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Transcultura unites Caribbean and European artists to promote diversity of expression in the audiovisual industry
Opportunities and challenges offered by the European market for Caribbean audiovisual producers, filmmakers and animators were discussed by participants at the second forum of the International Creative Exchange Caribbean (ICEC) 2020 - Europe Connection.
Current trends indicate that producers prefer stories reflecting local voices and viewpoints, highlighted the writer, producer and director based in Scotland, Victoria Thomas, during her presentation "Opportunities for Culturally Diverse Stories in the European Film Space", one of the activities that most attracted the attention of novel filmmakers from countries like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago or Belize.
Thomas' reflection showed that, despite the continuous transformations of the audiovisual market, the power of the story remains an essential factor for success.
The meeting is part of the joint actions for cultural exchange and cooperation promoted by the Programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, funded by the EU and involving key actors from Cuba and the Caribbean. In alliance with the South-South Collective of Jamaica, this experience also included dialogues where young Caribbean filmmakers shared with experts their concerns, expectations and part of their creative work.
The working session took place on the Airmeet and Zoom platforms, and opened with a panel composed of Elisse Rappaport, Senior Producer at Kaya Content; Jason Lindsay, Director of the Full Circle Animation Studio, from Trinidad and Tobago; Deborah Hickling-Gordon, UNESCO expert from Jamaica; Beth Weinstein, marketing strategist from the United States; and Victoria Thomas herself.
From different perspectives, participants tabled the need to reach mutually beneficial cooperation agreements that contribute to increase the presence of Caribbean productions in the European market.
The distribution of audiovisual works was another issue that caught the attention of participants, as it is directly related to the impact and success of artistic creation.
For those artists in the audiovisual industry, self-promotion remains a fundamental issue. Press releases, presence in social networks, or the creation of databases that include festivals and funding opportunities are essential for any audiovisual producer today.
Faced with a scenario that is not always favourable to the positioning of diverse stories in foreign markets, participants shared some ideas to overcome the challenges. Integrating networks and promoting co-productions emerged as possible answers.
This forum gives continuity to the initiative launched by the Transcultura Programme, in partnership with the South-South Collective, to increase entrepreneurship opportunities for the Cultural and Creative Sector in the Caribbean. In its first edition, the event brought together Caribbean artists with Asian entrepreneurs and producers in a similar effort to strengthen cooperation networks and enhance the connection between creators and markets.
