The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister says he last week discussed with Netflix’s chief executive how to “advance” and develop a local film and production industry in The Bahamas.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, reporting on his ministry’s ‘global mission’ trip to Los Angeles, said the talks and meetings went beyond just promoting The Bahamas’ largest industry and the launch of direct airlift from Los Angeles to this nation by Jet Blue on November 4 this year.

“We have had some very interesting meetings on the development of a TV and movie production industry,” he said in a video-taped interview released by his ministry, “and therefore we are going to continue this dialogue we have started today.

“I met with the chief executive of Netflix, who is a friend of The Bahamas. We had discussions on how we might collaborate, how we might advance a film industry for The Bahamas, how we might encourage new professionals in this space, how we might cause there to be training, internships and scholarships.

“This is very similar to the conversation we had with Arizona State University, and that’s the foundation of the Sir Sidney Poitier School. We’re going to be collaborating with them. I look forward to working with Arizona State University, the Sir Sidney Poitier School, and connecting them with the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute and University of The Bahamas for scholarship opportunities, training possibilities and generally how they might support this new industry.”

Arizona State University announced it was naming its film school after Sir Sidney in early 2021. The Netflix chief executive that Mr Cooper met with was Ted Sarandos, and he added: “It’s been an exciting time. I think we got slightly more than we bargained for.

“While this is a tourism mission, we are ambassadors for our country and are delighted to have made some inroads for Bahamian professionals in this space. We were joined by Kareem Mortimer, a professional in this space living in Los Angeles doing his thing, and we hope that we will see some of his work on Netflix in due course.”

Mr Mortimer is a Bahamian film and TV producer who helped spearhead the revival and development of a local industry. The sector, albeit still relatively small, has continued to grow and develop local content, and is viewed as a key avenue when it comes to unlocking the creative talents of Bahamians.

Establishing The Bahamas as a major film, movie and TV production venue, especially for water-based scripts set in tropical climates, has been talked about for the better part of 15 years ever since parts of the Pirates of the Caribbean II and III series were filmed in Grand Bahama. However, the filming location, the Bahamas Film Studios at Gold Rock Creek, ultimately foundered financially and momentum in this area fizzled.

Mr Cooper, meanwhile, detailed his ministry’s ambitions to use Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as a “gateway” for The Bahamas to access the Pacific and Asian tourist markets, especially China. And he also wants to capitalise on The Bahamas’ connections and brand recognition in Los Angeles through the late Sir Sidney, as well as basketball players Mychal Thompson and Rick Fox.

“California is the largest state in the US by population. LA is one of the largest cities. We’ve always had a fondness and connection with LA, and therefore we wanted to promote this relationship,” the deputy prime minister added. “We want to grow tourism in this marketplace.

“We want to use LA, LAX airport in particular, as a gateway to the Pacific and a gateway to Asia. creating multi-destination travel as we work to harness the re-opening of China, for example. We believe there is a possibility, working along with tourism officials in LA, to have multi-destination tourism, coming to LA for a few days and then onward to The Bahamas for a week or a few weeks. This is an important prospect for Bahamian tourism.”

Referring to Sir Sidney, as well as Bahamian standouts for the LA Lakers basketball team, Mr Cooper added: “The reality is we have these connections already that we must harness for the future growth and development of Bahamian tourism. While we are here promoting tourism, we have also promoted the development of new industries as well as aviation and investments.......”

Besides partnering the Los Angeles mayor’s office on joint trade missions, the deputy prime minister said The Bahamas will also explore whether the technology and practices employed by LAX can be put to use in its airport operations given the 14 Family Islands that have been identified for redevelopment via private-public partnership (PPP) arrangements.

Turning to airlift and Jet Blue’s November launch of service to The Bahamas from LAX, Mr Cooper said: “I cannot say often enough how important the non-stop five-hour flight from Los Angeles to Nassau will be to the overall growth of tourism, from the [US] west coast.

“I emphasise that while most persons from the west coast go to Hawaii, The Bahamas and Nassau are closer to LA than Hawaii is. Most people find this pleasantly surprising, and I think most people will tick off this item off their bucket list.”

Noting that Jet Blue’s direct flight from Los Angeles was negotiated nine months ago, Mr Cooper voiced optimism that “this flight is going to be booked solidly over the next few weeks” to such an extent that the airline will expand the frequency of its Nassau service.

He added that the Ministry of Tourism will be working with Jet Blue, Bahamasair and other carriers to ensure “a seamless transition” for passengers via inter-airline agreements so that “when you check in at LAX and you’re going to Eleuthera you needn’t touch your bags again until you arrive”.

With airlines deploying larger planes, as well as increasing flight frequency, Mr Cooper said he wanted to push rising visitor traffic throughout The Bahamas. “This is going to be a win-win,” he argued. “A win-win for Bahamasair, a win-win for commuter airlines, and a big win for those boutique resorts in the Family Islands.”