Festival Queen ‘flips the script’ with parish project

Every year, each young woman crowned in the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition is tasked with developing and executing a parish project based on an area of their interest.

Miss Kingston and St Andrew Festival Queen 2023, Jhanielle Powell, recently launched her film project titled 'Flip The Script', a three-day film-making workshop targeting Corporate Area students, ages 14 to 18. Powell, who has a degree in communication, with an emphasis on television broadcasting, from the Northern Caribbean University, told JIS News that her interest extends beyond TV production and into film.

"When the pandemic came around, I had my first training session with some youth in my church because, at that time, everybody was streaming, everybody was getting into the whole behind-the-scenes aspect of production. So, I decided I would use what I had learned and pass it on; that was the infant stages of Flip The Script," she said.

"But then I started to take my journey as a film-maker and as a screenwriter more seriously in subsequent years. So, after I produced and wrote three short films from 2020 to 2023, I decided that I could translate my actual passion into a parish project to introduce young people to another option for expressing themselves creatively."

Launched on April 3 and supported by the Bob Marley Foundation, the film project teaches teens how to write screenplays and direct films as some of the foundational skills required to pursue a career in the film industry. Ten students from Dunoon Technical High School, St Andrew High School for Girls and Kingston High School participated.

"In high school you are encouraged to focus on what your next step will be career-wise. So, when the time came for me to go to university, I was a bit confused, and had I been introduced to film as an option, I think I would have pursued that rather than communication. So, I wanted to target them, to plant the seed [and point out] that this is an opportunity that we could pursue and make money," Powell said. She said that students were eager to learn and asked plenty of questions.

"So, when it came time for them to come up with their own story, we had a very passionate session trying to figure out what the story would be, where it would go, the different elements, [and] who would take on each role; and it was exciting to see them get excited about something that I know they love and they're coming along on," she said. The students were divided into two groups and given free rein to conceptualise their project under the supervision of the facilitators. Powell said that the only stipulations were that the film be between five and seven minutes long and explore positive themes.

"All ideas are good ideas, and then we would piece together different contributions from each member of the group and commit to that story. So, it was very important not to box them in but provide guidance where it was needed," she added. The students ultimately came up with a heart-felt story titled A Dream to Reach.

"It's a story about a dance teacher who was injured when she was younger, and it is through flashbacks that we see how she was able to navigate that injury to still pursue her dream of that, through teaching," Powell said. The film, with the students as the cast, will premiere later this month and be available for viewing on platforms such as YouTube. However, Powell has plans to take the project concept further by entering film festivals, both local and international.

Powell encouraged youngsters with a passion or interest in film-making to take a chance on themselves.

"We have resources available to us here in Jamaica, whether it's through the Jamaica Film and Television Association or other creative fraternities. If you put yourself out there by creating a body of work that you can advocate for and it connects to an audience, you'd be surprised to see how far it can take you," she said.