More efforts at exploiting opportunities to benefit local industry

The Rotterdam Lab, which is a training workshop for promising emerging producers from all over the world, is coming to the aid of Jamaica in helping to build out its local film industry.

Nadean Rawlins is the first Jamaican producer to participate in the Rotterdam Lab, as the Jamaican industry aims to establish international partnerships and create a sustainable film sector. The aim of Rotterdam Lab is to provide emerging professionals with the means to build and develop an international network.

Providing confidence and skills to navigate the world of international film financing, sales and distribution, Rotterdam Lab offers a place to over 69 producers from over 31 countries. Over the past few years, Rotterdam Lab has expanded steadily with more producers from more different regions participating each year.

The Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA) is hailing the work of Rotterdam Lab in seeking to develop local film talents in Jamaica and elsewhere. The Jamaican film industry is still known internationally for just a handful of films, among them Perry Henzell’s The Harder They Come (1972), Dancehall Queen (1997), directed by Don Letts and Rick Elgood, and Chris Browne’s Third World Cop (1999). There have been long gaps between such films.

JAFTA was set up in 2015 to develop, support and promote Jamaican talent and projects. JAFTA President Analisa Chapman remarked that while Jamaica doesn’t have a dedicated film school or fully structured system through which producers and screenwriters can learn their craft, institutions like Rotterdam Labs can help to develop the local industry,

According to Chapman, “that’s why the emphasis is on providing emerging talents with the chance to participate in more events like the Rotterdam Lab.”

The five-day Rotterdam Lab programme consists of expert individual advice, a lot of (informal) networking opportunities, panels and presentations moderated and held by experienced industry delegates.

Chapman pointed out that, “the Rotterdam Lab is an avenue for building and sustaining an international network with producers and other talents with varying degrees of experience”, which is why her association put out an open call to invite a Jamaican producer to take part in the International Film Festival Rotterdam event.

Rawlins jumps at offer

Having responded to the call, Rawlins, who is an award-winning actress, theatre producer and talent manager, took part in the Lab with her project Traytown, which is a character driven, female-led film, showing a strong female lead in a male-dominated world.

A short film version of Traytown, scripted by Letay Williams, premiered at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival last September.

Rawlins co-directed the film as well as producing and is now developing the project as a feature and TV series. The film tells the story of a young female politician, who has to deal with corruption and harassment when she vies for a seat in Parliament. The story looks at class prejudice and homophobia as well as with political scheming.

Traytown has already received backing from public agencies Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) and JAFTA and was selected to participate in a British Council/JAFTA/JAMPRO Script Development lab.

According to Chapman, “the goal now is to get out stories into the international space”.

During the Lab, Rawlins has been talking to potential United Kingdom, German and Norwegian producers. She is also having meetings with the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund.

Exploiting opportunities to benefit local film industry

One aim is to take advantage of the UK-Jamaica co-production treaty, which was officially announced in 2007 but has never been used. The UK-Jamaican connection in film goes back a long way and remains crucial to the future growth of the industry, noted Chapman.

She cited Idris Elba’s 2018 feature Yardie and Shabier Kirchner’s forthcoming adaptation of Jamaican Kei Miller’s book, Augustown, as among the recent high profile projects on which the two countries have collaborated. Chapman is confident Rawlins’ experiences at the Lab will benefit the film community back home.

Chapman herself is developing various feature projects through her company, Have A Bawl Productions, which she founded with Tanya Batson-Savage in 2017. These include an adaptation of Jamaican writer, Jean

D’Costa’s classic adventure novel, Escape To Last Man Peak.

For her part, Rawlins argued that, “Jamaica is so rich with our culture. It comes through so heavily with our music and our music is so prominent in the international space”.

However, she emphasised that, “when it comes to the narrative of the spoken word through theatre and film, it is lacking. We are coming together to build the [film] community so it is important for me as a filmmaker to champion the cause… what I am learning here at the Lab, I am going to take it home to my people and let them know that this is what the international space looks like.