Zwarte Ibis (Black Ibis) is a short poetic film made by Belgo-Dutch grassroots media platform Black Speaks Back portraying a young Black woman’s quest for intimacy in a world where the boundaries between the individual and the collective, the political and the personal, the past and the present, become ever blurrier. The short film is an afro-surrealistic reverie, poetically re-imagining our contemporary conceptions of relationships with the self and with imagined communities through a questioning of historically and culturally imposed views on Black people’s intimate lives in the diaspora.

Caribbean Creativity co-hosted the world premiere of Zwarte Ibis (Black Ibis) in January 2024, and currently serves as the film festival strategist of the film.

Dir: Emma-Lee Amponsah | 2024 | The Netherlands | narrative short | 18 min.

Eating Papaw on the Seashore is a short coming-of-age film produced by the Georgetown Film Festival in collaboration with the Commonwealth Foundation two queer Guyanese boys, who are navigating their feelings in a homophobic society.

Caribbean Creativity was one of the official backers of  Eating Papaw on the Seashore.

Dir: Nikose Layne | 2022 | Guyana | narrative short | 18 min. | Trailer

Yung Kunta is a short Afrofuturistic love story on migration, homophobia and racism. After yet another bullying incident, Yung Kunta, a young African DJ grappling with his sexual identity, decides to leave his home country, the Gambia, and to take the risky backway to Europe. He ends up in the Netherlands, where he gets to experience freedom and love he never thought possible. His former life seems far away, but for how long?

Emiel Martens, founding director of Caribbean Creativity, serves as the producer and story editor of Yung Kunta, which is currently in pre-production.

Dir: Bas Ackermann | 2022 | The Gambia / The Netherlands | narrative short | 20-30 min.

Gifts from Babylon is an award-winning short film exploring the impact of Africa-EU migration through the lens of a Gambian return-migrant. The film captures the personal and cultural conflicts that arise when Amadou, a young West African, returns to his home country after having lived illegally in the once promised paradise, Europe. Gifts from Babylon shows the return of an African migrant after having lived illegally in Babylon for five years. Babylon is the name that is often used in West Africa when referring to Europe, the idealized destination of many young West Africans when taking the so-called backway, the dangerous and illegal journey to Europe across deserts and high seas. The main character is Amadou, a 28-year old Gambian who took the backway when he was in his early twenties. Back then, he stole money from local gang leader Jimmy to cross the desert by truck and ended up in a smuggler’s boat to Europe. Now, five years later he returns to his home country, to reunite with his family and friends. After a harsh life of hustling on the streets of Italy and the Netherlands, Amadou comes back to the Gambia as a changed man – a bluffing man his family and friends can’t get along with. On top of that, the debts he left behind have not been forgotten by local gang leader Jimmy. While suffering from intense flashbacks of his Babylon life in Europe, and experiencing the poverty and insecurity of African ghetto life all over again, he wonders what has become of him…

Emiel Martens, founding director of Caribbean Creativity, served as the producer and story editor of Gifts from Babylon, which has been shown at 75+ film festivals and other events wordwide and won various awards.

Dir: Bas Ackermann | 2018 | The Gambia / The Netherlands | narrative short | 24 min.

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After being smuggled into Trinidad and Tobago to be with her brother Wei, Zhenzhen, an illegal Chinese immigrant, discovers the true cost of her arrival.

Moving Parts is one of a handful of new feature films being produced within the Caribbean, poised to present new images and stories to the international market. After the death of her father, a Chinese immigrant, Zhenzhen, is smuggled into Port of Spain in order to be with her brother Wei. Unbeknownst to them, the restaurant where Wei has found her work serves more than just food. Zhenzhen arranges for an advance from the restaurant’s owner, Mrs. Liu, in order to pay the money she owes as a result of her illegal entry onto the island, and Mrs. Liu’s narcissistic son, Shin, takes a unwanted interest in Zhenzhen’s future. When a devastating event tears at the very fabric of Zhenzhen’s existence, only through the help of a neighboring art gallerist, Evelyn, and the restaurant’s Cook, does she have a chance at life. Moving Parts is unique in that it is not a thriller, but rather a human drama, exposed from the inside out. Utilising a local context, this film will address one of the most pressing contemporary global social issues, human trafficking. The film will present a fresh approach to a difficult topic through the eyes of female characters, crafted by a female writer/director, shot by a female cinematographer and produced by Caribbean women.

Caribbean Creativityserved as an official backer of Moving Parts through their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

Dir: Emilie Upczak | 2017 | T&T | drama

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A 12-year-old runaway makes his home in the hills of rural St. Catherine after escaping from an abusive orphanage. The film takes place on the day he sneaks back into town for a routine visit with his best friend. Things don’t quite go according to plan…

Since childhood, filmmaker Aisha Porter-Christie has been obsessed with the story of Peter and Wendy, and Lost Boy (2016) loosely adapts the premise of J.M. Barrie’s beloved classic to a modern, realistic Jamaican setting. It centers on Peter Clarke, an artful, precocious boy with a deep sense of adventure and a bit of a hero complex. When he discovers his best friend Marissa is in trouble, he tries to take matters into his own hands. But as things quickly spiral out of control, he is forced to face the reality that he is only a child, and that not everyone can be saved.

The film casts Jamaica as one massive playground. It highlights the joys of growing up surrounded by overwhelming tropical beauty and a rich, unique culture – as experienced by the film’s director. It is also an exploration of the darker side of paradise as reports of child abuse and child homicide in the island continue to rise. The Jamaican government has also failed to introduce vital missing-children legislation despite the fact that every month approximately 150 children go missing. For a nation with a population of only 2.8 million, this is a crisis. It is a subject the cast and crew are very passionate about, and the filmmaking team hopes this film will help raise awareness on this very crucial issue.

Caribbean Creativity is an official backer of Lost Boy through their Indigogo crowdfunding campaign.

Dir: Aisha Porter-Christie | 2016 | Jamaica | Adventure

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Kingston Paradise is an award-winning Jamaican urban drama starring popular Jamaican entertainer Christopher ‘Johnny’ Daley. The film transports the viewer to the edgy streets of Kingston, where Jamaica’s ghetto dwellers are trying to survive day by day amid poverty, corruption and crime. Finding himself stuck in the violent ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, a sympathetic street hustler (Christopher ‘Johnny’ Daley) devises a daring but no-so-clever plan to steal a fancy sports car, right under the owner’s nose, after which things rapidly go downhill until he gets to the bottom and begins to realize that he has to change in order to fulfill his dreams. Kingston Paradise has entirely been shot on location in downtown Kingston – the old city grid with its tiny lanes and alleys, historic buildings, tenement yards, colorful shops, overwhelming sound systems, chaotic business streets, and nostalgic harbor. The movie presents Kingston as a lived space characterized by the everyday dynamics, experiences, and relations of its residents.

Caribbean Creativity served as executive producer of Kingston Paradise.

Dir: Mary Wells | 2013 | Jamaica | Urban drama

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