Film Next Frontier of Jamaica’s Economic Growth – PM

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government sees film as part of the next frontier of economic growth for the country.

He said that the island has the talent, stories, locations and cultural influence needed to build a serious and globally competitive film industry.

“When films are produced locally, the benefits of it is spread across the economy,” he pointed out.

Dr. Holness was speaking at the screening of the Jamaican film ‘Love Offside’ at Carib 5 in Cross Roads, Kingston on Friday (May 22).

The romance drama, produced by The Limners and Bards Limited (The LAB) was made possible through support from the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative (JSDI), which is a billion-dollar fund managed by Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO).

Dr. Holness commended The LAB for undertaking the 100 per cent Jamaican production.

“Love Offside shows what can happen when Jamaican creatives take up the challenge of building at home. Produced entirely in Jamaica, the film places our country at the centre of the story. It showcases not only our landscapes but also our people, our moves, our language, our relationships and our distinct sense of place. In that sense, Jamaica is part of the story itself,” he noted.

He said that the movie is further evidence that Jamaican creatives can produce global-quality work.

“Jamaica has long been recognised as a cultural superpower, but we have not always converted that into structured economic opportunity. We must not only talk business, we must act business, we must mean business,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer, The LAB, Kimala Bennett, said there is a real opportunity for Jamaica and the Caribbean to take a meaningful place within the global content economy.

“Story telling is no longer [just] entertainment. It is one of the most powerful economic engines in the world. Just recently, we launched our YouTube channel, LAB Studio Originals… [and the movie] Happily Ever Awkward generated over 350,000 organic views in under two months, reaching audiences in more than 70 countries and territories, with 85,000 viewers from outside of Jamaica. All of this does not exist in a vacuum; this changes advertising too,” Ms. Bennett said.

She noted that Love Offside is just one film within a growing state of projects at The LAB studios.

“Everything about it, every piece of content we create is strategic. The locations, we intentionally chose to showcase the beauty, energy and aspirational lifestyle of Jamaica. The cast, we brought together talented actors of Jamaican heritage with internationally established [actors] to expand visibility and audience,” she said.

She added that The LAB is building a modern Caribbean content ecosystem designed for scale, one that creates content, training, production opportunities, partnerships and brand integration with pathways for Jamaican stories to travel globally.

Also at the movie screening were Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange; Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Aubyn Hill and State Minister, Hon. Delano Seiveright.