Incubator in session. Photo: Provided

Laurence Magloire & Natalie Holly, Haiti. Photo: Provided

Omar Lewis, Trinidad. Photo: Provided

The big pitch. Photo: Provided

Winner of Audience and Jury Awards, Mariette Monpierre. Photo: Provided

Commenting on the partnership, John Reid, President of C&W’s Consumer Group, said, “This is an exciting day for Flow. We are thrilled to be partnering with CaribbeanTales to support local filmmakers and producers, and we have long recognised that we needed a partner whose aspirations for the Caribbean were aligned with our own objectives.” 

According to Reid, “The Caribbean has one of the most vibrant cultural scenes in the world, famed for its music, food and sport. Our customers consistently tell us that they want to see high quality, local content that tells the stories of their culture, their communities, and their countries, and that this need is not being met today. Our CaribbeanTales partnership is focused on bringing these two strands together – translating the inherent cultural richness of the Caribbean into compelling, must-watch audio visual content for the benefit of both Flow’s customers, as well as developing the Caribbean audio visual industry.”

CaribbeanTales is the leading supporter of content generation in the Caribbean, with an enormous library of content that tells the tales of everyday Caribbean people and the Diaspora, through dramas, documentaries animation, comedies and short films. “With our CaribbeanTales partnership we are building on our commitment to support, develop and distribute Caribbean content for Caribbean viewers,” Reid concluded.

CEO of CaribbeanTales, Frances-Anne Solomon said: “This wonderful partnership provides an injection of energy and resources into the region's filmmaking process, and has the potential to be a game changer for our emerging industry. There is now, for the first time, a consistent mechanism through which the most compelling regional projects from the most talented producers can get funding and be seen by wide audiences across the region. I am looking forward to working with Flow, and with producers and other partners to build on this important milestone in the establishment of a sustainable indigenous industry in the Caribbean”.

The CaribbeanTales Incubator (CTI) is a year-round development and production hub for Caribbean and Caribbean Diaspora Producers that aims to create strong, compelling and sustainable content for the global market.  As part of the new partnership, Flow and CaribbeanTales will work to fund the most promising new projects from idea to pilot production, thus helping to support the growth and development of Caribbean filmmaking talent. In addition, later this year Flow will launch CaribbeanTales-TV on its Video On Demand platform, enabling customers to view must-watch Caribbean content at their convenience.

A video of the CaribbeanTales Incubator can be seen here.

About Cable & Wireless Communications

Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4bn, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and Video consumer offers.

Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers.

The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km – the most extensive in the region – as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity.

CWC has more than 7,200 employees serving over 6.3 million customers (Mobile 4.1m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 465k and Broadband 680k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries.  The Company’s leading brands include; LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes.

Cable & Wireless Communications’ shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC.  The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information, please visit: www.cwc.com. 

About CaribbeanTales: 

CaribbeanTales (CT) is a group of media companies that produces, markets, exhibits  and distributes Caribbean-themed films and television programs around the world, including: CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution (CTWD),  the first full-service film distribution company in the English-speaking Caribbean; the Caribbean-Tales International Film Festival (CTFF) that produces events around the world;  the CaribbeanTales Incubator Program (CTI), a production hub creating sustainable content for the international market; and CaribbeanTales-TV, an online streaming video service.