Film festival's 'best of' event piques interest

Published in Gleaner: Tuesday | February 21, 2012

Reinardo Chung's animated movie 'Bad Influence'

Garfene Grandison, Gleaner Writer

Saturday saw the launch of the Jamaica Reggae Film Festival 2012 at RedBones Blues Café in New Kingston. The event celebrated last year's award winners with the theme: The Best of the Reggae Film Festival 2011.

Carl Bradshaw, chairman of the Jamaica Film Academy, also heralded this year's event, scheduled for April 17-21.

The selections from last year's winners were screened in the Movie Garden of RedBones Blues Café. These selections included: Mustapha Khan's Rocksteady, which won last year's Best International Film award; and Steven Riley's Fire in Babylon, a brilliant documentary which snagged the Best Documentary and Outstanding Film awards at last year's show. Man Free, 2010's Best Documentary winner, directed by Kinsey Beck with comments by Perry Henzell, was also among the films shown that night.

Attendees also viewed selections from the 'Make a Film in 24 Hours' competition.

Part of the night's screenings was the latest episode from Reinardo 'Mental' Chung's popular series, Dutty Bwoy. Chung wowed judges last year with Bad Influence - an eight-minute 3D computer-animated film which took home the Digicel Animation Award.

Animation has always been a field of interest for Chung, especially 3D animation. It was this interest that prompted him to learn the art of animation and also gave him the zeal to practise and hone his craft.

His series, Dutty Bwoy, has become an online sensation. It focuses on dancehall culture and also features animated versions of dancehall celebrities. The series is about three "street youths" who always seem to find themselves in some humorous situations with different dancehall artistes.

Chung described the response from both corporate Jamaica and the wider public as simply "tremendous".

He said that the feedback has been great and he has even received scripts from fans for future episodes. Chung is grateful for the Reggae Film Festival, as he believes it is increasing the awareness about films being made in Jamaica and the filmmakers who produce them.

He believes that the Jamaican film industry has the potential to become an international phenomenon, much like our music.

Gaining a bit of viewership in January on Flow's channel 100 which led to a small following was the miniseries, Red, Amber, Green, written, directed and produced by young actor, model and dancer Christopher Byfield.

Byfield is no stranger to the set. He's been involved in the filming process since the tender age of 16.

"It has been a journey," he emphasised. He shared about making the transition from in front of the camera to behind it. Byfield entered the Reggae Film Festival's 'Make a Film in 24 hours' competition last year with a film titled What I Am ... What I Became ... What I Remain, which placed third.

Red, Amber, Green is Byfield's debut film from his company Christopher Byfield Films. He, too, believes that the Reggae Film Festival has increased awareness of films and filmmakers in Jamaica.

He believes it is a great avenue for filmmakers to premiere their work and believes it plays an integral part in the development of the Jamaican film industry.

According to a correspondence, "Saturday's show was just the beginning of the vibrant cultural line-up that the Jamaica Film Academy has planned for April's staging of the 2012 Reggae Film Festival, where there will be a guest screening of an international film starring well-known Aca-demy Award-winning actors and actresses."

Best of The Jamaican Reggae Film Festival 18th Feb. Kingston , JA

For those of you in Jamaica, don't miss The Best of The Reggae Film Festival event in Kingston tomorrow night 18th Feb.2012, they will be showing all kinds of great films from previous festivals along with special guests.

The main Reggae Film Festival event takes place from 17th-21st April, tomorrow evening is a warm up to this main event which will also celebrate 50yrs of Jamaican indepedence and show some films to comeorate this occasion.

This years Make a Film in 24hrs competition has a really nice first prize for any budding film makers out there so if your in Jamaica in April don;t miss the event, anyone can be part of the 24hr film competition. See the official website for more details: http://www.reggaefilmfestival.com/

 

The official festival website will be updated soon with details of the comming festival.... all enquiries about the festival to main website.

NEW JAMAICAN FILM FOR RFF2012

'RED, AMBER, GREEN' TACKLES UNUSUAL TOPIC

A new Jamaican film "Red, Amber, Green" tackles an unusual topic as it depicts the lives of three Jamaican teenage boys struggling to make ends meet on the difficult streets of Kingston, Jamaica. Making a living primarily as vehicle window washers when cars stop for traffic lights, they hustle to take advantage of every opportunity, including entertainment.
These friends, using the ebb and flow of the traffic lights at busy intersections to provide their 'bread and butter', have incorporated these colors into their lives as a quick reminder of how to deal with their daily struggles. They grow and learn from each other, even finding a way to help those less fortunate.

Written, directed and produced by Christopher Byfield -- third place winner in the 2011 Reggae Film Festival's Make A Film in 24 Hours competition sponsored by RBC Bank -- the film is a bold step into the Jamaican film industry by a young and intensely committed film maker.

FIRST FILM ENTERED IN 2012 REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL

'HOME, SWEET HARLESDEN is the first film entered in the 2012 REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL, a documentary recording the oral histories of some of the earliest Caribbean immigrants to Britain.

The film's producer ANTON PHILLIPS is a Jamaican actor who was born in Kingston and attended Manchester High before his family moved to Washington DC, where he graduated high school. He then moved to England in the 1960s and attended the famous Rose Bruford College Drama School, whose Jamaican students also included Trevor Rhone and Yvonne Brewster.

After drama school Anton Phillips began an acting career in Britain that broke many racial barriers, appearing as the first Black actor in many TV series including General Hospital, The Saint, The Bill, and becoming best known as a cast member of the popular TV series Space 1999. As a pioneer in his field, his professional life has been dedicated to the promotion of Black theater and to that end Phillips started a number of projects that significantly changed the profile of Black and Asian theater in Britain. Those included the Carib Theater Company, the Black Theater Season, and the Black Theater Forum, companies that were responsible for giving opportunities to many Black and Asian writers, actors and technical theater workers

Under his direction, Carib Theater’s production of 'The Amen Corner', by James Baldwin, was the first Black produced and directed play to transfer to the West End of London. In addition to other major productions such as 'Remembrance' by Derek Walcott, and 'Sitting in Limbo' – a play written by his wife, actress Judy Hepburn, about the Grenada revolution which played in London and toured to Jamaica. Carib Theater also specialized in Theater in Education and toured schools across London for several years, playing to some 30,000 children.

The Black Theater Season significantly changed the profile of Black and Asian theater in Britain. Before the first Season, which started in 1983 at the Arts Theater in London’s West End, Black theater was largely relegated to drafty church halls and rooms in community centers on the outskirts of cities. However, for the first time, Black and Asian plays were presented in legitimate theaters with all their facilities of sound, light and comfort. As Season followed Season for seven years, companies, writers and actors were accorded prominence and respect within the profession and the wider society.

Anton Phillips has also worked for the British Council in Ghana, where he directed Trevor Rhone's 'Old Story Time” as the first major production at the newly built National Theater. He also lectured at the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana and for three years was a consultant for the British Council on a special project in Tanzania to create a company of performers and teach them the principals and practice of Theater in Education. He has directed theater in Germany, Holland and France and, attended performances in Mexico, Cuba, the USA, Trinidad, Jamaica and Tunisia. He has also managed a 60-strong company of singers, dancers, and musicians from South Africa on a touring tribute to Oliver Tambo that was presented at the Barbican Center and Salisbury Cathedral, England.

Inspired by the Area Youth Foundation of Kingston, Jamaica, Anton Phillips founded the Stonebridge Area Youth Project (SAY), a performance-based project for disaffected young people between the ages of 14 and 24 based in the Stonebridge, London, Housing Estate. Through performing arts workshops, SAY encouraged youths to re-engage with society by going back into education and learning life-skills to help them into employment. This project lasted for four years. He also directed Oliver Samuels, the Jamaican comic actor, in London’s Blue Mountain Theater for three years of plays that drew massive black audiences of up to 3,000 at the Hammersmith Apollo Theater.

As well as being an actor, director and producer, Anton Phillips has also contributed to magazines and newspapers, usually writing about the state of Black arts in the UK. He has an extensive collection of paintings, carvings and pottery produced by Black artists and craftsmen. In his spare time he attends plays, dance, opera, carnival, diwali celebrations, films, read books and travels as much as he can.

OUT AND ABOUT: 2011 Reggae Film Festival Special

THE 'REEL' LIFE: The 2011 Reggae Film Festival is off and running, commencing the week-long schedule of activities on Monday with an opening ceremony and the screening of a handful of shorts, trailers, animated pieces and feature-length documentaries, including the long-awaited Jamaican premiere of Holding on to Jah, from directors Roger Hall and Harrison Stafford. It was a fairly large crowd that filled the Studio 38 courtyard in New Kingston, comprised of folks from the entertainment set, the diplomatic corps and the local, regional and wider film communities. Some highlights of faces in the crowd:


'QUEENS' REUNION: Show of hands those who can call recall that Audrey Reid (right) and Cherine played the fearless mother-daughter duo in Dancehall Queen, the hit 1995 Jamaican movie? The fab twosome reunited for the cameras at the fest Monday evening in New Kingston. Great seeing you, girls!


I'VE GOT THE GLOW: While discussing her sweetly provocative 12-minute clip, Dinner, with chief festival organizer, Barbara Blake-Hannah, Antiguan writer and filmmaker Tameka Jarvis-George (left) could hardly conceal her thrill. With a film as poetic and blush-inducing as hers, you totally understand.






SHE'S ROYAL:
In between duties backstage (like getting the films in the correct running order), and introducing the night's special guests, Barbara Blake-Hannah somehow managed to keep her smart, gorgeously royal look in complete check.


GIMME SOME: At any event that Digicel sponsors, one can expect loads of freeness, and these lucky customers, armed with their Blackberry Bold phones, were all too eager to partake of the fun giveaways.

Spanish 
Ambassador H.E. Celsa Nuno and RBTT/RBC Senior Vice President Roxanne Lindsay.

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