ST JAMES, Jamaica— The inaugural staging of the Black River Film Festival (BRFF), set for June 28 to 30, is being welcomed by local actor, Cornelius Orlando Grant, who sees the potential of the event in unearthing local talent and attracting investment from the international film industry.

Addressing a recent JIS Think Tank held at the agency’s Montego Bay Regional Office, Grant, who stars as gangster Bucky Marshall in the ‘Bob Marley – One Love’ biopic, said the BRFF could leverage the interest and attention being generated towards Jamaica and its film industry following the premiere of the movie.

“Look at it this way, the Prince (Harry) came to the premiere and his presence attracted extra attention to [the film industry]. The Bob Marley movie is creating and breaking more records… . Just recently it opened in Japan [where]… reggae music and Bob Marley have a big fan base. Furthermore, people in the [diaspora] that I spoke to are saying that when they view the movie, it brought them vibes of home,” Grant noted.

He said that with Jamaica being positioned as the hub of the Caribbean film industry and with the increasing number of young people emerging as content creators, “I think now is the time that we can capitalise on this. The Black River Film Festival is doing just that because it is not only incorporating new content creators but also showing students new career possibilities”.

Young content creators, 14 to 18 years old, who wish to enter or are already practitioners in the field of filmmaking will benefit from masterclass sessions during the festival.

Grant will be among the speakers during these sessions.

The Ministry of Education, Region 5 will be partnering with the festival producers at a workshop to be held at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) in Santa Cruz on June 28.

-JIS