State-owned television station, Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), has been criticised for not offering enough opportunities to Barbadian producers.
Jamal Slocombe, president of the Barbados Film and Television Association (BFTA), argued for more content from young creatives and filmmakers on the broadcasting station which is celebrating its 60th anniversary.
“Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation is a public good and I think the concern is that it is not currently being put to the best use or it is not serving the members of the filmmaking community in Barbados. I think we need to have dialogue about how we go about being able to form partnerships with CBC – it is critical,” the BFTA president said during his opening remarks at The Future of Film Forum held on Sunday.
Slocombe also called for more diverse productions made by Barbadians, featuring Barbadians. He held that this shift could inspire future generations of young Barbadians to invest in the country’s orange economy.
“I remember growing up and watching Uncle Jeff Bromes on CBC on an evening, as well as The Molly Show, and I was fascinated to see these individuals – Barbadians on television.
“We really need to look at how we go about creating a platform for filmmakers, television producers to be able to actually showcase their work,” he insisted, also adding that the Association was lobbying for its own television station.
While outlining the challenges that the industry is facing, Slocombe spoke about the difficulty filmmakers faced operating drones in Barbados. He disclosed that the BFTA is establishing a task force to lobby the Government.
“We have had several efforts…to be able to address the challenge of the regulation of drones in Barbados still we have a challenge where individuals apply for drones, to take flight their drones and they don’t get responses back until two weeks later. This continues to hamper the ability of filmmakers to effectively do their jobs.”
“CIBC just did a major beautiful drone show, which we commend. It was wonderful but still, filmmakers and the wider community are having challenges using their drones – this is a cause for concern – so we want to have conversations about that. We have written and we still are lobbying to have a conversation about the regulations of drones,” he indicated.
