They’ve been on our radar for quite some time, what with the Flashpoint Film Festival a few years back still fresh in our minds, and today New Caribbean Cinema (NCC) — a group of young filmmakers representing the various facets of Jamaican/Caribbean society — have stepped out of the region to bring their work to the world. Of course the timing could not be more perfect, with the success of their feature film Better Mus’ Come still on everyone’s lips. There have also been a number of notable commercial projects — Tarrus Riley’s Shaka Zulu Pickney music video, and now Come Ova, which was recently shot in New York and is set for release this week. Lest we forget the much-talked-about Red Stripe ‘bear’ commercial, it’s clear brothers Storm and Nile Saulter and the NCC team are consistently churning out a series of high-quality productions. Little wonder their appearance at the Caribbean Tales/ Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) recently proved a smashing success.

NCC joined forces with Donisha Prendergast, who screened the documentary Rasta: A Soul’s Journey, in which she is the subject, to take advantage of networking opportunities aplenty. And though Better Mus’ Come was not screened at the festival, they did, however, do a private screening of Missed, a critically acclaimed short film starring Roger Guenveur Smith and Sharea Samuels, that was written, produced and directed by Michelle Serieux.

“The response was really amazing. It was such a good feeling to have women swarm me after the film with their questions and feedback after the screening. Men appreciate the film, too, but women get it,” Serieux tells S O. “People there were pleasantly surprised by the quality of Caribbean films. They had no idea filmmakers in the region were doing so much, and they loved our work. This trip really opened a lot of doors for us,” Storm concurs.

The sensation continued on to Portobello Film Festival’s Caribbean Film Corner in London, where NCC, represented by Serieux, made even more industry connections with organisations in Africa and the United Kingdom. Even copping the Caribbean Film Corner award for ‘Best Cinematography’ for the Nile Saulter-directed short film Coast, which is set in Negril, Wednesday last. “We got an opportunity to speak with other Caribbean directors, and we are also in talks with a very important institution in the UK about the films. Things are on the horizon, and we’re really excited to bring Jamaican and Caribbean films to the world in a very big way… and they can’t wait to receive us,” Serieux opines, smiling from ear to ear. “New Caribbean Cinema works because there’s a hunger for it. People in the Diaspora are so hungry for content coming out of the region, and they see now that the quality is good. It’s a worthwhile investment,” Storm continues.

The movement doesn’t stop there, as NCC moved on from London to Trinidad today to participate in the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival where Better Mus’ Come will be screened, followed by a Q&A session with writer/director Storm Saulter. “What I find really interesting is the fact that the movie speaks about the State of Emergency period in the 1970s, it was released last year right around Jamaica’s time of unrest, and is now going to Trinidad where they’re battling a similar problem. This shows that it is not uniquely Jamaican but a Caribbean reality. I’m hoping the movie will spark conversations surrounding this issue,” Storm opines.

And what of future projects on the horizon for NCC? “Well, there’s a lot of commercial work in the pipelines, and we will continue to work hard on taking the region to the world,” his brother and co-director Nile quickly replies. “I, for one, will continue to work on developing my filmmaking style. Every filmmaker wants to direct films that express their views of the world.”