FOR the second year in a row, Joel Miller walked away with the title for Best Short Film at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) FiWi Short Film Competition, held at Palace Cineplex at Sovereign Centre in St Andrew recently.

“I feel good, enuh! I feel like Usain Bolt,” Miller told the Jamaica Observer shortly after the announcement. “Last year mi win, and mi come defend mi title so it’s a great feeling. Mi happy because the reception that people have towards [it], mi coulda bring awareness to the deaf community. And mi glad seh there was a black lead on the screen so mi feel ecstatic, and mi feel like this is something fi di Kingdom of Yahweh and people can feel euphoric about it.”

Miller won the title for his comedic piece, Blackbird. He walked away with $300,000, a trophy, and other prizes. The runner-up was George Malcolm Walker with Cool Breeze, while Malike D Orane was the second runner-up with Shades Of Clarity. There were nine finalists in total.

Miller said he opted to defend his title to gain more practise in the art of film-making.

“Mi still think me is an amateur… me is not an amateur in theatre ’cause is theatre mi get mi background inna, but in film mi still have new things fi learn because it’s a different medium. So, I was thinking about not entering but when I sit down and think as an amateur — and as you can see this is a different type of film — mi wah explore new things before mi can step out and seh [I’m a] professional,” he explained.

Blackbird explores a budding romantic relationship between a hearing-impaired young woman and a gentleman. Prior to that relationship the young woman experienced discrimination because of her darker skin tone and disability.

Meanwhile, Miller is encouraging other aspiring film-makers to take a leap of faith and pursue their passion.

“Like what Nike says, ‘Just do it.’ Look on other great films, ’cause sometimes inna our head we think things is great but we are not God so we don’t have the ‘all-to-know’ of what is great. We must study the ones that come before us that are great,” he advised.