Written by Kianna Best on Jun 21, 2024. Posted in General Interest

Jamaica film commission on the past, present and future of the local industry

With the success of Bob Marley: One Love, Jamaica was propelled into a new territory of filmic attention. As one of the largest countries in the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica boasts a unique variety of locations, from mountains to coastal landscapes, attracting filmmakers from far and wide. But with a history of contributing to the shoots of large scale productions since 1916, Jamaica is not a new contender in the global screen industry. We spoke with film commissioner Jackie Jackson on the current local screen industry and the supporting initiatives.

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

From December 2022 to April 2023, Bob Marley: One Love travelled to the beloved singer’s home country for filming. Employing over 2500 local crew members, the production added to the roster of international projects that have not only provided experiences for local crew but continue to brighten the spotlight on Jamaica’s presence in the global screen sector. With a history as a service industry, the country have been establishing the building blocks towards becoming a fully fledged film industry with training programmes such as JAFTA  PROPELLA!, a short film programme helping creatives with industry understanding and financial support, and the Film Lab.

“Over last couple of years, we've had more than 100 productions happening, with the past year alone seeing about 97 productions, slightly impacted by the strikes and of course COVID,” Jackson commented. “That is huge. Huge for a country that until last year didn't have any tax incentives. So I think it's a testament to the competitive highly skilled production crew that is here and to the location of course. We have the initiatives, we have the programmes, we have the educational institutions and then a really developed cast and crew on the ground, over the years.

Image courtesy of Film Jamaica

Since its birth in 1984, the local Film Commission has been lobbying for something just like the recent arrival of the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative (JSDI). A proud achievement for Jackson and the team, the initiative marks the first steps towards support a production rebate. Backed by the honourable Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clark, Jamaica’s finance minister, the allocation of JMD 1 billion (USD 6.5 million) to the local film industry was announced in the March budget of 2023, leading to the launch of the initiative by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on 31 January 2024. Call for applications opened on 18 March, garnering an impressive 406 responses by the closing date of 28 April.

“August and September 2023 is when we said we need to operationalise what the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative would look like,” Jackson added. “So then we went through everything and said we are going to ensure that there are grants and loans across all stages including development, production, post production, Film Festival and market attendance, marketing and distribution. And then of course there's the production rebate. What this new opportunity will do now is give access for new emerging talents as well as those who have been in the industry, to funding, whether it be gap funding or funding to start their development work.”

“Our next steps are really to ensure that there is an understanding of the difference between being a creator and a business. I know creatives just want to be creative but we also have plans to set up something that supports them, giving access to information on how to run the business side of their creativity, from what intellectual property looks like to how to avoid copyright infringement. It's also about knowing if you're going to go apply for funding, what is the difference between a budget and what is your plan for where your funds are going to come from. What I want for the future is for us to grow this fund, so it becomes a substantial pool of resources supported by both the government and the private sector.”

Whilst close proximity and travel accessibility to US based film hubs such as Miami and Atlanta, Jamaica’s strategy for the coming years shows a focus on collaborating within the diaspora, expanding towards Africa and Pan Caribbean communities. Now with investment into the development of the industry, and plans to solidify the crew and creatives from the ground up, Jamaica is gearing up to be a serious contender in the worldwide filming industry.