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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Gina Rodgers-Sealy discusses her film Trailblazer during opening night.
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The Bahamas carved out several close ups at China’s first Latin American and Caribbean Film Festival held this month in Beijing, China.
Three Bahamian films were selected for the event. The two feature films from director Gina Rodgers-Sealy had prominent places on the schedule since her first film, Trailblazer: The Mychal Thompson Story, was the opening day film and her second documentary, Gentle Giant: The Andre Rodgers Story, kicked off the festival on day two. Sealy was featured on numerous news casts and cultural programs on Chinese television.
The award winning filmmaker said, "Our appearance in this film festival was validation to me that the topics of faith, family, hard work and determination are global issues that are held close to the hearts of many." She said that both films were extremely well received and that she is "still in awe of the widespread popularity of the films throughout the US and the world."
Ambassador Gomez says that “clearly Bahamian director Gina Rodgers Sealy is at the top of her game with Trailblazer and Gentle Giant: The Andre Rodgers Story, which were presented with Mandarin subtitles for the benefit of the Chinese audience and which were very well received. The audiences got to know a lot more about the best of The Bahamas.”
The third Bahamian film shown was Tyler Johnston’s feature length documentary, My Father’s Land,which explored the life of a well-loved Haitian gardener Papa Jah, as he returns to his homeland of Haiti from The Bahamas, to visit his 103-year-old father.
Clarence Rolle of the Bahamas Film & Television Festival said the acceptance of Bahamian films around the world and their prominence at the festival in China is another good indication of the growth of Bahamian film talent. He said the Film Commission aims to help Bahamian filmmakers have commercial success at home and abroad so that Bahamian entertainment will become a large-scale export of the country.
The Latin American and Caribbean Film Festival was one of the the events of the China-Latin America Cultural Exchange year. The film festival was co-hosted by China’s Ministry of Culture, and the embassies of The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago Embassy in China.
© Copyright 2016 by thebahamasweekly.com
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