CREATE

According to Dr. Paddington, “The rest of the region is really now starting.” He sites his home country, Trinidad and Tobago as a leader in initiating the kinds of initiatives necessary to help drive growth of the industry. The government of the twin island republic has instituted a 35% tax rebate for international film companies choosing to have their films produced on the island. This progressive move allows for the employment of local crews, critical knowledge sharing between international filmmakers and their local counterparts and the additional boost to the country’s tourism product. Dr. Paddington however, contends that much more needs to be done not only in his homeland, which he holds up as an example of movement in the right direction but across the Caribbean. Himself an award-winning filmmaker and founder of the Caribbean Federation of Filmmakers, Dr. Paddington believes that there is a greater need for more collaboration and coproduction across the region. “We need more films that deal with the wider Caribbean--Stories that show the linkages of Caribbean countries.” Although doing all this makes perfect sense, the issue of distribution and getting these works seen is still a riddle to be fully solved by regional filmmakers. With international studios holding a monopoly on cinemas, breaking into the mainstream of movie theaters continues to be an uphill battle for the independently produced films. One answer is the coveted spot in the many regional and international film festivals available. Getting there however is an expensive undertaking and is often out the reach of the struggling filmmaker. Dr. Paddington believes that this and the actual production of quality films is the very reason why collectively, Caribbean governments should consider setting up a regional fund for film. Wishful thinking? Maybe not. There however, has not been any movement in that direction. One regional agency which has shown some movement, has been the Caribbean Export Development Agency. They have made it possible for several filmmakers and other creative industry producers to make the long and expensive trip to Europe to attend international tradeshows and film festivals. The agency also recently commissioned a film on the business of sport in the region titled, “Built to Last”which looked at the Caribbean region’s ability to produce world-class athletes. Dr. Paddington lauds the efforts of the agency but contends that greater effort should be made to support the wider development of the industry by exposing many more of the talented regional filmmakers and producers to the art of developing international quality films. He sees this being possible by local governments and regional agencies like Caribbean Export supporting the attendance of international film producers to the various Caribbean film festivals and opening more avenues for co-productions between local and international producers. Dr. Paddington also contends that the time has come for a possible CARIFORUM co-production treaty to help drive and empower collaborative works. He believes, “It’s time the region is not only known for its tourism but as a place where the creative industries do well.” * Most of the big budget f ilms which are pr oduced in the bigger markets, l ike the US and to some extent the UK are done thr ough studios. In this system, a f ilm is often developed, pr oduced, distributed and exploited without leaving a single integrated company or consortium: a simple corporate value chain.

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