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WELCOME

Welcome to Jamaica! And Welcome to the Reggae Film Festival. (20th - 22nd Feb. 2008) Kingston, JA.

Whether you're joining us online or in person, you will enjoy this exposure to some of the many films made about Jamaica's reggae culture.

As a Rastafarian, I am very proud that exposure to reggae also brings exposure to the unique religion born in Jamaica and expressed in the development of Jamaican music that came to be called REGGAE,

The Reggae Film Festival celebrates this wondrous vehicle that has used music to spread a message of ONE LOVE to every corner of the world.

WELCOME TO JAH-MAICA ON FILM!!!

BARBARA BLAKE HANNAH http://www.geocities.com/jamaicamediaproductions/

Co-Producer – REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL

Director – JAMAICA FILM ARCHIVE

REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL

Minister of Information, Culture, Youth & Sports with responsibility for Entertainment, Hon. Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, announced that her Ministry will be assisting the presentation of the first ever Reggae Film Festival to showcase some of the many documentaries, feature films and music videos being made that incorporate or highlight Jamaica’s unique reggae music.  The REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL will feature films that have reggae music as the subject, story line or content will be held in Kingston on February 20-22, 2008 to focus on film as an aspect of Jamaican music culture.

The Film Festival will be one of the events of Reggae Month, including the Reggae Academy Awards being presented by the Recording Industry Association of Jamaica (RIAJam) as well as the Global Reggae 2008 conference hosted by the UWI Institute of Caribbean Studies.

The REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL is to be co-ordinated by film maker and film festival organizer Barbara Blake Hannah, Special Tasks Consultant to the Minister in collaboration with Peter Gittins of Reggae Films UK, an online community and marketplace for films, books and music highlighting Jamaica’s reggae culture. Minister Grange says the REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL will give Jamaicans the opportunity to view some of the best of the hundreds of films made about and because of the world famous music of Jamaica, that not only reflect the wide interest in Jamaican music, but also bring tourists on vacation and income to members of the entertainment fraternity, as well as the nation.

JAMAICAN FILM ACADEMY

Jamaican culture has had a big effect worldwide yet there is no real accessible archive which collects these types of films that are so important to the history of Jamaica as well as for the education of the rest of the world and therefore need to be preserved. The Reggae Film Festival is intended as the foundation activity of a Jamaica Film Academy that will archive films for research, screening and education. The Jamaica Film Academy aims to preserve all moving images relating to Jamaica and its musical past.

Reggae is a worldwide phenomenon which has brought the One Love message to the world.  Many of the originators of reggae music are no longer with us and although some of these legends were never captured on film, some were. It's our goal to make sure that all Jamaican related films are collected, catalogued and preserved for the future generations.

PETER GITTINS – REGGAE FILMS UK

Director – JAMAICA FILM ACADEMY, REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL

Peter Gittins operates Reggae Films UK, a company that promotes Jamaican related films and helps to keep the public and members of the entertainment industry informed about all the latest Jamaican film productions and releases throughout the world. This is done online via a regularly updated film list on the website www.reggaefilms.co.uk 

The aim of Reggae Films UK is to promote and preserve Jamaican culture through the use of film. The company is very passionate about Jamaican culture and especially films which help to capture the essence of Jamaican life. Reggae Music plays a big part of Jamaican culture and many films have been made on the subject over the years yet most of these films have never been aired in Jamaica or ever released on the island, so the Jamaican people are missing out on some beautiful films which have helped to attract people to Jamaica over the years and that have built an image in peoples minds of what Jamaica is all about.

Reggae Films UK has been cataloging and collecting films single handedly for several years now and recently had the opportunity to team up with Jamaica Media Productions, who also have the same goals and enthusiasm, to help make mutual objectives a reality and to preserve these special films.