NEW YORK – A Barbadian company has announced a major deal with a veteran New York-based distributor to promote Caribbean culture to global audiences, following the first CaribbeanTales New York Film Showcase.
CEO of the Barbadian-based CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution (CTWD), Frances-Anne Solomon, explained that the new partnership with Third World Newsreel (TWN) will link the region’s premier sales and distribution company for Caribbean films with a seasoned educational distributor.
The deal will allow both companies to distribute each other’s Caribbean-themed content across their respective networks.
“CaribbeanTales films will immediately benefit from TWN’s wide access to the North American educational markets in both the United States and Canada, while TWN films will be distributed internationally by CTWD, and benefit from the Barbadian company’s access to the Caribbean market, including regional and international marketing initiatives and festivals,” a statement said.
Solomon described the partnership as mutually beneficial.
“Third World Newsreel’s important catalogue and huge contact base will be an invaluable addition to our own business, because we will have more focused reach into the educational market. The deal will also substantially increase the size of our catalogue in the international marketplace,” she said.
Dorothy Thigpen, Executive Director of TWN, whose catalogue includes The Other Side of the Water: The journey of a Haitian rara band in Brooklyn, and Sweet Sugar Rage, the story of a popular Jamaican women’s troupe who use improvisation and theatre as consciousness-raising tools, said the new partnership will also enhance her organization’s catalogue.
“The Caribbean is an important market for us and this deal melds seamlessly with our mission to effect social change while encouraging people to think critically about their lives and also the lives of others,” said Thigpen.
She added that both TWN and CTWD films are aimed at not only entertaining and educating, but also seek to “propel people into action”. (CMC)
