Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter

Director Storm Saulter shakes the hand of Paul Bucknor, co-founder of Flashpoint Film Festival, shortly after receiving the Best Director award for his work in the film 'Better Mus Come' which was screened at the festival last weekend. - Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jamaican director, Storm Saulter was named the Best Director at the recently concluded, Flashpoint Film Festival at the Caves, in Negril, last weekend.

The 23-three-year-old Negril native, copped the award from a pool of 30 contestants from across the Caribbean and North America. He received the honour for his film, Better Mus Come, which explores an inner-city love story set amidst the political turmoil of the 1970s Jamaica.

A feature film, which is still in production, Better Mus Come emerged tops after the audience viewed and rated the first sequence, approximately 18 minutes, of the story. The target release date for the film is Flashpoint 2007.

One of the directors associated with Firefly Studios, in Mount James, St Andrew, Storm, said that he was excited by the crowd response to film.

Great feeling

"It feels great," he said. "When you make a work of art it starts in your head as just an idea so when you go through all the processes and you get it to a certain point your hope is that people respond."

"It is great to feel that people paid attention and appreciated it and that is what we as young Jamaican directors, and Flashpoint as a whole, are trying to promote," he added.

In its second year, the film festival showcased films - shorts, features, documentaries and a cartoon - from countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cuba, South Africa, Canada, the United States and Jamaica all of which vied for awards.

Noting that last year's entrants were largely Jamaican, co-founder of the festival Paul Bucknor was heartened by the increase in foreign films.

Beyond expectations

"We expected it to grow but we did not expect the variety of films to be so great," he said. "There are a lot of people making films and it is a great sign."

According to Mr. Bucknor one of the mandates of the festival is to foster growth of the Jamaican film industry showcasing new and emerging works. To this end he said that the festival will be hosting flashpoint film screening in April 2007.

"Most of the cinema-going audience is in Kingston and they could not come so we are taking the films to them," he explained adding that it will not come in conflict with Flashpoint Negril.

"The original Flashpoint has filmmakers from around the world, (while) Flashpoint Kingston will not be inviting all those filmmakers," he said. "The objective is screenings. It is not so much of a festival, it is more of a showcasing."

Viewers' choice awardees:

Best Director:

Storm Saulter Better Mus Come (Jamaica)

Best Cinematography: Favella Rising Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary (Brazil/U.S.A.)

Best Screenplay: Swallow by Frank E. Flowers (Cayman/U.S.A.)

Best Documentary:All About Dancing Jay Will (Jamaica)

Best Short Film: Swallow by Frank E. Flowers (Cayman/U.S.A.)

Greer-Ann Saulter Award for Most Popular Feature Film:Sistagod Yao Ramesar (Trinidad and Tobago)

Best Lead Actor: Roger Guenuvre, Better Mus Come (Jamaica)

Best Lead Actress: Melissa Fearon Candy Shop (Jamaica)