Barbados Cinema
It's a fact that the seventh art has been slow to develop in Barbados. Between 1900 and 2000, local and national productions could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Nevertheless, since the beginning of the twenty-first century and the introduction of incentives for filming and directing, several filmmakers have begun to make a name for themselves at festivals, with short films and other noteworthy initiatives.
A forerunner in this field, producer-director Mahmood Patel is one of the leading figures in The Film Group, an association specializing in studio filmmaking. Patel shot his first short film, The Shoe, in 2005. It was also at this time that the first state subsidies, long-awaited by local artists, began to appear. In 2007, the first film production support office was set up, and four years later the Barbados Film & Video Association was born, a group that would work towards greater cohesion in the sector, highlighting the multiple benefits of a strong film industry for Barbados. In 2007, the film Hit for Six, directed by Alison Saunders-Franklyn, was a hit with the local population. Telling the story of a disgraced cricketer's return to favor, the film brilliantly showcases the sport so beloved by Barbadian audiences.
Since then, the country's filmmakers have continued to release their creations on local and international screens. And in all formats. Recently, Barbadian filmmaker Vonley Smith distinguished himself by winning the prize for best very short film at the Green Screen Environmental Film Festival in Trinidad and Tobago, with a film made entirely with a smartphone. 1%, the title of this aesthetic-ecological production, went on to become the very first Barbadian film to be screened in the metaverse, in November 2022. Proof that, despite its late start, the Barbadian film industry has a bright future ahead of it.
International shoots
If Barbadian cinema didn't develop earlier, it's also because the number of international film shoots on the island remained fairly low. Nevertheless, a number of outstanding films have been made on the island's sandy beaches and in the narrow streets of its towns. A case in point is An Island in the Sun, produced by the legendary Darryl F. Zanuck, one of Hollywood's most eminent figures of the twentieth century. In this drama set on a British-ruled Caribbean island, you'll find such luminaries as James Mason, previously seen in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Joan Fontaine, one of Alfred Hitchcock's favorite actresses, famous for Suspicion and Rebecca. Another outstanding actress in this production was the American Dorothy Dandridge, who would also star in Porgy and Bess two years later. Last but not least, Harry Belafonte, an icon of American song, performs the song Island in the Sun, composed for this production and which went on to become one of his classics. Poorly received by critics on its release, Island in the Sun failed to restore the reputation of its director Robert Rossen, one of the figures most tarnished by the witch-hunt of McCarthyism that divided Hollywood in the mid-1950s. After being forced to testify against former comrades, Rossen was rejected by his peers and ended his career with minor productions, in relative anonymity.
In Barbados, it wasn't until the 1970s that major new international film shoots arrived on the island. In 1974, Blake Edwards, director of the Pink Panther saga, shot Top Secret, a spy drama filmed largely on location. With performances by Julie Andrews, Anthony Quayle and Omar Sharif, you'll be immersed in the relationship that develops between a British civil servant on vacation in Barbados and a Russian spy, at the height of the Cold War.
Closer to home, it's in documentaries and series that we find the biggest international successes shot entirely or in part in the country. In 2005, the film 500 ans plus tard (500 years later), a look back at the contemporary consequences of the slave trade and its impact on African diasporas, made a big splash at festivals in the USA and Europe. Another documentary, this time about cricket, made international headlines in 2007, while Hit for Six was released in Barbados the same year. In a more epic vein, but with a similar subtext, Fire in Babylon recounts the wild rise of the West Indies cricket team in the 1970s, and its near-undefeated status in the decade that followed. A story of empowerment, set against a backdrop of revolt against the former British occupier, and a captivating film.
Finally, on the small screen, it's the Netflix series Outer Banks that has boosted the Barbadian film industry in recent years. While a few episodes of The Love Boat and Love, Glory and Beauty had already been filmed on the island, this blockbuster is the first to set up shop on the island for several seasons, in 2020 and 2021, despite the pandemic. For viewers young and old, the series offers magnificent shots and thrilling sequences, as we travel alongside teenagers improvising as treasure hunters. It's sure to fire your imagination as you roam the island.
Experience cinema in Barbados
Finally, to round off your cinema journey, head for one of the island's screens. Whether in the open air at Christ Church's Globe Drive-In or in its multiplex, there are plenty of options to choose from. And, if the calendar allows, stop by the Barbados Independent Film Festival, held every January. A great opportunity to discover this promising young generation of filmmakers.
