Locally produced series Carnival Catwalk is demonstrating the potential for Trinidad and Tobago’s creative productions to succeed beyond the local market.
On Tuesday, Global Trinidad and Tobago (GlobalTT) and the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry’s Orange Economy Committee hosted the Carnival Catwalk: From Conception to International Distribution Industry Masterclass, examining the steps involved in taking a local production from concept to international distribution.
Show producer Jerome “Rome” Precilla is celebrating the continued success of the series, which is currently available in the US market. He noted that the international milestone comes on the heels of Carnival Catwalk winning Best TV Entertainment Programme at the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Awards.
“Carnival Catwalk is a testament that our Caribbean product could make it internationally from the creative sector. It is something that we want to use as a case study where big dreams and visions and crazy ideas have landed us international recognition. We are just coming off the heels of winning the Caribbean Broadcasting Union’s Award for best TV Programme – Entertainment.”
Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism, Dr Colin Gosine, says the locally produced reality series underscores the creative sector’s ability to generate broad economic benefits.
He also highlighted some of the Ministry’s objectives to increase non-energy exports by 2027.
“The Ministry has set an ambitious target of US$9 billion in national investment by 2030, while aiming to increase non-energy export revenue by an additional US$2 billion by 2027 by developing our creative industries and commercial viability enterprises. The scale of the Carnival Catwalk production is testimony to this wider economic value of this creative sector; more than 230 people and businesses were engaged across development, pre-production, production, post-production, marketing and distribution.”
CEO of GlobalTT, Sekou Alleyne, described the masterclass as a practical intervention as GlobalTT shifts its focus to scaling export-ready projects.
“We need more producers building sustainable companies, more local content entering the international markets, more productions choosing Trinidad and Tobago and more domestic businesses prepared to come capture that expenditure that those productions generate.”
President of the Caribbean Chambers of Commerce (CARICHAM) and founder of the Orange Economy Committee, Kiran Maharaj, said that once support continues to be given to local orange economy initiatives, Trinidad and Tobago is well-positioned to excel globally.
She shared some of the Committee’s recommendations: “Stabilise and simplify the incentive regime – that’s one. Establish a one-stop film desk and service culture. Implement aggressive destination marketing. And lastly, we need to ensure that we benchmark against the competitor.”
Drawing from the success story of Carnival Catwalk, the workshop saw 50 export-ready film producers learn how to develop, finance, produce, package, market and distribute content that meets international industry standards.