Saint Lucian filmmaker Elijah Anatole, founder of Artlas Studios, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Greenlit to raise US$15,000 for his next short film, Letters From Ava.
As his most recent award-winning short film, Omyra, continues its run on the international film festival circuit, Anatole says he wants to take a deliberate step towards increasing the production scale and execution of his next project. He has turned to crowdfunding, citing a general lack of support from corporate and government entities.
“There isn’t any support for filmmakers in Saint Lucia,” Anatole told St. Lucia Times, revealing that recent attempts to secure assistance for distribution and travelling the film festival circuit yielded little success. “Ninety-nine per cent of companies I’ve approached declined to offer assistance.”
His other recent short film, Me, was self-funded, and while collaborative partnerships helped bring his first feature-length project, Heartfall, to life, that film was also self-funded. “I have written to most companies, and even the government, and it’s been the same result: they cannot offer help at this time,” Anatole said. That reality, he explained, pushed him to open up the funding opportunity to film lovers and those who wish to see Saint Lucian filmmaking take shape.
Anatole describes Letters From Ava as being inherently tied to Saint Lucia. The film will explore themes of family, death and grief through a story centred on the connection between two sisters.
Like Omyra, Anatole intends for the film to travel worldwide through the international film festival circuit. “It will further place a spotlight on filmmaking in Saint Lucia and reinforce the growing presence of Caribbean stories on the global stage.”
Through this community-based approach, Anatole aims to reach people who understand the value of art and storytelling.
“By supporting Letters From Ava, you’re not just helping to fund a film. You’re contributing to a piece of storytelling that values emotional honesty, restraint and reflection over spectacle. You’re also supporting independent filmmaking from Saint Lucia, helping ensure that deeply human stories from the Caribbean continue to reach audiences beyond our borders,” reads a statement on the Letters From Ava Greenlit page.
To learn more about crowdfunding campaign, visit https://greenlit.com/project/letters-ava
I am sorry to inform you and other creatives that this sector is not one which holds precedence in Saint Lucia. I can honestly confirm that all six films produced by Iyanola Pictures were produced by my own financial base. I crawled, walked and ran with the assistance of family and friends who were inspired by my journey and saw merit in what I wanted to achieve . I’m happy I was able to beat the odds and produced films that inspire , educate and entertain my Saint Lucian populace. After receiving four prestigious awards and a honorary doctorate, I can turn back and say ‘ It was worth it after all’ . I hope that all those who come after will find a better place and a more encouraging platform than I did . Life is short …it is better to live behind a legacy of persistency than to fail to persevere!
Just throwing out “there isn’t any support for film makers in St. Lucia” is such a bold statement. I know there is local support. Maybe it’s not a great as you’d like but there certainly is. Remember, the film making industry industry is not mature in St Lucia.