Left to right: Lennie Little-White and Cess SilveraAndrew Clunis, Freelance Writer
There is a certain mystique around the 'Jamaican story'. Efforts to encapsulate aspects of our culture for the silver screen started in 1972 with the vision of Perry Henzell and his $250,000 film, The Harder They Come.
That feature has now taken on cultist proportions and Jamaica's independent film industry has found its footing.
Over the years numerous producers have sought similar glory, some successful, others woefully disappointing. But the denominating characteristics they all share with Henzell are daring and fortitude.
The current man going in pursuit of the honour of being able to accurately and successfully depict a slice of Jamaican life on the silver screen is Miami-based Cess Silvera, a Jamaican of St. Mary extract.
His company, Access Pictures, is producing Shottas, an urban flick which chronicles and details the life of ghetto youth in Kingston, Jamaica and other urban centres around the world. His, is an independent effort, akin to those of his forebears.
Jump-start
"What I have going for me though is the cast. With people like Lennox Lewis, Wyclef Jean, Paul Campbell, Spragga Benz and Louie Rankin, we have a great jump-start," he said.
Filming of Shottas began in Miami last Thursday. Shooting of the Jamaican scenes will start later this month and Silvera said his dream will be to create new Jamaican stars.
Perry Henzell certainly did that when he used young Jamaican singer Jimmy Cliff to captivate audiences in 1972. Carl Bradshaw blossomed from that to become one of the most celebrated actors in Jamaica. In more recent years people like Paul Campbell and Audrey Reid have capitalised on their opportunities to play starring roles and are considered the brightest prospects in film in Jamaica today.
Independent films
Jamaica's independent films have been many. Among them have been The Harder They Come, Smile Orange,
Every Nigger Is A Star, which was starred and directed by Calvin Lockhart; and Trevor Rhone's, Marijuana Affair, starring current Ambassador Dudley Thompson as the Commissioner of Police. The main role was played by Calvin Lockhart and Yvette Hussey, wife of broadcaster Dermot Hussey. That film flopped.
Lennie Little-White's Children Of Babylon was a big hit and had an extended run, setting a record for Carib Cinema.
Klash of the mid-1990s was funded by YP Seaton, reportedly to the tune of US$4 million. It continues to be popular, having been on BET Movies last weekend. However, it wasn't as big a cinematic success as some which followed.
Insurance mogul, Neville Blythe, invested a whopping $40 million into a film called The Girl Next Door. The name was later changed to Brown's Town and further changed to Jamaica Way. It starred Sheryl Lee Ralph. That film has still not been released.
Chris Blackwell's vision for films started in 1972 when he produced the blockbuster soundtrack for The Harder They Come. In the 1980s he transferred that dream to the silver screen with The Lunatic, starring Paul Campbell and Countryman with Carl Bradshaw.
In the late 1990s Blackwell scored big with Dancehall Queen which cost him about US$1 million. He had cinematic success with that film and followed up with Third World Cop for which he slashed the production budget by half. It too was successful.
But although we have had this proliferation of independent films, things have not got any easier for the independent filmmaker.
As Cess Silvera pointed out, sourcing funds is a difficult task and to find adequate distribution is even more daunting.
"These are some of the problems we face as independent film-makers. But they do bring out better business savvy in us," he said.
In the documentary The Making Of The Harder They Come which aired on local TV, Pat Rousseau who sourced much of the funding for The Harder They Come related how difficult a task it was to raise J$250,000.
Little-White told Showbiz that the film business carries the greatest risk factor of all entertainment ventures.
"It is extremely high risk. If one in five films make a profit you are lucky. In Jamaica there are major deterrents which make it very difficult for independent film producers. In most countries where there is a Motion Picture Industry Encouragement Act, which offers incentives.
