News

Kingston, Jamaica, February 18, 2025 – The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) remains committed to supporting the Jamaican film industry, and specifically to advancing the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative (JSDI), ensuring support for local creatives and driving investments in the Jamaican creative economy. As the operationalisation of the programme progresses, JAMPRO takes the opportunity to provide updates on key milestones and the next steps.

Evaluation Process and Timelines

The JSDI’s first call for applications in March 2024 resulted in 406 submissions, with 269 validated for further assessment. The evaluation process, which saw the engagement of several global experts assessing the projects on the basis of stipends, commenced in November 2024, and is advancing across multiple categories. The status is as follows:

• Film Festival and Market Attendance: Evaluations are 100% complete.

• Completion Category: Evaluations are 100% complete.

• Development Category: Evaluations are 85% complete, with final assessments expected by March 31, 2025.

• Production Category: Application evaluations commenced in January 2025 and remain on schedule for completion by March 31, 2025.

JAMPRO President, Shullette Cox said, “JAMPRO remains committed to ensuring that funds are allocated efficiently, supporting our creative professionals, and positioning Jamaica as a destination for film production, while adhering to our fiduciary responsibility to protect the funds that come from the taxpayers of Jamaica. We remain confident that the programme will redound to the benefit of our stakeholders, reflecting our steadfast dedication to fostering sustainable growth in this sector.”

Funds Disbursed to Date

For the 2024/25 Financial Year, JAMPRO received a budget allocation of J$234 million for JSDI. Of this amount, J$233,421,600.00 was disbursed for the first production rebate for Bob Marley: One Love, which was approved in 2023 by Cabinet to receive the maximum amount of US$1.5 million based on their over US$20m production expenditure in Jamaica. This disbursement aligns with the initiative’s objective of incentivising high-impact film productions in Jamaica as well as creating jobs in the industry. This commitment was mentioned at the launch of the JSDI in January 2024.

The Jamaica Film Commission

The Film Commission, under JAMPRO, is responsible for promoting Jamaica at international festivals, trade shows and content markets as a premier location for filming and for positioning business linkages for Jamaican industry participants. The Commission is tasked with circulating regional and international export and investment opportunities to local industry stakeholders, pursuing investor progression for eligible international projects that will result in the employment of Jamaicans in the film industry, and lobbying for incentives and policies to strengthen the business environment and increase investment opportunities in the industry.

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For more information, contact:

jsdi@dobusinessjamaica.com