By Jasminee Sahoye

The Caribbean film industry is moving to address global competitiveness with the implementation of the 3D Distribution Project, an innovative initiative financed by the ACP Cultures+ Program of the European Union.

This week, CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution (CTWD) announced the impressive international team of top film and cultural industry talent that will implement the 3D Distribution Project.

The aim of the 3D Project – which means Digital, Domestic, and Diaspora Distribution – is to expand markets for indigenous film, and contribute to the Caribbean film industry’s global competitiveness.

The team consists of long-time CTWD associates as well as outstanding professionals new to the CaribbeanTales family.

Leading the project in his role as Steering Committee Chair is Dr. Keith Nurse (Trinidad / Barbados). The Caribbean’s foremost creative industries’ expert, Nurse is currently executive director of UWI Consulting Inc. and has held advisory roles with regional and international organizations including the World Trade Organization, the Organization of American States, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Nurse is a founding director of CTWD. He brings his expertise in economics, business development, higher education and cultural diversity to the project’s strategic management.

He shared that “We are thrilled to have assembled the best global team possible and we are now uniquely positioned to tap into all key markets identified by the 3D Distribution Project.”

The role of the steering committee will be to build strategic global partnerships. To this end, other key members include: former board chair of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company and co-founder of Banyan Ltd. / Gayelle TV, Christopher Laird (Trinidad &Tobago); director of the Belize International Film Festival, Suzette Zayden (Belize); world renowned award-winning composer, producer and film and TV music arranger John Welsman (Canada) and Philippine-born Austrian Camilo Antonio who brings a wealth of experience in human resources, investment, capacity-building and mentorship.

Antonio, a former consultant with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has supported CTWD since its launch in 2010, and served as jury chair of the CaribbeanTales International Festival over the last two years.

3D will be co-managed by CTWD’s founder and CEO, Frances-Anne Solomon, with Financial Manager Susan Fueg who, as CaribbeanTales’ general manager and producer, has overseen many of the company’s film, TV and online productions since 2003.

They are supported by Assistant Project Manager Melissa Gomez, who is based in New York but originally from Antigua and established herself as a producer on U.S. network documentary series.

Former operations manager of the CT Group, Courtney Panchan, is manager of acquisitions and operations and will be responsible for acquiring and managing all new and existing film, TV and online content.

Two well-placed acquisitions and programming associates will be working with her: celebrated Jamaican filmmaker and producer Mary Wells (also a CTWD director), and Christopher Pinheiro, who is also lead programmer of the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival.

Filmmaker and film / TV producer Nicole Brooks is distribution manager, working closely with new Business Development Manager Robert Evans, a former CBC marketing and distributions executive with wide industry experience.

And, in terms of marketing, web-based content producer Rodney Smith from Barbados is responsible for the branding, design and management of CTWD’s online assets, including the pay-per-view channel CaribbeanTales-TV; while Sonique Solutions’ Damian Sogren from Trinidad will lead the project’s diaspora marketing campaign.

For additional information on CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution and the 3D Distribution Project, please visit CaribbeanTales-Worldwide.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CaribbeanTalesWorldwide.