• By Barbara Blake Hannah
• On Jun 11th 2008, 04:37 PM
• |
• 186 page views

The Jamaica Film Academy was invited by Flashpoint to present 3 films in their 'Ites, Gold & Green" section of the programme. These were "Roots Time" the hilarious feature film by Argentinian Sylvestre Jacobi that follows the adventures of two Rasta record vendors travelling around Jamaica in a well-decorated car. Also shown was "Summer Sound in Canada" a documentary directed by Jamaican singer Keith 'Jerry' Brown about the birth and growth of reggae in the 70s in Canada. The director came in from Westmoreland to be present, while director of the third film "Jungle' George Tait travelled from Canada for the screening of his documentary 'Destination Jamaica'. Though advised to let the Festival screen Part One of his film, he preferred to show the second half which was little more than home movie-style introduction to Jamaican foods and lifestyle made for his family back in Canada. He was disappointed at the lacklustre reception from the audience, but nevertheless overjoyed that he had come down to Jamaica both to be at Flashpoint as well as to be in the beauty and history of Port Royal -- about which he continually marvelled.

Films were shown daily on the other side of the town in a small multi-purpose room at the Royal Naval Hospital. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust has been doing a magnificent job of restoration of this large two-storey building, with its high-ceilinged, many-windowed rooms and wide verandahs. The audience for these screenings was always small and some films never made it to the screen. More time was spent between seminars enjoying the wonderful view from the building of the turquoise Kingston Harbour, the mountains across framing the water, the bright sunshine-filled sky, boats of all sizes and passenger jets of several airlines. Beside the wide verandah stood ruined red brick buildings -- survivors of the earthquake and still beautiful in their unique way. A tourism gem yet untapped, but hopefully the JNHT realises its value and plans (with finance) are in place.

SEMINARS

Seminars hosted by the JTI Film Commission were held each day. On Day one we heard about the UK film co-production treaty and how it works. It's a process aimed at providing tax-exempt benefits for productions that have a UK component -- whether originating from Jamaica or the UK. It's a process that needs explanation, but there were several would-be producers listening in hope of benefiting.For local producers, finding a UK producer will be the first hurdle, as there are several hundred from which to choose. However, some ways to narrow the search were offered.

On Saturday a seminar on Screenplay writing was given by Trevor Rhone ('Smile Orange"; 'The Harder They Come'; 'Milk & Honey'). Instead of a 'how-I-do-it talk, he challenged the aspiring writers to express their commitment to several aspects of writing a successful screenplay including: dedication and 'passion', the ability to tap into humanity, to write from instinct and with structure, and necessity to test the idea and premise.

Later in the afternoon noted Hollywood actor Roger Guenevere Smith (8 Spike Lee Films, including 'Malcolm X', 'Do The Right Thing') gave a lecture workshop on acting, taking those present through several exercises of mute interaction with and movement to express emotion, as well as harnessing the power of unity to make a successful team, explaining the philosophy that motivated these actions. Best of all, he answered questions afterwards about the films he had acted in, what it was like to work with Denzel Washington and Spike Lee and what he learned from such cinematic greats and other actors and film makers.

On Sunday the seminar on feature film making was led by Firefly Films Paul Bucknor, Joel Burke, Nile and Storm Saulter. They spoke on various aspects of how they made their films, casting, crew, editing and problems overcome. It was a lively session which saw the audience asking several questions to the team about their work and film ambitions. One Firefly Films innovation is their practise of making a short version of their intended movie -- a trailer or one scene -- and use it to shop their project to potential investors. It's an innovation that has enabled them to get funding for not just one, but three films premiered at Flashpoint 2008, with promise for at least two new films in 2009.

If it be said that the Flashpoint Film Festival only exists to screen Firefly films, I doubt that there is any more motive than to set an example of what can be done with limited funding, but unliminted commitment and creative talent to maintain the Jamaican film industry and produce the kind of films that will keep Jamaica's film name at the heights established by the late Perry Henzell in "The Harder They Come'. The fact that all the Firefly Films film makers knew and were inspired by Henzell himself, made their work even more important and welcome.

I congratulate Paul, JOel, Nile and Storm for their brilliant films, not forgetting newcomer to the pack, Allan Tennant.

THE TOWN OF PORT ROYAL

Port Royal is a beautiful Jamaican town, quiet and peaceful with no crime and nice people, as 'different' as if they live on another island. The quaint architecture of the town's streetwide townhouses, as well as the magnificent ancient ruins and history, makes one wonder why Port Royal is not a major tourist destination yet. Port Royal is often described as 'sleepy' and it seemed that everyone in town was asleep last weekend, as a few hundred people passed through for 3 days on their way to the Flashpoint Film Festival. I kept thinking that the opportunity should have been taken, either by the festival organisers or the citizens themselves, to use the event to boost cultural tourism.

The staff at only hotel did not know her hotel had been the location for the first and most famous James Bond movie, whose author Ian Flemming's centenary is being celebrated at the moment, nor that "In Like Flint' and Jamaican movie 'KLA$H' also shot scenes there. Only the bellman who carried my bags knew about these well-known films that were made at the hotel. I could see that a link between Port Royal and film can give the town a modern tourism attraction from our cultural creativity (rather than from a past we'd rather forget) that could 'wake' it up.

Maybe its the long drive from Kingston, especially for those with no cars of their own. The ferry is gone (I bemoan its demise) but the bus service is regular so it's possible for this event to do for Port Royal what Calabash did for the equally sleepy town of Treasure Beach. If the film festival in Port Royal grows annually, it could stimulate a renaissance that brings life to this sleepy, beautiful town, as the Firefly films have stimulated the nascent Jamaican film industry.