How film and funding connect in Jamaica
Kingston Creative hosted its monthly corporate networking event at its Coworking Space on 107 Harbour Street on July 4th, under the timely theme “Making the Movie.” This month’s event highlighted the film industry as a high-potential avenue for economic development, building on the momentum from recent festivals such as GATTFEST, Shotlist, Black River Film Festival, and the Artwalk Book and Film Festival.
The evening’s panel speakers were award-winning filmmaker and President of the Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA), Nadean Rawlins, and David Mullings, CEO of Blue Mahoe Capital, a Caribbean-focused investment firm who delivered an intimate masterclass-style talk. Rawlins shared insights from her filmmaking journey, including her recent participation at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and her leadership in developing globally competitive Jamaican film content. “You have to be prepared. And what does that mean for a creative world? Meaning you have to do the work, you have to do the research… And I’m talking the who, the what, and the where when it comes to filmmaking, and the kind of film you want to make as well. Strategizing.” When asked about the difference she observed in the Jamaican and international film markets by moderator Andrea Dempster Chung, Cofounder and Executive Director of Kingston Creative, she said, “We are shoulder to shoulder with these filmmakers in terms of our commitment, in terms of our stories, in terms of what we can do. What it is that we’re lacking is just support, the financial support especially.”
On the topic of financial support for the creative industry, CEO of Blue Mahoe Capital, David Mullings, broke down the practical criteria he uses when assessing film projects for investment and how he looks at investing in the creative industries. David has invested in the film industry and entertainment after he created the largest platform of Caribbean music on the web, Reel Vibes – going on tour with top artistes like Sean Paul, partnering with MTV and YouTube and more in the early aughts. “In my opinion investing in film or music is just like investing in startups. you invest in 15 over a 5 year period, out of the 15, 10 are going to fail and you are going to lose all your money. out of the remaining 5, 2 will return one dollar for every dollar that you put in and one will be the winner. This is true early stage investing. you can’t know which one is going to be facebook… In fact the one you think is gonna be the most successful is probably not the one.” When asked about capital in Jamaica, he stated, “The money is in Jamaica, we need to show them why this is a better investment or just as good as high end real estate… we have to start by educating them(investors) first.”
Before and after the keynote discussions, the evening featured a special two-hour film screening session, featuring a selection of short films and independent works by Jamaican filmmakers. The screenings gave attendees a firsthand look at the strength and diversity of Jamaica’s cinematic voices, from drama to horror, and offered a space for emerging filmmakers to gain visibility and feedback from both peers and investors.
The Making the Movie meetup marked another successful activation for Kingston Creative, reinforcing the nonprofit’s commitment to unlocking the economic potential of the cultural and creative industries in downtown Kingston.
