KINGSTON, Jamaica — Every year, each of the extraordinary young women crowned in the annual Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition is tasked with developing and executing a parish project based on an area of their interest.

Miss Kingston and St Andrew Festival Queen 2023, Jhanielle Powell, recently launched her film project titled ‘Flip The Script’, a three-day film-making workshop targeting Corporate Area students, aged 14 to 18.

Powell, who has a degree in communication, with an emphasis on television broadcasting, from the Northern Caribbean University (NCU), said her interest then and now extends beyond TV production and into film, culminating in the Flip The Script project.

“When the [COVID-19] pandemic came around, I had my first training session with some youth in my church because, at that time, everybody was streaming, everybody was getting into the whole behind-the-scenes aspect of production. So, I decided I would use what I had learned and pass it on; that was the infant stages of Flip The Script.

“But then I started to take my journey as a film-maker and as a screenwriter more seriously in subsequent years. So, after I was produced and wrote three short films from 2020 to 2023, I decided that I could translate my actual passion into a parish project to introduce young people to another option for expressing themselves creatively,” she said.

Launched on April 3 and supported by the Bob Marley Foundation, the film project teaches teens how to write screenplays and direct films as some of the foundational skills required to pursue a career in the film industry.

Ten students from Dunoon Technical High School, St Andrew High School for Girls and Kingston High School participated in the three-day exercise.

Miss Kingston and St. Andrew Festival Queen 2023, Jhanielle Powell (sixth left), and Marketing Director, Bob Marley Group of Companies, Julia Vaz (sixth right) with ‘Flip The Script’ film project student participants. (Photo: JIS)

“In high school you are encouraged to focus on what your next step will be career-wise. So, when the time came for me to go to university, I was a bit confused, and had I been introduced to film as an option, I think I would have pursued that rather than communication. So, I wanted to target them, to plant the seed [and point out] that this is an opportunity that we could pursue and make money,” Powell stated.

Highlighting the students’ receptiveness to the training, she pointed out that they wanted to know everything from how to operate the camera to how to write a script for film.

“They were eager to learn. They asked a lot of questions and I really loved how participatory they were. So, when it came time for them to come up with their own story, we had a very passionate session trying to figure out what the story would be, where it would go, the different elements, [and] who would take on each role; and it was exciting to see them get excited about something that I know they love and they’re coming along on,” the Festival Queen said.

The students were divided into two groups and given free rein to conceptualise their project under the supervision of the facilitators.

Powell said the only stipulations were that the film be between five and seven minutes long and explore positive themes, “because it’s always easy to lead into the darker side of things, so I urged them to lead into more positive things”.

The students ultimately came up with a heart-felt story titled ‘A Dream to Reach’ which explores the journey of a dance teacher who navigates an injury to still pursue her dream.

By leaning into her local community and tapping into the wealth of experiences of the industry professionals in her network, she was able to successfully execute the project.

The film, which also has a cast comprising the students, will premiere later this month and be available for viewing online on platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo.

However, Powell has plans to take the project concept further by entering film festivals.

“We have the Black River Film Festival coming up, I want to enter it into that. I want to try to catch the GATFFEST Film Festival deadline, and there are other local film competitions that I want to enter it into as well. If it’s eligible for any regional or international [competitions], I want to jump on that opportunity too,” she said.

— JIS