A Bahamian filmmaker has secured a deal with a Los Angeles-based distributor to show his film about the late Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, the first prime minister of The Bahamas, at movie theaters in the U.S., The Bahamas and potentially beyond.
In a development which filmmaker Travolta Cooper, creator of "The Black Moses", said could bode well for Bahamian filmmakers as a whole, given its potential to see local investors in film fully rewarded for their financial involvement, the movie was picked up by Diversity Entertainment.
The join-up comes after Cooper had the film premiere on the closing night of the Bahamas International Film Festival. The movie also screened at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, in May of this year.
The Black Moses tells the story of Pindling's drive to bring social, economic and political change to The Bahamas and explores his controversial history.
It stars U.S. actor Dennis Haysbert, popularly known for his appearances in television show "24" and commercials for insurance company Allstate.
As a result of the distribution deal, the film, which cost $200,000 to produce and involved the work of four local Bahamians and several Bahamians abroad, in addition to Cooper himself, will run for a week in movie theaters in L.A. and New York.
On October 10 - Discovery Day weekend - the film will receive screenings at Galleria Cinemas throughout The Bahamas. After this, it will be available 'on demand' in The Bahamas and there is the potential for further showings in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
In a separate development, talks are also currently underway with PBS and Aspire T.V. in the U.S. for television broadcasting of the movie.
Cooper said: "Three companies were, in essence, bidding for the film. Diversity, a company out of L.A., Porter films, and we were talking to First Run Features out of New York. Diversity proved to be the best, as they had the best plan on how to get our investors as much money as possible."
While other local movie makers, including Maria Govan, director of 2008 movie "Rain", and Kareem Mortimer, director of "Children of God" and "Passage", have won accolades at film festivals and - in the case of "Rain" - DVD distribution, Cooper said he thinks this type of distribution in movie theaters is new.
He added: "Much of the work I've been doing with Galleria Cinemas as their brand ambassador is to move us beyond this film festival culture. Movies get lost in the festivals and some never see the light of day," said Cooper, who produces a web/TV show for Galleria Cinemas called "The Cinemas".
Cooper said he hopes the achievement will help other Bahamian filmmakers hoping to raise money for projects in the future.
"If one film can't give local investors their return then why move on to the next one? Why bother? This is an important step for the nation to try to figure out if we will have a sustainable film industry."
Under the plan put forward by Cooper, investors in the movie are promised their funds plus 20 percent, in addition to 10 percent of all net profits from the movie. The Black Moses involved eight Bahamian investors and three international, including Haysbert himself who acted for free.
Cooper credits Haysbert for allowing the movie to take on a new level of international success.
"It's such a little movie, but it's doing something so huge at the same time. I think Dennis Haysbert brought a star power to it," he said.
As for the potential for The Bahamas to become known for its movie industry, Cooper said the local industry will likely rise and fall with that of the region.
"I think it's going to take more than The Bahamas. I really think the Caribbean is going to have to come together as a region to make it happen. The Bahamas is 370,000, but the region is 40 million. Like anything that will drive a market it's your consumer, and if we had a more vibrant Caribbean audience, there would be no reason not to have more vibrant Caribbean industry. I think we're a small part of what could be a formidable and sustainable regional industry."

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