BARBADOS and the Caribbean are being positioned as a destination for the international film industry and it is projected that international film festivals staged in Barbados will attract major players. David Bryan, founder and executive director of the first ever Barbados International Film Festival said the region has all the ingredients to take its rightful place in the global multi-billion dollar film industry, and he believes Barbados is well placed to take on the world. His comments followed the successful staging of the first ever Barbados International Film Festival which saw 40 independent films from all over the world, including Germany, Croatia and Russia, being screened here at the Olympus Theatres. The festival ran from December 5 to 9. According to Bryan, whereas movie-goers in Barbados are used to "the Hollywood type of film", he wanted to foster what he called a "Collywood" film culture, in which quality films from the Caribbean were screened at the same time, exposing patrons to a "world-class" film festival with international films dealing with international issues. "I want to see Barbados become a place for key film industry professionals, producers, financiers" Bryan added. He saw the Barbados International Film Festival as "the perfect spot" to bridge the gap between North American film festival audiences, and Latin American and Caribbean cinema, given the "vibrant mixture of classic, independent, world-renowned and regional cinema that were involved". (GC)
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