JAMPRO – Opening the Door for Filmmakers

John Alan Andrews is now looking forward to shooting three films in Jamaica. Before, he was thinking of his island home of St. Vincent and doing some shots in the United States.

With a Jamaican business partner, Delroy Lingo, who is also featured in the films,  he gave thought to doing a few scenes on the island.

“As a writer and film producer, Jamaica has always seemed like the ideal place to shoot Rude Buay…the Unstoppable and Who Shot the Sheriff? Stories were set in the enclaves of Kingston, Mandeville, Port Antonio, Montego Bay and other locations. I felt the inclusion of these locales could be the closest thing to reality for the films’ production,” said Andrews.

He confessed that, initially, he wasn’t sure about Jamaica as a filming destination as he thought there would be too many red tapes to hinder production. “Also, there were security issues. I wanted to make sure there were no risks to our cast and crew while shooting in some areas,” Andrews said. But his perception changed and concerns put to rest when he had a meeting with Film Commissioner and JAMPRO’s Creative Industries Manager,  Renee Robinson.

The film producer is now singing Jamaica’s praises – especially the Jamaica Film Commission – saying he now has no issues about doing business in Jamaica.

Andrew flew to Jamaica with his crew and has already scouted several locations with JAMPRO’s team. He said he is totally attached to the island.

“The country has great locations and its culture is so rich, not just for films with a Caribbean setting but even some U.S. settings could be cheated. It’s our desire within the next five years to establish an ALI Pictures movie studio on the island. With an incentive package in place and our distribution connects, Jamaica could become a huge draw,” he shared.

As he looks ahead to Jamaica becoming the film mecca of the Caribbean, he said there are still some things he thinks the country needs to complete, including establishing a film studio, dedicated film school, and investing more in Port Antonio- he said it has great potential for filming.