Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Tension filled the air during the FilmTT stakeholder meeting as the recollection of past disputes threatened to disrupt the proceedings. However, many in the substantial audience chose to agree with FilmTT General Manager Nneka Luke as she acknowledged the past turmoil and urged stakeholders to view collaboration as a way of moving the sector forward.

The stakeholders were introduced to Johnathan Olsberg and Leon Forde of Olsberg SPI, the UK-based consultancy firm which will be developing a new strategic plan for the sector. Johnathan Olsberg won the approval of the audience as he described the methodology to be used to collect information for the strategic plan and carry it to implementation. Audience members also volunteered expertise gained from compiling previous strategic plans and implored stakeholders to comply with the methodology so the new plan could truly reflect their needs. An appeal was also made to FilmTT and Olsberg SPI to continuously share their findings during the data gathering process, as had not been done previously. Olsberg said his firm would be making suggestions for implementation and Government interaction, based on information gathered.
Luke went through the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the film and audiovisual industry in T&T. She said the perception that more incentives were being given to international productions than local ones is a false one, as this has been addressed in the Development and Film Commission options. She said FilmTT is aware of a previous lack of substantial reliable and ongoing government support but there is a commitment from the relevant Ministries to move the industry forward. Luke said the industry suffers from strategic plan fatigue and so FilmTT wants to move towards implementation so that the industry will not be affected by changes in government.
Luke said FilmTT is looking into distribution channels to make up for the current lack of opportunities. She acknowledged issues relating to a lack of transparency with respect to the rebate system and the flow of information between FilmTT and stakeholders, and said the organization is not currently able to gather information about box-office figures for local films. A FilmTT board member said producers would have to provide this information. Luke said local and international advocacy for local productions will be increased. She said FilmTT has been operating on a skeleton staff and budget, and acknowledged dissatisfaction in stakeholder interactions. She made note of the possibility of using the resources of CNMG for capturing local content and said the organization is working on the dispensation of the film archives. She also said the organization is also working on the difficulty local and international productions face in importing film equipment.
Some suggestions made included the need for airtime incentives for local content; a focus group for the development of a revenue model; consideration to be given to the recommendations made in the 2012 strategic report; a fund of TT$10 million each for production of local films, TV series and animated series, possibly drawn from the National Lotteries; and, opportunities to be put into place for creatives to release work locally rather than having to go abroad to entities like Hulu and Amazon.
Luke said FilmTT is looking at the development of the under-15 market, both as viewers and participants, and would be exploring the development of community filming, which stakeholders said has been successful in its own right. She said the development of a Film Policy to drive legislation for the industry is a priority for the organization and there is a need for local lobbying groups to be formed. Stakeholders said the Filmmakers Collaborative of T&T (FilmCo) was recently formed for this purpose. She said while FilmTT would not be partnering with the private sector for digital distribution platforms, she is interested in hearing what companies have been doing. In response to a query about systems being put into place for local cast and crew to work abroad with international crews, she said she has begun discussions with at least one international entity about internship opportunities.
UTT Lecturer and animation pioneer Camille Selvon-Abrahams told film-makers that students coming out of UTT can assist film-makers as they are trained in storyboarding, script-writing and other aspects of film-making. She said the University will be introducing a degree in Digital Media in 2018, and building a Green Screen Lab which can be used by film-makers.
Luke refuted claims that the film industry in T&T’s name was mud internationally and said she and her team are committed to doing the work to making T&T’s film industry a sustainable one. She said the draft strategic plan will be released to stakeholders and the next stakeholder meeting will be held in October 2017. Luke said interested persons can look out for video clips of the proceedings on the FilmTT website and Facebook pages in the coming week.