PERSONS doing research on the life and political career of former Prime Minister of Jamaica P J Patterson can now access his video biography at the National Library of Jamaica on East Street, downtown Kingston.

The library, which specialises in preserving the nation’s cultural and historical artifacts, received the video from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Foundation at a function on Tuesday where individuals who contributed to the production were presented with copies of the DVDs.

The production of the documentary, PJ Patterson: Fulfilling a Legacy of Leadership, was financed by CHASE at a cost of $2.88 million.

“We are happy to have a video that explores the life, leadership and legacy of former Prime Minister Patterson,” CHASE’s chief executive officer, W Billy Heaven, said at Tuesday’s presentation.

The documentary, he said, was in keeping with international standards and was formatted to suit a variety of venues, occasions and markets.

Public relations officer at the National Library, Denise Walker, was enthusiastic about the documentary and its historical value to the country.

“We have information here on culture, heritage and history that you cannot find anywhere else in the world and we will do all we can to preserve it (video),” she told the Observer.

The video spans Patterson’s political career from the 1970s when he entered politics to its climax in February 2006 when he retired and handed over the reins to current Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

Lasting an hour and 13 minutes, it features comments from political leaders and thinkers in the nation, throughout the region and across the Atlantic. Included in the impressive list are former education minister, Burchell Whiteman; former leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, Edward Seaga; noted scholar Professor Rex Nettleford; president of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo; Caricom secretary general Edwin Carrington; ailing Cuban president Fidel Castro, and Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo who all generally agreed that Patterson was a visionary and that he had mastered the art of politics.

On the occasion of the documentary’s launch in February this year, persons had expressed disappointment saying the video failed to tell the whole story. Patterson, however, brushed those criticisms aside, pointing out that it was “an interesting exercise and a fairly good rehearsal for my written autobiography, which is still a work in progress”.

The documentary was written by journalist Deborah Hickling, produced and directed by Kirk Buchanan of the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) and narrated by Gary Neita, son of veteran journalist and former press secretary for three prime ministers, Hartley Neita.

The CHASE Fund was established by the government in 2002 to improve the social infrastructure by zooming in on matters pertaining to culture, health, arts, sports and education. It uses proceeds from lottery companies to finance its projects.