News

Javier Figueras (right), HBO Latin America corporate vice-president of affiliate sales, peruses a copy of the Jamaica Observer newspaper while his colleagues Jonathan Baker, vice-president of corporate affairs, and Melody Regalado, communications coordinator, look on. The occasion was a season three premiere of its hit series, Ray Donovan, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, on Thursday.

AMERICAN cable television network, Home Box Office (HBO) Latin America said it is willing to work with Jamaican stakeholders in getting their content aired, once certain requirements are met.

“We’d be more than happy,” Javier Figueras, corporate vice-president of affiliate sales, told the Sunday Observer.

The HBO executive hosted local media Thursday for the season three premiere of its hit series Ray Donovan at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

The new season starts July 13.

Figueras was responding to questions from the Observer as to whether the inaugural Jamaica Promotions Corporation’s (JAMPRO) Film Festival, scheduled for the Courtleigh Auditorium on July 7 to 11, would be of any interest to his company.

“Definitely! We have been invited to many film festivals around the world. We have done productions in Latin America, especially Brazil, Argentina and Mexico … and everything produced is not only shown in Latin America and the Caribbean, but also aired in the United States. We also send it around the world,” he said.

“We haven’t been reached by JAMPRO, but we’d love to sit down with them and listen to what projects they have in place, and we’ll take it from there,” he continued.

Figueras was quick to point out, that for HBO Latin America to meet with JAMPRO or any producer, the project has to be carefully thought out.

“It is important they have the project together. Not a 20-second script or idea. It doesn’t work that way,” he said.

The VP said such a venture would benefit home-grown talent.

“Every time we produce in Latin America, we use local production companies, local cameramen. Everything is local,” he said.

The film fest will showcase Jamaican talent in scriptwriting, directing, producing and acting. JAMPRO hopes to attract investors to bolster the local film industry.

Figueras said his company has been in existence for more than two decades, and for the last 15 they have produced original content from the region including the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival and St Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival.

“We aired the Marley documentary on July 1 for International Reggae Day,” he said.

The HBO Latin America Group comprises affiliates of Time Warner Entertainment Company and Ole Communications Group. It owns, operates and distributes the leading cable and satellite programming services in Latin America, Brazil and the Caribbean, including the HBO and Cinemax channels.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/HBO-Channels-Jampro-_19162599

Published Date: July 5th, 2015