Local film indstry promising
THE skills, use of technology and general know-how employed by Jamaican film-makers have caught the eye of veteran journalist with Billboard Magazine, Patricia Meschino.
So impressed, the New York-based entertainment writer who attended the recently held Reggae Film Festival, noted how in this area of our culture, Jamaica receives scant attention from the international media.
“The thing that stands out the most for me, is the amount of young talented film-makers in Jamaica who has such interesting stories to tell and such unique ways of telling them,” Meschino told the Sunday Observer on the closing night of the festival. “And we are seeing now with digital technology making the whole medium of film so much more inexpensive that it’s allowing so many more people to just kind of take their chance and do what they can with it. I have seen some great, great movies, great films,” she added.
She goes on “not only because I love Jamaica, but I just feel like in the international media Jamaica is not getting its due for being not only the birthplace of reggae, which we all know that, but as each year goes on we run the risk that the story gets further distorted.”
The Billboard Magazine’s correspondent who has been covering musical events in Jamaica for more than 20 years, also delved into the music industry with which she is highly impressed. “There are ongoing debates that the music was better 20, 30, 40 years (ago) — whatever time people are stuck in… they identify as the best time for the music, but as someone who comes here regularly, goes out to as many music events as I can, listen to all the music that I can, this is a consistent thing that there is a lot of good music coming out,” Meschino observed.
“I guess the problem seems to be here at home. That may be the media tends to get stuck in some of the headline-makers who are not necessarily making headlines for their music. And unfortunately is at the exclusion of so much of the great music that artistes of every generation here continue to make,” the Rhode Island-born writer said.
