The sun kissed isles, breathtaking beaches and enthralling vistas of The Bahamas appear to be luring moviemakers here in droves but a local movement of serious Bahamian filmmakers wants to turn the tide somewhat, encouraging their compatriots to tell their own stories.
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Guest facilitator at the Filmmakers Weekend Series Gregory Allen Howard, has written the screenplays for the acclaimed films Ali and Remember The Titans. |
It’s the simple message that the entrepreneurs behind Make It Happen Entertainment and Bahfari Films are touting ahead of a special Filmmakers Weekend Series.
The point is to teach novices how to turn their true stories into screenplays and organizers have flown in expert screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard. Howard has written the stories behind the acclaimed films Ali and Remember The Titans.
The two-day intensive hands on screen writing workshop is designed to introduce and give promising screenwriters the fundamental skills necessary to recognize the essential elements of a good story and develop them into major film and television industry blockbusters.
An obviously enthused Kent Minnis of Bahfari Films said the workshop is the manifestation of quite a number of years of intense work
"We’re excited… to get to this point where we could actually provide an opportunity for Bahamians to take part in the film industry so we will get to the point where there is enough Bahamians with the right skill set to not have producers bring down so big a crew, so much equipment because we’ll have it here and it becomes so much more cost effective," he said.
Minnis has been in filmmaking for quite a number of years. He said Bahamians should begin to tell their own stories and use it as the basis for subsequent films. In fact the aspiring filmmakers who attend this weekend’s event will be taught how to turn those very stories into story lines for film.
Guest Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard admits that writing the script is perhaps the single biggest challenge, contrary to popular opinion.
"Very few people outside the industry know that, they think the other parts of filmmaking are more daunting but honestly the script is, so I’m here to share that and teach this two day course and when its over people will have a pretty good idea about what it takes to write a screenplay," he said.
Participants are being urged not to turn up empty handed. They are actually being urged to prepare a story pitch which could be biographical, a current event, memoir or family story and should be prepared to pitch that story line during the workshop.
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Kent Minnis, of Bahfari Films is one of the organizers behind the film workshop being held this weekend at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel. |
Recalling his arduous struggle to break into Hollywood Howard recalls having many doors unanswered and said he also had a number of false starts.
But undaunted about his dreams of becoming a filmwriter, he packed up and moved to Los Angeles.
"I just kept banging at the door and banging at the door and eventually it cracked open and then I kept banging and it opened up again and eventually I got in," he said.
Admittedly, he had several big breaks.
"I considered my first big break the first cheque I got for a story for 21 Jump Street [a television series]…I framed that. It still means everything to me because then I went from being a theoretical writer to an actual writer which in itself to this day is amazing," Howard shared.
But he classified his single biggest break as writing Tinsel Town Trilogy, which eventually lead to him being signed to a famous agency. That was 14 years ago.
The Bahamas is no stranger to filmmaking. Filming just wrapped up on the James Bond Sequel Casino Royale and another sequel to Pirates of The Caribbean with Johnny Depp. These sunny isles have been the locale for other films like Into The Blue starring Jessica Alba and Into The Sunset with Pierce Brosnan. Additionally, Grand Bahama has become home to the Disney filming studios at Gold Rock Creek.
Filmmaking is a rapidly growing industry in the Bahamas, with production for motion pictures and television increasing by 50 percent over the last three years.
But the lamentation is that more locals could take advantage of the skills that are available and break into the filmmaking business.
The response to the two day workshop planned for this weekend has been very encouraging, according to Minnis. The same fundamentals that Howard is scheduled to teach this weekend formed the basis for a course that he lectured at Howard University in the U.S.
"The individuals who are responding realize for them this is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to access this for little or nothing," Minnis said.
The workshop is being held on Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 23 at the British Colonial Hilton in downtown Nassau.
