Not Just Reggae Films…
It has been said that the reason why the Government, through its JAMPRO agency, did not build on the foundation set over the past 6 years by the Jamaica International Reggae Film Festival, is because the JIRFF ‘is just about Reggae films”. This is not true. A look at the list of films screened in the 6 year history of the JIRFF shows this clearly.
While the films in the first year reflected the intent to showcase some of the many films featuring Jamaica’s world famous music culture, in subsequent years films of all kinds were presented from countries around the world, but most of all Jamaica. For instance, the first year’s features were Jamaican Dickie Jobson’s now famous feature “Countryman”, the charming “Almost Heaven” from Germany about the adventures of a girl who lands in Jamaica by accident, “Roots Time” a hilarious Rasta Road trip story from Colombia, ‘KLA$H’, the Jamaican dancehall feature starring Jasmine Guy and Giancarlo Esposito, plus Rick Elgood’s short feature “Surf Rasta”.
There were 5 documentaries: Wayne Jobson’s “Stepping Razor – Red X” about Peter Tosh, “Dub Echoes” (Brazil) about dub music, Stephanie Black’s “Africa Unite” about Rita Marley’s celebration of Bob’s 60th in Ethiopia, ‘Roots of Reggae” by Don McConnell (USA) and from Spain “Rico Rodriques: the Legend” about the legendary Jamaican trombonist, another film documenting our reggae history for us.
FESTIVAL THEMES EXPAND
However, by the second year there were no reggae films at all. The festival premiered the Olympics documentary “Why Do Jamaicans Run So Fast?” (Spain), the US independent feature “The Forgotten Father” (starring an 11-year old of Jamaican descent); Ginger Knight’s film of his hit play “Room For Rent”(JA), and “The Serbian Statue” about the setting up of the first statue of Bob Marley in Europe, in Serbia.
There were many more features in 2010. “Wah Do Dem” (USA) about the adventures of a tourist youth who lost his passport, and “A Dance For Grace (USA- JA) about US students who use dancehall to raise money for a sick teacher, used reggae on their soundtracks. “Redemption In Paradise” (Antigua) starring Macka Diamond also used dancehall.
Renowned Jamaican director Ras Kassa showed his first feature “Not To Me”, an anti-AIDS youth drama, while amateur Karret Barclay made his debut with “Concrete Jungle – Kingston 12” shot in the streets as an unscripted production that went on to international celebrity. All these films gave views of Jamaica and its culture on many levels. The documentaries “Ruff N Tuff – Founders of the Immortal Riddim” from Japan showed the great respect reggae music has in that country, while Slovakia entered a documentary about the eccentric Lee Scratch Perry and Peter Dean Rickards (JA) showed the real-life of music producer Joe Bogdanovich in “The Last Dictator”.
ICING ON THE CAKE
However the icing on the cake was the showing of Jamaica’s first award-winning animated film “Kina Sky” by Corretta Singer a beautiful space fantasy that had won a Nickelodeon TV award. I see that as an important beginning of the Jamaican animation industry. 2010 was also the year the JIRFF initiated the Make A 5-Minute Film In 24 Hours competition, that went on in following years to expose the talents of a host of young Jamaican film makers.
In 2011 there were 17 films, of which only 3 were reggae related: “Holding on to JAH” a documentary about the Rastafari roots of reggae; “Bob Marley – The Making of a Legend”, Esther Anderson’s personal documentary about the early Marley years; reggae history in REGGAE BRITANNIA (UK) and “Beyond Babylon” (Poland), as well as “From Kingston to Cali” (USA) by Hawaii’s Joe Trevigno covering Junior Reid’s tour of California. Winner of Best Documentary was the film “Fire In Babylon” (UK) about a famous winning West Indies cricket team, which did have a lot of reggae on the soundtrack.
FIRST HORROR MOVIE
In 2012 the features were “Rocksteady – The Movie” (USA) a Black story set in the motor racing world starring Steel Pulse’s David Hinds and band, a second showing of Ginger Knight’s “Room For Rent”. Prolific Jamaican film maker Wayne Benjamin present Jamaica’s first horror movie “The Croft”, while “Bubblin” caused controversy with its X-rated strip club scenes. “Dinner” (Antigua) Short was a prose poem in film, keeping , company with Vanessa Phillips’ “Misinjustice” (JA).
There were 17 entries in the Make a Film in 24 Hours competition that year, won by Vanessa Phillips, with an Audience Award to Craig Kirkland a.k.a. Amaziyah the Great, who had won the first competition in 2010. The number of Jamaican animation films increased, as Reinardo Chang showed his 3D technical expertise with “Bad Influence”, while Stephen Smith’s “Jerk Chicken” and Alison Latchman’s “Cabbie Chronicles” brought humour.
FILMS OF ALL KINDS
In the last film festival there were 27 films over 3 nights. The full list included 4 music videos (1 from Costa Rica which won the Award); 4 Jamaican animated films; documentaries about Usain Bolt, the Maroons, Trench Town, reggae group Nomaddz, the re-building of the World Trade Center, Daily Bates who integrated schools in Little Rock, USA; African author Chinua Achebe, former film star Countryman, the funeral of Bob Marley, Joe ‘Culture’ Hill’s visit to Israel and the links between Judaism and Rastafari.
The features included “One Life”from Austria about a youth trying to make it as a reggae singer while single-fathering a little girl, “Dear Jesus” a Black British TV series set in a Jamaican restaurant; “Lost In Dangriga” a funny adventure from Belize, “Hill & Gully” (USA) a single mother’s search for love by Jamaican/American Patrice Johnson – winner of Best International Feature – and “Another Friday”, a Christian film by Jamaican Judith Faloon-Reid that won Best Jamaican Feature.
NOT JUST REGGAE FILMS
Overall, it is clear that the JIRFF has not been a festival exclusively for reggae themed films, but for all kinds of film. However, inviting reggae-themed films as a primary objective is wise, considering reggae is Jamaica’s prime tourism attraction and cultural export. In fact, the word “Reggae” in the JIRFF name encouraged many international film makers to use the opportunity to show their films to the Jamaican audience provided by the film festival, while at the same time provided more than 40 Jamaican film makers the opportunity to have their films shown and appreciated by a wide audience. The JIRFF has also taken winning films to London, Birmingham, Spain and Serbia, as well as distributing a video selection of Jamaican short films through German reggae magazine Riddim.
These are the same kinds of films that were shown at the recent JAMPRO film festival. Therefore it is clear that excuses and opinions about the ‘Reggae Film Festival” have not been based on facts. What JAMPRO added was the necessary funding to make everything large-scale – advertising, importing foreign guests and lecturers, venues, parties, etc. This is what this solitary Jamaican patriot and would-be developer of the Jamaican film industry had been asking JAMPRO for years to provide the event. That they decided to do it by themselves is within their power, as they showed. But the truth must prevail over everything.
By Barbara Blake Hannah
Your politics was not perhaps acceptable and so is the truth , then the classism and everything else in Jamaica. Why does the world flock to Jamaica for what it sees as exciting whilst Jamaica rejects Jamica? That could be your next film. Jampro is a bureaucratic nightmare which re-cyles people who are aspiring or acceptable middle class figurines. I could tell you of specific rude responses from them over the years when approached on business Why is Blackwell seemingly not involved with Jampro & Film making? Why do we have to go back to Hollywood each time and for… Read more »
Barbara Blake-Hannah, I wondered about you… You laid a solid foundation.