival is Jamaica's largest film festival and showcases the best in Jamaican film from around the world, these films include films about Reggae, Jamaican culture, history, animation, feature films, drama's, just to name a few of the categories.
Each year many films are made by film makers all over the world about Jamaica, this is a phenomenon which is pretty unique to the small island of Jamaica, can you think of any other country which has over 100 films per year made about it's culture.

The Reggae Film Festival setup to showcase the best of these films and is pushing forward this whole category of film as a new film "sub-genre".

"The Reggae Film Festival is all about the celebration of Jamaican culture through film, it's an event for all Jamaican people to be proud of, the films we show are a tribute to all Jamaicans. The large number of films which get made each year about Jamaica is clear evidence of just how much influence Jamaica has had upon the rest of the world and people should embrace all these films as they all pay tribute to Jamaican people and culture. "

The Reggae Film Festival preview event is the first in an island-wide series of activities leading up to the May event.

The event will include Films, trailers of Festival Entries and CineChats with actors, film makers & music makers.

Takes place 25th Feb at the Legend Cafe, Bob Marley Museum, Hope Rd., Kingston. Starts 7pm

ADMISSION: Free.

Food and Drink on Sale.

Presented by: JAMAICA FILM ACADEMY