CULTURE VULTURE: 2017 Propella Film Initiative finalists; JIRC summer reading camp; Children’s Gospel Finals recap

SHOW STOPPERS: When the curtains came down on the 2017 Jamaica Children’s Gospel Song competition at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in Kingston last Sunday, young Taville Henry was standing tall with the trophy for Best Overall Performer. The 11-year-old St. Aloysius Primary student, coached by musical maestro Jermaine Gordon, wowed the judges and the audience with his stellar rendition of “Jerusalem,” proving that his first-place triumph in the age 6-10 category in 2016 was no fluke. Twenty-four participants (solo and group), divided into six categories), made it to this year’s grand finale concert and awards show. The big winners included Alpha Primary, which copped three of the six top prizes, Willowdene Group of Schools and Jessie Ripoll Primary. “It is good that we start the [Jamaica 55 celebrations] with our young people and to close Child Month with the concert,” says JCDC’s head of marketing and PR, Stephen Davidson. “What we have done is display the talents of our children through the competition.”

LITERACY MATTERS: First held in2016 in seven parishes, the Jamaica Intensive Reading Clinic’s week-log summer camp returns to the literary scene, starting July 24. Catering to approximately 1,500 kids, the camp spreads islandwide this year: 15 locations across the 14 parishes. According to executive director of the strategic non-profit, Santana Morris, the camp will be targeting children in need of literacy intervention and will address the key components of literacy, namely fluency, comprehension skills, vocabulary and phonological development. Visit their website jamaicaintensivereadingclinic.com for more info.

TELLING OUR STORIES: The Jamaica Film & Television Association (JAFTA), in partnership with Jampro and the Chase Fund, has announced this year’s batch of finalists participating in the Propella Film Initiative, a script-to-screen programme championing the creation and sustainable development of Jamaican film content and storytelling. The five finalists are filmmaking veterans Nile Saulter and Kyle Chin, alongside Danielle Russell, Angela Magnus and Sarah Manley. Propella also aims to showcase the new works of established and emerging Jamaican filmmakers and promote Jamaican film to international audiences. For last year’s inaugural instalment, the finalists were Janet Morrison (“Silent Hearts”), Kurt Wright and Noelle Kerr (“Origins”), Natalie Thompson and Tony Hendricks (“Shoot the Girl”), Adrian Lopez (“Shock Value”) and Sharon Leach and Michelle Serieux (“Sugar”).

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