JAMPRO, the arm of the Government of Jamaica that promotes business opportunities in export and investment to the local and international private sector, recently hosted a reception at the Jamaican High Commission, London to introduce four filmmakers based in Jamaica to potential British film financiers, investors, and distributors.
The networking reception enabled British film and animation executives to discover the attributes of the Jamaican film and animation industries as well as network with their Jamaican counterparts.
This initiative could be the forerunner that advances negotiations for a slate of film projects representing an estimated US$95 Million (£85milion) in production expenditure.).
The delegation from Jamaica consisted of filmmaker and storyteller, Ina Sotirova; Producer, Analisa Chapman – Have a Bawl Productions; Mezan Ayoka, writer, filmmaker and CEO of Ayzha Productions; and Adrian Lopez, CEO, producer and director at Liquid Light Digital (a film, animation and visual effects production house).
The Jamaican film projects were presented to some 50 British film producers, financiers, location managers, as well as companies which acquire and distribute film content. The JAMPRO reception facilitated initial discussions with investors. The filmmakers’ visit to London and participation in the BFI London Film Festival was supported by a United Kingdom Trade Partnership export-readiness programme, managed by the International Trade Centre.
Whilst celebrating the long history of collaboration between the British and Jamaican film industries, the event provided British film producers, location managers and film distributors with a rare opportunity to appreciate the myriad possibilities of filming in Jamaica in its widest sense.
Commenting on the success of the event, Laurence Jones, Manager – Europe at JAMPRO said “We were delighted to discover that a delegation of filmmakers representing Jamaican companies would attend the BFI London Film Festival and took this opportunity to promote Jamaican film projects to British investors and content distributors. JAMPRO will remain at their disposal to facilitate negotiations and support the execution of these projects.”
Head of Business Affairs at The Studio Group, Meredith Brett, said “the projects presented on the evening were well thought out, strongly developed and convincingly delivered. We made useful connection with Adrian Lopez of Liquid Light Digital and look forward to continuing our discussions about developing a studio in Jamaica. We look forward to visiting soon and putting boots on the ground.”
The JAMPRO London office is proactive in marketing the unique selling points of the Jamaican film industry such as varied locations, skilled and cost-effective crew, and a Co-production treaty with the UK that can facilitate tax credits for the UK leg of production. Jamaica facilitates on average 120+ productions shot on the island per year, with approximately 10-12% originating from the UK.
Please contact the JAMPRO London office at +44 207 584 8894 or [email protected] more information regarding the filmmakers and their projects.
