Cinema, Seashores & Caribbean Storytelling …
The Skylark Movie Competition in Negril, Jamaica, blends cinema with coastal atmosphere, providing filmmakers and movie lovers a definite expertise underneath open skies. This 12 months’s occasion featured an extra-special tribute to Paul Campbell, extensively thought of Jamaica’s most well-known and celebrated actor for stage and display screen.
Staged on the Skylark Negril Seaside Resort and capitalising on its picturesque setting to display screen movies outdoor, poolside, or underneath starlit skies, organisers explicitly lean into this cinematic-beach aesthetic: you watch movies on the sand, with ocean breezes and the sound of waves as a backdrop. The pageant usually runs for a number of days and contains shorts, function movies, dwell musical performances, DJ units, and networking periods.
Showcasing Jamaican & Caribbean Movie Voices
Although Skylark is comparatively younger in comparison with long-standing festivals, it has carved a distinct segment as a platform for Jamaican filmmakers and for Caribbean tales. It highlights native brief movies, regional options, and work by diaspora creatives.
This 12 months the viewers had been greeted by a myriad of high tier artwork and performances.
- Threads of Us premiere: The movie debuted completely on the pageant on October 4th, adopted by a dwell efficiency from star Sevana.
- Paul Campbell tribute: A particular tribute to the legendary Jamaican actor included a dialog about his profession and a screening of the movie The Lunatic.
- Movie Location Jamaica teaser: The primary 7-minute teaser of this documentary collection exploring the island’s movie historical past
Actor Paul Campbell was greeted by rapturous applause for his speak with JAFTA President Nadean Rawlins, he spoke intimately about his iconic roles in Third World Cop and Dancehall Queen and was offered with a Lifetime Achievement Award from pageant organisers.
Cinema, Tradition & Caribbean Id
Skylark is greater than a movie pageant: it’s a cultural gathering. Festivalgoers may drift from a screening to a dwell DJ set, to an off-the-cuff dialogue on storytelling in Jamaica, to a networking night on the seaside. The atmosphere encourages connection, serendipity, and cross-disciplinary trade. 
The pageant additionally displays Jamaica’s evolving movie ambitions. With the island changing into a sought-after location for worldwide productions, native filmmakers are pushing for stronger infrastructure, capability constructing, and better artistic autonomy. Festivals like Skylark play a significant position in anchoring native voices and guaranteeing that Jamaican cinema isn’t just a backdrop, however a storyteller in its personal proper.