A documentary has just had its first screenings in Kingston: Beach Inna Bondage : The Fight for Jamaica’s Coastlineproduced by the Dutch-Jamaican duo Emiel Martens and Elsie Vermeer, in collaboration with JaBBEM (Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement) and singer Keznamdi (winner of the Grammy for best reggae album last February).
Since the 1950s, public access to Jamaica’s beaches has steadily declined, leaving less than one percent of the coastline accessible to residents. All-inclusive hotels and private interests have gradually taken over the rest.
The film follows three iconic field struggles — Bob Marley Beach près de Kingston, le Blue Lagoon in the parish of Portland, and Mammee Bay Beach on the north coast – and gives the floor exclusively to Jamaicans who explain how the Beach Control Act of 1956, a colonial law still in force, dispossessed entire communities, destroyed means of subsistence and degraded ecosystems coastal.Â
The film, lasting 29 minutes, is not yet freely available or distributed internationally but the first screenings in Kingston have already aroused interest. So follow and support!
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