Thursday 04 September 2014

British Council, in partnership with Birds Eye View - a leading UK based organisation celebrating and supporting international women filmmakers, invited two Jamaicans Kimala Bennett and Toni Blackford to be a part of this inspiring event. BEV 2014 features a riveting line-up of films and events to celebrate women with wild in their hearts and stories in their souls.

2014 marks the 10th year since the BEV Film Festival has being highlighting emerging and established talent from across the world and offers regional and national producers, programmers, filmmakers, festival teams, agencies and cultural leaders a chance to network and attend key events at BEV 2014, as well as a dedicated delegates programme

Toni Blackford noted that

“It was incredible to know that the history of British cinema (from scripts, to set photos and literal copies of films) was so accessible. There was no feeling of exclusivity there. Anyone from anywhere could come inside and make use of it.

While at BEV, I learned that the battles for recognition, financing and distribution weren’t exclusive to anyone outside of that well discussed ‘first world’ bracket. Though each country’s unique cultural and economic structures do create hills and gullies in our collective standing, ultimately, most female filmmakers, regardless of location, are still paddling against some kind of gender bias.
 
British Council will host a follow up seminar series in Cuba in the last quarter of 2014, to further build the capacity of these female artists and also lay plans to aid other female film makers in the Caribbean

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.
We work in more than 100 countries and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes. Our offices in the Caribbean are hosting a number of ongoing initiatives linking the Caribbean to the UK.
We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publically-funded grant provides less than 25 per cent of our turnover which last year was £781 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally

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