So, you want to know more about cinema in the Caribbean? One of the best ways to improve your practice and better understand the environment you are creating is to read. It's something screenwriters are often told, read to write, but it also applies to creatives and filmmakers in general.
However, it's not always easy to know where to start or what to look for - after all, you don't know what you don't know. But never fear! In this article, we will share four resources that can serve as your launching pad.
1. Ex-Iles: Essays on Caribbean Cinema ed. by Mbye Cham
This book is an essential collection of essays and a great place to start an overview of how cinema and film are developed and understood in different territories of the Caribbean. You will learn about early pioneers of Caribbean cinema, perspectives on the impact of Hollywood on the Caribbean, Challenges we face as filmmakers in the region and critiques of some of Caribbean Cult Classic Films. It features essays by Keith Q. Warner and Stuart Hall, interviews with Euzhan Palcy, Felix de Rooy, Christian Lara, and film critiques and analysis on The Harder They Come, Ava & Gabriel.
It's an excellent start to building a solid foundation of our cinematic history. It will also inspire your future films to be based on a richer and deeper understanding of the context you are creating in.
This book is available locally at the UWI Book shop:
Or available on Amazon:
2. Caribbean Cinema - A New Arrivant by Bruce Paddington
Written by the founder and Festival Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Bruce Paddington in this article pleads the case for a more serious study of Caribbean films and videos as the avenue to "provide students with a with fuller perspectives on issues of regional and national identity, and cultural development". The abstract for this brief read further outlines the article. Here's what you'll learn:
(a) An introduction to the early history of cinema in the Caribbean, analyzing the image of the region as portrayed in Hollywood films;
(b) The working definition of a Caribbean film;
(c) The argument for the study of film to be introduced into the education system in the Caribbean at the primary, secondary, or tertiary levels, either as individual courses or incorporated into the social studies, English, or creative arts curriculum.
Interested in reading this 10-pager? Download the file below.
3. On Location: Cinema and Film in the Anglophone Caribbean by Keith W. Warner
Hitting closer to home, this book by Warner is sure to help you understand the distinction between films shot in the Caribbean and Caribbean films. In this book, you learn how the very blockbuster favourites and beloved superhero movies made it harder for locally produced films and cinema industries to prosper in the English-speaking Caribbean.
It explores the use of the Caribbean landscape as an "exotic" backdrop for Western film productions and how deeply Hollywood impacted our identities and communities. It investigates the influence of dominant cinema in several aspects of our lives - from our Calypso songs, to how stereotypes of the region were constructed, like the perpetuation of our space as simply beautiful beaches, rhythmical music and fun in the sun.
It has a glossary of 20th-century films produced in the region, interviews and analysis of movies. Also mentioned in this book is Guttaperc by director Andrew Millington, noted as the earliest feature film created in Barbados by a Barbadian in the brief interview.
You can find this book in the National Library Service of Barbados
or
at the Sidney Martin Library at UWI: Open Shelf Books | PN1993.5.C27 W37
This book is also available on Amazon:
4. Urban Cinemas in Barbados by Krystal Penny Bowen
This article is a much lighter read. You may have heard of the famous Empire Theatre, or maybe still have memories of watching movies at the Globe Theatre. Still, just as these once frequented spaces faded into history, there were many others like them in our capital city. In 5-minutes, you'll learn about the various cinemas of Bridgetown. Now a town without moving pictures, learn what happened to these culturally significant spaces like The Plaza and Olympic in this article!
Download the article here:
We hope this first list has been useful to you in some way. If this has wet your appetite for more readings on Caribbean cinema, we've got more in store! But until then, another tip is to read the references at the bottom of some of these sources for further readings.
Written by Reyda Gay
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