Key facts
- Jamaican filmmakers are increasingly using cinema to confront the legacies of enslavement and colonial trauma.
- Storm Saulter's series "Possession" uses supernatural elements to explore historical memory and the enduring impact of the past.
- The series centers on a lawyer investigating an inheritance dispute on a former slave plantation.
- Dr. Lisa Tomlinson described this trend as "cultural reparation," reclaiming suppressed narratives.
- Jacqueline Jackson noted growing confidence and ambition among Jamaican creatives in telling local stories.
Jamaican filmmakers are increasingly using cinema to confront the legacies of enslavement and colonial trauma, a shift observed by industry professionals and academics. Storm Saulter's supernatural series "Possession" exemplifies this trend, using a pivotal scene with a 300-year-old box to symbolize the resurgence of colonial oppression and historical memory.
The series follows a biracial British lawyer investigating an inheritance dispute on a former slave plantation, uncovering a dark, vengeful spirit. Saulter emphasized the importance of representing the trauma and enduring legacy of enslavement and colonization. Dr. Lisa Tomlinson, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, noted that Jamaican films are now reflecting stories previously considered taboo, calling this artistic expression a form of "cultural reparation" that reclaims suppressed narratives.
Jacqueline Jackson, Jamaica’s film commissioner, sees growing confidence and ambition among local creatives, citing "Possession" and Delroy Lindo’s "Jabari’s People" as examples of international collaboration enabling local storytelling. Diaspora filmmakers are particularly noted for moving away from exoticized depictions and capturing everyday Jamaican life. Dr. L’Antoinette Stines highlighted that the series' engagement with Afro-spiritualist traditions is part of a long history of resistance through the arts.