‘Do not sleep on Jamaican talent’

For veteran actor Delroy Lindo, Jabari’s People is more than another film project. It is an opportunity to give back to the country of his parents and tell a Jamaican story that he believes deserves to be seen by the world.

The 73-year-old British-born American actor, who recently earned his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in Ryan Coogler’s

Sinners

, is currently in Jamaica wrapping production on

Jabari’s People

, his feature directorial début, in which he also stars. Lindo, who was born in London to Jamaican parents, and whose family has roots in Ocho Rios, St Ann, said he has long searched for a meaningful way to contribute to the island. The opportunity to contribute eventually came through film when the screenplay for

Jabari’s People

came his way more than a decade ago. “This script came to me in 2015,” he said. “This is potentially an opportunity for me to substantively contribute to Jamaica, to make a creative gesture that I feel enhances and contributes to Jamaican culture and also to export Jamaica globally in terms of presenting a story about Jamaica that is an affirmation of the people, the spirituality and the culture.”

Jabari’s People

follows a troubled New York teenager grappling with the death of his mother who is sent to Jamaica to live with his grandfather. For Lindo, the film also presents an opportunity to show an image of Jamaica that he believes has too often been overlooked on-screen. “It’s not about gangsters, it’s not about ganja, and there’s nothing wrong with ganja, but it is a very different presentation of Jamaica... It is wholesome and it is investigating who we are as Jamaicans,” he explained. That approach, however, has presented challenges in attracting financing, with Lindo saying some potential Hollywood investors were hesitant to support a Jamaican film that did not lean into familiar stereotypes. The production has instead received backing from private investors, including Sue Rockefeller, Regina K Scully, Melony Lewis, and Adam Lewis. The project has also sought support through the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative, the Government’s financing programme aimed at strengthening the local screen industry. Beyond telling a different Jamaican story, Lindo said one of his priorities from the outset was ensuring Jamaicans played a significant role in bringing it to life. “From the beginning it was my objective to employ as many Jamaicans as we could, and that’s what we have done,” Lindo shared. “Do not sleep on the talent that is here. As far as the Jamaican Government is concerned, wealthy individuals, who have the capacity to support the growth of Jamaican film, please do so.” He acknowledged that some of the talent on the island remains underdeveloped, but argued that greater investment and opportunities could change that. “Some of that talent is raw, no question, but what it needs is the nurturing, the support, because in the final analysis the talent that is here can have global impact,” he charged. Jamaican-Canadian costume designer Antoinette Messam, whose credits include

The Harder They Fall

,

Creed,

and

The Book of Clarence

, echoed Lindo’s call for greater investment in Jamaica’s film ecosystem. Messam said building a sustainable industry requires productions to deliberately spend locally and, equally, requires Jamaican businesses to position themselves to supply the needs of those productions. “We want to spend the money locally. We want to keep the money in Jamaica. It is nothing for me to have the buyer in Miami ship me clothes because it is actually easier. But, if we are going to fund, finance, and create with local actors, local talent, local hair and make-up... if I want to keep the money here, I need you as a vendor to support me,” she said. Messam, who previously worked with Lindo on

The Harder They Fall

, said her connection to

Jabari’s People

was also deeply personal. “I love the heart of the story. I recognise that story. That story we have heard many times during our lives — if not from our family, through someone else’s family.” The production has also tapped the experience of Jamaican Canadian producer Lena Cordina, whose credits include television productions such as

Reasonable Doubt

,

The Hot Zone,

and

Hemlock Grove

. Cordina said she was particularly interested in the project because it offered a Jamaican story outside of the portrayals that have frequently dominated international screens, while acknowledging that securing investment for films outside established commercial formula remains difficult. For Cordina, the value of productions such as

Jabari’s People

extends beyond what eventually appears on screen. She pointed to the wider economic activity generated when an international-standard production operates locally and employs Jamaican workers and businesses. “From the parking lots, to the hotels, to the waiters that get tips in the restaurant, it helps the whole economy,” she said. For Lindo, however, the ambition remains both economic and cultural, to demonstrate that Jamaica possesses the people, stories, and creative capacity to produce work capable of reaching audiences far beyond its shores. And, after decades of searching for the right way to give something back to the country that shaped his family,

Jabari’s People

appears to have provided him with that opportunity.