Actor Marcos James, who will be one of the presenters at the inaugural Black River Film Festival in St Elizabeth between June 28-30, says he is looking forward to contributing at the event because of the island’s rich cinematic potential.

“Jamaica is known for many things, including track and field, music, culinary arts, and so on. But I think the film industry is having a renaissance, and I think we are on the brink of Jamaica becoming the film capital of the Caribbean. And I say this with a lot of confidence, because apart from me doing a presentation on master class called ‘crafting character’, based on my experience as an actor, I’m also part of the judging panel for the films that have been sent in. I have seen the entries and they are amazing. A lot of the entries were from Jamaica and the quality was spectacular,” he told the
Jamaica Observer.

The festival takes place at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and Lola’s on the Beach and will also feature Connie Chiume (Black Panther); film producer Justine Henzell; actor Cornelius Grant; actress, director and producer Angie Le Mar; director and producer Jeremy Zimmerman; film commissioner of Jamaica Jackie Jackson; film critic Damian Levy; actress Sundra Oakley; president of the St Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce, Black River Chapter, Kaydian Myers Brown; and more.

The festival is being directed by Dr Ava Eagle Brown.

Besides the panel discussions, film screenings, and other offerings, there is also a youth film competition aspect for entrants between the ages of 12-18.

The Kingston-born James has landed roles in major films such as
HBO‘s Game Of Thrones, Lifetime Movie Network‘s Keeping up With The Joneses, and Walt Disney’s The Lion King, West End.

His mother, Hyacinth Joy James (née Chamberlain), also hailed from Black River, which was an additional reason the accomplished actor decided to be a part of the festival.

James further said that the initiative will help to expose the beauty of Black River to visitors.

“People are going to be aware of the quality of film production that is happening on the island, and I think it’s going to shed light not only on the development of the film industry that’s happening in Jamaica, but it’s going to shed light on Black River as a destination location. The interesting thing is, if Black River can be considered a destination location in Jamaica, then other parts of rural Jamaica can be considered as destination locations,” he said.

Meanwhile, James has just completed filming a lead role for an upcoming docuseries called The Religion Business set for release on Amazon Prime this fall. He will also be making an appearance in an upcoming season of a popular series filmed at NBC Studios, as well as producing his very own feature film.

Festival Co-founder Dr Brown says the three-day event aims to unearth and ignite creativity among local industry talents, as well as create synergies with local stakeholders in order to transfer expertise and skills.

A native of the town, she too wishes to train a lens on Jamaica’s south coast, particularly in Black River.

Black River enjoys many ‘firsts’, among them the introduction of electrical power and the motor car to the island via its once vibrant seaport, among others.

The festival kicks off with a youth workshop, dubbed ‘Penning Pain to Purpose’, which will target students, aged 14 to 18 years. This will see renowned Commonwealth Foundation 2023 short story prize winner Kwame McPherson, and South African actress and film-maker Connie Chiume heading the list of industry celebrities teaming up with Ministry of Education and Youth Region Five personnel to speak on matters relating to violence in schools, mental health, anger management, and other current issues affecting young people.

The session is also geared towards exposing participants to career opportunities .

“We will [also] be having a Tik Tokker and YouTuber, who will be talking about [among other things], how they can monetise content. We want to teach young people how to be content creators and not just consumers… how to produce high resolution… and good-quality content,” Dr Brown stated.

The festival wraps on June 30 with the showing of a number of local movies, chief of which will be the iconic Perry Henzell-directed The Harder They Come, and an after party dubbed ‘Under the Stars’. Both events will be staged at Lola’s on the Beach.

— Kediesha Perry & JIS