By Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
An emotional Carl Lumbly with his Doctor Bird Award at the Hilton Kingston last Tuesday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
"I AM not an emotional basket case under normal circumstances," explained actor Carl Lumbly earlier this week in an interview with The Gleaner. Even so, when he accepted his Doctor Bird Award at the Hilton Kingston on Tuesday, he was moved to tears. As Lumbly delivered a very passionate speech, his voice swelled with emotion. By its end, he received a standing ovation from the audience. Many persons again applauded him when, after he had returned to his seat, a pan from the camera showed that he was actually crying.
Lumbly's speech was the night's piece de resistance, although Toots Hibbert's performance of Sweet and Dandy and Pressure Drop was a close second.
Lumbly was one of five recipients of the 2002 Doctor Bird Awards (DBA). Raoul Peck, Haitian director, producer, writer and editor, received the 'Caribbean Special Award'. Chris Browne (director, producer, writer), Dule Hill (actor) and Richard Lannaman (cinematographer and director of photography) were the other awardees.
During his acceptance speech, Lumbly pointed out that his goal is to use his heart and passion to "...represent this marvellous place (Jamaica) from which I come." The actor and his parents left the island when he was only five years old. He stated, however, that at that time his parents made him promise to never forget Jamaica.
In his interview with The Gleaner, Lumbly said his feelings about the DBA were indescribable. He pointed out that it would have been extremely important to his father, who died in 1984. Lumbly stated that his parents' decision to leave Jamaica resounds with importance, because of the sacrifice it required. "My parents went there (the United States) when the worth of a black man wasn't anything they (Americans) believed had value," he said.
Lumbly explained that to him, the DBA does more to validate his choices than any body of work he has done. As such, he owes it to his parentage. "I feel I wouldn't deserve it (the DBA) if it wasn't for the information I had got about manhood from being Jamaican," he explained.
Noted for his work on United States' television from as far back as Cagney and Lacey to his present day stint on ABC's Alias, Lumbly stated that celebrity means nothing to him, as it is the content of the work he has done which really counts. He explained that what is important is to engage in work which reflects "the reality of our people" and, in so doing changes the point of view of those who are ignorant of it. It is for this reason that Lumbly is most proud of the Disney television movie Night John. In this film, he plays the lead character who escapes from slavery but returns to teach his fellow slaves. He noted that this performance revolutionised his perception of slavery, making him realise that Black people posses the strength to withstand the worst thing imaginable and yet retain their dignity.
These beliefs and the sense of belonging he feels in Jamaica were what came through in Lumbly's acceptance speech on Tuesday night.
Raoul Peck's delivery was also very eloquent. He is known for works such as The Man By the Shore, the first Caribbean film to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The clips selected of Peck's work, taken form Lumumba (the feature film) and the documentary Profit and Nothing But! Or Impolite Thoughts On The Class Struggle demonstrated his talent and imagination. In his acceptance speech, Peck pointed out that the film industry must be developed and those who participate in it need to be encouraged. He stated that for the Caribbean filmmaker, the industry is far more important than just another way to make a living. Peck declared that movies about the Caribbean says to the rest of the world: "We are people too."
Chris Browne, known for his work on movies such as Third World Cop and Country of The One-Eyed God (both of which starred Paul Campbell) also touched on the importance of the industry being encouraged. Browne went so far as to challenge the Jamaican government to put in place incentives to stimulate the film industry.
Professor Rex Nettleford, who heads the newly-formed Doctor Bird Foundation (which has taken over the responsibility for the awards from Mediamix), made his comments in the same vein. Agreeing that film the industry must be encouraged, Nettleford pointed out that since Jamaicans are a "...cantankerous, unpredictable people, well-nigh ungovernable," we are a great subject for films.
As such, despite the numerous criticisms that may be, and should be, levelled at the production, the importance of the Doctor Bird Awards cannot be ignored. It, too, should be encouraged, he said.
