OECS Music and Film to take spotlight

People in the OECS involved in the film and music industries are getting an opportunity to put the development of these sectors on a structured and comprehensive development path.{{more}}

The OECS Secretariat is bringing together the region’s film and music practitioners, and a number of invited international operators in these sectors, to face off over two days – April 4th and 5th – in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

This is the second annual OECS International Development Conference, and this year the theme is “Promoting and Sustaining the OECS Service Industry: The Creative Industries – Music and Film”.

The conference will provide a forum for persons engaged in the music and film industries, both within the OECS and outside, to network and discuss the challenges faced by the industries in the OECS and to strategise on development of a Plan of Action leading to the structured and comprehensive development of the Music and Film industries in this region, through the development of regional and international partnerships.

The Secretariat says while some local feature films have made inroads at international film festivals and while the region has provided a seductive backdrop for a number of successful movies, including Pirates of the Caribbean I and II and Dr. Doolittle, the efforts have been piecemeal, ad hoc and lacking in structure. The overall story is similar with music, despite the success of groups and artistes like Exile One, and Ophelia of Dominica, Kevin Little of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and others who have managed to sign on to international record labels.

Given the urgent need for economic diversification and the social dislocation faced by the region’s youth, particularly an element of its young men, it is all the more imperative that considerable attention be devoted to finding mechanisms to marshal the considerable creative talents and energies of the region’s young people, in a structured and comprehensive approach to growing these industries, the Secretariat says.

The two day conference will focus on topics in the film industry, including the Current State of the Creative Industries in the OECS; Typology of Filmed Entertainment; Location Production; International requirements for Building a Film Industry’ and Digital Entertainment, 3-D and unique Content Broadcasting, Animation and Video Game Development; and Building the Film Industries – the Case of Calgary and Vancouver Canada.

The focus on the Music Industry will touch on areas such as Music Development and Studio production, Artist Development and Management, Touring and Concert development, Online and Virtual IP development, Broadcasting and Distribution, the Performing Arts, Linking Art and Culture, and a comprehensive approach to building the Creative Industries in the OECS.