The Jamaican Media Alliance is a coalition of Jamaican and international artists, filmmakers, and media executives dedicated to enhancing opportunities for Jamaican storytellers and expanding entertainment opportunities and jobs for the local community.
JMA brings training in screenwriting, as well as film and television production through our non-profit education program, while simultaneously facilitating active scripted and unscripted projects to be made in Jamaica with Jamaican artists, alongside industry professionals from around the world.
JMA is dedicated to forging international alliances with other entertainment entities and governments from the U.S. to the Caribbean to Africa, South America, Europe, and Asia, creating incentives for productions to be made on Jamaican soil and exported to the world market.
JMA believes that Jamaica has a unique opportunity to act as the nexus of the emerging world entertainment community and market, bringing stories of local communities, told by local communities, to other parts of the world hungry for first hand authentic storytelling across the globe. By enhancing and building more local film crews, and by opening up distribution exchanges between world markets, JMA’s blueprint for utilizing the entertainment industry to bring good paying jobs and opportunities to underserved communities can be repeated the world over.
The phrase, “From Many People, One People” has been part of the DNA of Jamaica since its inception, drawing citizens from all over the globe to the island, as well as exporting an extraordinarily high level of cultural influence on the world per capita. The attitude is one of inclusion and possibility, which is one of multiple reasons JMA believes Jamaica is positioned in the best way possible to bring the world closer together through sharing our stories with one another, while utilizing entertainment to expand and enhance local industries and economies in developing countries in need of economic stimulus through creative endeavors.
JMA is here to serve Jamaicans first and foremost, while also acting as a bridge for Jamaica to the rest of the world of entertainment.
Fostering empowerment in Jamaica through educational and skills development.
Bolstering the tourism industry and economy through the power of media.
JMA serves to enhance the entertainment industry in Jamaica for the local film community, draw in international productions, and provide education and support for aspiring Jamaican filmmakers.
We utilize all resources to expand media production in Jamaica, serving the community by increasing the prosperity of Jamaicans, while continuing to expand the sharing of the beauty, art, and love of Jamaica with the world.
Beloved writer, producer and showrunner in Hollywood, Paul S. Eckstein (1964 – 2023), brought producers Vanessa Ballesteros and John Buffalo Mailer to Jamaica for the first time in June of 2023. He spent his last two weeks on Earth introducing them to the cream of the crop of the Jamaican film community, shared with them the authentic Jamaica he had come to love over the 50 years he spent visiting the country and experiencing its magic, and handed his vision of using the entertainment industry to create new good paying jobs and career opportunities for the local storytellers who before now have had little to no support in their dreams of writing and producing their own homegrown Jamaican stories.
On the last day of their first trip to Jamaica, John and Vanessa discovered Paul’s body in his room, having accomplished his goal and passing peacefully into his next chapter.
Paul’s passing galvanized the Jamaican film community to rally behind his vision and to embrace two outsiders who were extremely new to the country, and yet were blessed with Paul’s inside introduction to his authentic Jamaica, the blood and soil of the people who make the country such a unique and magical place.
In embracing Vanessa and John, the local Jamaican film community united with two forces in both the scripted and unscripted fields of entertainment, and along with them came their partner, George Jarkesy, who is universally acknowledged as a tastemaker and outside-of-the-box thinker when it comes to developing new industries and enhancing existing ones. This infusion of talent, resource, and network that the three bring, along with their support of the state-of-the-art sound stages in development, is a perfect storm to take the Jamaican film industry to a new level of world prominence.
Given its geographical location, country philosophy (From Many People, One People), unique ties to Ethiopia through Rastafari and outsized cultural impact on the world, Jamaica is in a prime position to become the nexus for cultures all around the world sharing their locally created and produced stories with each other.
We feel that in the current age of geopolitics and rapidly advancing technologies, now more than ever, storytelling is an essential ingredient in navigating through these turbulent times and ensuring that the world of tomorrow has a unique lens through which we can understand diverse cultures. Jamaica can be the hub through which stories from all corners of the world are made available to the audience that is hungry for authentic, original and new content.
JMA is dedicated to spearheading a dynamic revolution in Jamaica’s film and television sector. Our mission is to attract a greater number of international productions to the island while simultaneously enhancing local training in screenwriting and production. This dual approach aims to cultivate a sustainable and vibrant industry, offering the youth of tomorrow not only access to rewarding career opportunities but also avenues for upward mobility within the field.