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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.