The Jamaican premiere of ‘Bob Marley: One Love’, which was held at Carib 5 on January 23, has already generated billions of dollars in media value for the country, says President of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Shullette Cox.
“Within the first 12 hours of the premiere, based on numbers that I have seen, the premiere generated over a million pounds in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the first 24 hours, $1.9 billion in the United States of America (USA),” she said.
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“We haven’t measured what happened after the London premiere, and the Hollywood premiere hasn’t happened yet; that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’m sure Minister [of Tourism, Edmund] Bartlett would be very happy because a lot of that is going to translate into people that now want to visit the place where these stories are told,” she said.
The JAMPRO President was speaking at the launch of the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative at the Office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday (January 31).
Bob Marley: One Love is a biopic of late reggae legend, Robert “Nesta” Marley, and was filmed, in part, in Jamaica.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, in her remarks, hailed the film as a reminder of the power of the telling of stories of the Jamaican people.
“Jamaicans everywhere watched proudly as the premiere unfolded and are even now looking forward to its global public opening on February 14. The premiere of Bob Marley: One Love is a testament to the value of investing in the creative sector,” Ms. Grange added.
The Minister commended all stakeholders involved in the launch of the JSDI, which is expected to be a key pillar in the growth of the local film industry by offering support to Jamaican-made screen-based productions.
Pointing out that Jamaica is already an “unparalleled global brand”, Minister Grange noted that the JSDI is aimed at alleviating the chronic gaps local filmmakers have in getting scripts written, films distributed, and having their stories funded.
“Perhaps, now, we can join India’s Bollywood, Nigeria’s Nollywood and create Jamaica’s own film industry – Jollywood,” she said.
