Jamaica’s Cornelius Grant is a film and photography genius in the making. The 35-year old’s clever animation skills won him a top prize in the PlayGo Emerge short video and photo essay competition last Tuesday (November 30) staged by regional digital operator, Digicel.

Grant answered the call for creatives across the Caribbean to submit inspiring stories under the theme “Celebrate the National Pride of your Country”.

In true Jamaican ingenuity, Cornelius produced an award-winning and captivating science fiction video titled Captured.

The intense and skillfully produced piece captured the attention of the judging panel, placing Grant among the top four submissions from a field of 36 competitors across the Caribbean. He walked away with US$1,000, Adobe Pro Editor Plus software, and another US$1,000 towards his next project.

“I knew I was going to win; I saw the competition and I wasn’t surprised that I won,” said a confident Cornelius. Looking back at his journey to winning, Cornelius commented, “I found out about the competition from a friend who has a series on the PlayGo app. I watched it and saw that they put up an advertisement about the Emerge competition. I then went over to the Instagram page, saw the same thing, clicked on the link, and signed up.”

No stranger to the entertainment industry, Cornelius is well known for his acting skills in several music videos. He later transitioned to directing music videos and later developed his editing skills.

In acknowledging Cornelius’ as one for the digital future, Chief Marketing Officer for Digicel Jamaica, Nasha-Monique Douglas said, “The PlayGo Emerge Competition shows the depth and breadth of talent right here in Jamaica. As Jamaica’s digital operator, we are focused on unleashing the innate abilities of our creatives via our digital platforms. Through our suite of entertainment apps, including PlayGo, we are helping them to showcase their creativity and to inspire others to participate in the digital revolution that’s taking place across the film industry.”

The PlayGo Emerge Competition included participants from 21 Digicel markets in the Caribbean.

Contestants were required to submit a 15-minute documentary from the categories of drama/fiction, comedy, science fiction and animation.

Photo essay contestants submitted up to 10 images that depicted the competition’s theme, along with a written essay.