Max-Arthur Mantle is a Jamaican-born author, photographer and filmmaker. His work is centered around highlighting, celebrating and elevating Black and Brown, LGBTQ/Queer, Caribbean/Jamaican narratives.He studied Journalism and Photography at Howard University (Washington, DC) and served briefly in the US military (Navy). His debut novel, Batty Bwoy published in 2015 “offers an engaging look at same sex desires from a Jamaican lens within an American context, which thankfully doesn’t rely on stereotypes. His characters are fleshy, rough and rendered with complexity and profundity. Perhaps more than anything Batty Bwoy pulls back the curtains on the terrors associated with pursuing self and desire.” He groundbreaking documentary, VISIBLE – The LGBTQ Caribbean Diaspora featuring 30 participants who deconstructs what it means to be Caribbean, LGBTQ and living in North America. His photography, primarily men’s fashion/swim have graced the covers and editorial pages of US and international magazines and published in photo books. He resides in Los Angeles and is currently developing a history making feature film inspired by his novel, which will be the first feature film to be shot in Jamaica with LGBTQ themes.
https://www.amazon.com/Batty-Bwoy-1-Max-Arthur-Mantle/dp/0578160161
https://visiblelgbtqcaribbean.com
I was twenty-one-years in 1992 and preparing to study at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. I realized that being gay, my journey would be different and difficult because I was living in a country where same sex sexual relation is legally punishable by imprisonment and the cultural mores promotes beating and murdering gay men. I began to monitor my behavior for my own safety and my life seemed destined to living in secret and hiding. Then my father in Hartford, Connecticut filed for me to migrate to America, and I exhaled.
I evolved on my own terms, navigating my queer, black, artistic and sometimes devastating, but exciting life while living in the diaspora. I wonder what kind of life I would have had, if I had stayed. I fear I would have been reduced to a fraction of who I am today, if I had survived.
While there have been a couple documentaries about the plight of LGBTQ Jamaicans done by foreign entities, namely UK’s VICE News in 2014, which spotlight the “gulley queens” in Kingston, and the 2016 Gaycation TV series directed by Elliot Page and Ian Daniel, there has never been a narrative feature film by a Jamaican-born filmmaker who is part of the LGBTQ community. A story being told by someone who has lived it.
This film is inspired by my 2015 novel, with the reappropriated title, Batty Bwoy and my 2018 documentary VISIBLE – The LGBTQ Caribbean Diaspora and influenced by films such as Moonlight (2016), Blackbird (2014) and Pariah (2011).
This human story is not only important, but it is needed. Its impact will be immeasurable and can be a catalyst to changing hearts and minds.
Cinematographer Eun-ah Lee has emerged as a young talent in independent cinema, expressing the core emotion of every story through her atmospheric style and dazzling camera work.
Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Eun-ah’s love of art developed in her youth. She landed her first commissioned painting project at age 12, and continued practicing her art after she moved to the States where she attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts in directing and cinematography. It was at this time that she began to develop her filmic style by incorporating her cultural background and artistic training into her work. To date she has shot more than 50 films.
She is known for her work on "Blackbird"starring Oscar winner Mo'Nique, released theatrically on IMAX and featured on CNN, "A Song Still Inside", winning the Best Cinematography Award at the Gene Art Film Festival in New York, Milcho Manchevski’s "Thursday", which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and "Sea Is All I Know", starring Melissa Leo, which was an Oscar semi-finalist. Her works have screened worldwide, including at the Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Pusan, Hong Kong and Los Angeles film festivals.
Eun-ah Lee’s talents are versatile and hardly limited to cinematography. As an editor, her work on the feature film "Seeds" was selected for the 2015 Independent Film Project Filmmaker Lab (IFP) which selects only 10 films from around the world. She also works as a colorist for movies and TV networks in New York City, where she is able to utilize her skills as a painter.
Lee’s work has been featured in the media and in publications such as CNN News, The View, NBC News, Deadline, The New York Times, Variety, NPR, Indiewire, Hollywood Reporters, The Village Voice, and Times of India.
https://www.eunahlee.com/cinematographer/blackbird.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/08/movies/the-skinny-from-patrik-ian-polk.html
Kareem Mortimer is a Bahamian filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He is known for such films as "Chance" (2005), "The Eleutheran Adventure" (2006), "Float" (2007)," I Am Not A Dummy" (2009), "Children of God" (2010), "Wind Jammers" (2010), "Passage" (2013) and "Cargo" (2017). His debut feature, "Children of God" (2010), made history as the first narrative feature from the Caribbean with LGBT themes. It was shown on Showtime and was distributed in over twenty-four countries around the world. In 2014, "Passage" was awarded an African Movie Academy Award for Best Short Film from the Diaspora.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/movies/children-of-god-review.html
Darin Tennent is a Jamaican-born filmmaker with over twenty years of experience working on international film productions in Jamaica. His credits includes "Get Millie Black," "Bob Marley" One Love" (2024), "No Time To Die" (2021), "Sprinter" (2018), "Yardie" (2018), "Luke Cage" (2018) and "Top Boy" (2019).
After living in England from 1962 to 1993, Earl Brown return to Jamaica to become the go-to person in film/Tv and commercial lighting productions. He has been the Chief Lighting Technician for the Jamaica unit of most international film/TV and commercial productions shot in Jamaica. He credits also includes "Bob Marley: One Love" (2024), "Get Millie Black" (To be Released), "Black Cake" (2023), "Blackjack Christmas" (2022), "No Tim etc Die" (2021), "Sprinter" (2018), the Bob Marley documentary "Marley" (2012), "Ghett'a Life" (2011) and "Third World Cup" (1999).
Donna Noble is a Jamaican-born multidisciplinary artistt who has worked for many years co-owning a film production company, Mongoose Productions Limited, producing and styling TV commercials and documentaries with her husband.. She embarked on her Art Department career in 1990 which expanded her project base to Set Design and Art Direction on a wide range of projects for feature films, TV series and international commercials. She is known for he work on "No Time to Die" (2021), "Yardie" (2018), "Get Millie Black" (TBR), "Luke Cage" (2018) and Top Boy (2022).
Charles Baker is a "Canadian born Jamaican made" multidisciplinary artist working in Jamaica's film industry for over thirty years. She is known for her work on "No Time to Die" (2021), "Black Cake" (2023), "Yardie" (2018) and "Better Bus' Coe" (2011). Her painting and murals can be seen throughout Jamaica and she owns Studio 969 in Kingston.
Laura Lee Jones is a Jamaican-born multidisciplinary artist. She is a senior lecture and head of the department at a major visual and performing arts college in the Caribbean. She holds a MA in Heritage Studies and a BA in History, Archaeology and Philosophy, a diploma in Textile & Fiber Arts from the University of the West Indies. Her career has spanned the areas of design, product and business development within the creative industries for over twenty years. She has worked with agencie such as JAMPRO, Jamaica Business Development Corporation, and the International Trade Centre. She also worked with UNESCO on world heritage and intangible cultural heritage projects. She is the owner of Studio L Designs which specializes in hand-made fabrics and designs. She is the winner of the first Ms. Jamaica Petite Fashion Model competition held by Pulse Model Agency in 1992.
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