Today, The Caribbean Film Academy (CaFA), announced the official launch of its Video On Demand platform, Studio Anansi Films (studioanansi.tv). The site will feature narrative short and feature length live action and animated films and documentaries, as well as web-series created by Caribbean filmmakers in the region and diaspora.
“With the launching of this site, CaFA has achieved one of its major goals – providing an outlet for the work of emerging regional and diaspora based Caribbean filmmakers, as well as access for global and regional audiences to some of the best film content coming out of the Caribbean,” commented Romola Lucas, Co-Founder of CaFA. “In recent years, there has been an explosion in filmmaking in the Caribbean, mostly spurred by the greater affordability of equipment and the growth of regional film festivals. As one of a handful of VOD sites designed exclusively for Caribbean content, the platform will provide a tremendous opportunity for increased visibility of the work of our emerging filmmakers,” Lucas added.
StudioAnansi recently inked a distribution deal with New Caribbean Cinema producers, Michelle Serieux and Storm Saulter, whose film “Ring di Alarm,” opened to rave reviews and two sold out shows in Jamaica this past weekend, and will be the newest addition to the site.
“NCC’s successful launch, points to the hunger Caribbean audiences have for seeing their stories and themselves onscreen and the need for these films to be avaialbe to and accessible by as many people as possible. With the addition of Ring di Alarm to our already exciting catalogue of fresh, cutting edge films by some of the Caribbean’s best emerging filmmakers, we are slowly but surely putting together a site to be enjoyed by viewers and cherished by filmmakers,” says Lucas. “Ring di Alarm” will be available on the site beginning Tuesday, August 26.
StudioAnansi, named in honor of master Caribbean storyteller, Anansi the Spider, draws on the Caribbean’s collective and unique perspective, and the high regard held for its storytelling traditions. It will offer films in a variety of genres made by filmmakers from a wide range of Caribbean countries, with the capacity for the films to be viewed in high definition, on any device. Audiences wil be able to choose from a selection of free or paid content, with film prices averaging about $5.
Justen Blaize, Co-Founder of CaFA, remarked, “CaFA already shares topical information on the Caribbean film industry through its blog CineCaribés (cinecaribes.com) and film content, through its monthly community film screenings – CaFA Film Nights – in Brooklyn. We’re enthusiastic about the addition of Studio Anansi and its potential to further establish CaFA as the leader in delivering premium Caribbean film content worldwide.”
About CaFA:
Established in 2012, CaFA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and support of Caribbean filmmaking and filmmakers, in the region and the diaspora. CaFA’s work is focused on promoting and sharing the art of storytelling through film from the unique perspective of the Caribbean. Our goal is to increase the visibility of Caribbean films and filmmakers in the Caribbean as well as the global community and to provide tangible support for their efforts. We believe in film as a means of effecting social engagement and change, exploring the Caribbean storytelling/film aesthetic, preserving Caribbean history and culture, and sharing our unique perspectives with the world. Through our film screenings, film reviews, filmmaker interviews, film festival highlights, making Caribbean films accessible for viewing anywhere in the world, and contributions to Caribbean film projects, we hope to meaningfully contribute to the growth and evolution of this exciting and rapidly growing industry, as well as help cultivate an audience, Caribbean and otherwise, who will enjoy seeing these stories.
For more information visit: www.caribbeanfilm.org, or email us at info@caribbeanfilmacademy.org.
About StudioAnansi.TV
StudioAnansi.tv, is a VOD platform exclusively providing Caribbean film content. The Brooklyn based digital distribution platform offers a growing catalogue of prime film content by some of the best emerging Caribbean filmmakers. For more information visit: www.studioanansi.tv or email us at info@caribbeanfilmacademy.org.
