News Americas, BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, May 20,2025: The Caribbean is calling her children home.
In just 3 weeks, the Cross Continental Forum (CCF) 2025, hosted by CaribbeanTales Media Group, (CTMG), in partnership with the Department of Creative and Performing Arts, UWI Cave Hill, will bring together leading film and television producers from the UK, Canada, South Africa, the US, and across the Caribbean. They will join creatives, cultural entrepreneurs and the general public, for five powerful days in beautiful Barbados.
Under the theme “Decolonising Co-Production,” the Forum will explore innovative ways to foster collaboration through the empowering lens of the Global South.
“We’re creating a space where Global South producers from around the world can meet on our home soil to together shape new models of financing, storytelling, and ownership,” said Frances-Anne Solomon, founder of CTMG and the visionary force behind the Forum.
Producers will be joining from the following countries:
- Canada – (10)
- Jennifer Holness
- Floyd Kane
- Jennifer Podemski
- Andrew Burrows-Trotman
- Nauzanin Knight
- Gail Maurice
- Virinder Singh
- Ife Alaba
- George Tamakloe
- Yejide Emioladipupo
- United Kingdom – (6)
- Ameenah Ayub Allen
- Jonte Richardson
- Emma Grazette
- Lauren Gee
- Femi Oyeniran
- Victoria Thomas
- The Caribbean
Trinidad & Tobago – (3)
- Sophie Walcott
- Camille Abrahams
- Shari Petti
Barbados – (4)
- Penelope Hynam
- Alison Sealy Smith
- Ryan Wilfred
- Sheldon St.Clair
The Bahamas – (3)
- Tabitha Ritchie
- Karel Pinder
- Maria Govan
The Dominican Republic – (2)
- Eunice Levis
- Jenna Cavelle
Guyana – (2)
- Victoria Arjoon
- Mason Richar
- South Africa – (2)
- Nhlanhla Mthethwa
- SB Sithebe
A Forum For Cultural, Economic, And Creative Evolution
Now in its second year, CCF aims to become a vital platform for reshaping co-production norms and building lasting partnerships across borders.
For the Canada Media Fund, one of the Forum’s key funders, the sense of homecoming is profound. During the Forum’s online opening, CMF’s Joy Loewen remarked, “It’s long overdue. We need to build meaningful and sustainable bridges between our industries and our communities.”
The event addresses critical inequities in the global media production landscape. Agnieszka Moody, Head of International Relations at the British Film Institute, emphasized, “The old models of production and co-production disproportionately favor the Global North. The Cross Continental Forum offers a space to create a blueprint for new ones built on trust, equity, and shared legacy.”
More Than Culture This Is Economic Empowerment
South African producer Kethiwe Ngcobo reflected on the significance of this gathering, “We are here to work, to connect, and to create wealth from our stories. This is not just about culture – it’s about economics. And it starts with us, together.”
ABOUT THE CROSS CONTINENTAL FORUM
The Cross Continental Forum (CCF) 2025 is a production of CaribbeanTales Media Group in collaboration with the Department of Creative and Performing Arts (UWI Cave Hill). Support for the CCF is generously provided by numerous organizations, including the Canada Media Fund, British Film Institute, Mango Bay Group of Companies, Invest Barbados, Inter-American Development Bank, Picture NL, National Cultural Foundation of Barbados, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Barbados Film and Television Association, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago, Telefilm Canada, and many other international partners.
Guiding CCF 2025 is a Steering Group comprised of: Frances-Anne Solomon (CEO, CaribbeanTales Media Group), Andrew Millington (Head, Department of Creative and Performing Arts – UWI Cave Hill), CCH Pounder (Guyanese-born actor and activist), Dr. Keith Nurse (Founding Chair, CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution and President of COSTAATT), Zikethiwe Ngcobo (CEO, Fuzebox Entertainment, South Africa), John Reid (Former CEO of FLOW Telecommunications, Caribbean and Latin America), Agnieszka Moody (Head of International Relations, British Film Institute), Chloe Sosa Simms (CBC Senior Advisor, Acquisitions), and international events producer Diana Webley (Director of Events, CaribbeanTales Media Group).
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