For the first time, Jamaica’s Film Commission, through the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro), an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), will lead a delegation of eight prominent film-makers and animators to Cape Town, South Africa, for the prestigious MIP Africa/FAME Week from September 1-5, 2024.

This unprecedented venture underscores the commission’s commitment to fostering international collaborations and showcasing Jamaican talent globally.

The mission is partially funded by Jampro; the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sports; and the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports, and Education (CHASE) Fund.

MIP Africa/FAME Week offers a unique and vibrant film, animation, fashion, and music festival at which the delegation will leverage the opportunity to present projects to potential co-producers, distributors, and investors.

The participants include Horane Henry, Wentworth Kelly, and Sosiessia Nixon Kelly from Ikon Media; Tanya Batson Savage and Analisa Chapman from Have a Bawl Productions; Tashara-Lee Johnson from The LAB; Orville Matherson from YaadBoiiz Film Productions; a participant from Jampro’s Export Max initiative; producer and location manager Joel Thyme; and film-maker Mykal Kushnie.

The participants aim to establish key international connections; expand global networks; secure distribution deals for their films, series and documentary projects; form co-productions;and sell content.

In addition to film-makers with projects, representatives of the recently launched, state-of-the-art, post-production house GoalPost will also attend, offering polishing services such as colour grading, sound mixing and mastering for film, ADR and dubbing, utilising their Dolby Digital 5.1.2-equipped sound balanced studio.

The commission aims to strengthen its co-production and film destination strategies, with a focus on securing tangible outcomes for the participating companies as well as expand collaboration possibilities and build bridges that will propel Jamaican film and animation to new heights.

Shullette Cox, president of Jampro, endorsed the mission: “This aligns with the Government’s aim of supporting our local content creators and storytellers to not only complete their projects but also produce commercially viable content for the global stage. Our authentic, Jamaican stories deserve to be told, both in traditional and untraditional markets, and we remain optimistic that the participants will benefit tremendously from this event. This mission also follows on the heels of the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative (JSDI), which was launched in January 2024 with a $1-billion film fund that aims to enhance and support the local film industry by funding screen-based projects across various stages of development while attracting international productions to the island.”

Jackie Jackson, film commissioner, added: “We are embarking on an unprecedented journey, as this initiative opens the door to untapped opportunities for collaboration and potential funding, marking a significant milestone in our creative endeavours. The African market has for a long time been of interest to us, South Africa has a potential market of 60 million eyes with 1.4 billion on the continent itself.”

During the event Jackson will participate in two panel discussions titled ‘Cross-continental collaborations: Promoting African storytelling through South Africa, Jamaica and Canada’, and ‘The MIP Africa Film Financing Forum’.