A new Rural Film Initiative is being introduced to help develop Tobago’s film industry.

It’s a project of the Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation, and will target those with filmmaking potential, but with limited opportunities.

“Tobago has a long history as a location for the production of international feature films, documentaries, and commercials,” Tourism Secretary Nadine Stewart-Phillips said at yesterday’s (Feb. 27) post Executive Council media briefing. “However these projects have not resulted in a sufficient transfer of skills to local filmmaking professionals.”

The initiative will help promote Tobago’s cultural and tourism industries using “film as a platform by the training of filmmakers and potential filmmaking practitioners in Tobago to further develop the Tobago-based film industry”, Stewart-Phillip explained.

The project is also aimed at producing heritage films, promoting Tobago as a film location, and demonstrating the possibilities of film as a feasible career and viable cultural product on the island.

The Secretary says there will be “a call for… community groups to submit their scripts from Tobago Heritage Festival productions,” she said.

No fewer than six scripts will be selected. Chosen groups will attend a workshop and participate in a competitive pitch for funding and technical support from the THA.

They’ll get the chance to be screened at the 2020 Tobago Heritage Festival and “any other international festival as a vehicle to promote Tobago’s indigenous culture”, Stewart-Phillips said.