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Sex work on the rise in Jamaica
Porn film industry a major concern
By Andrea Downer
ONE MAJOR concern of the Ministry of Health is the growing pornographic film industry in Jamaica. Boris Bloomfield, Prevention Coordinator for Vulnerable Populations, at the Ministry of Health, says health representatives have seen numerous videos being shown in nightclubs. He said the films seem to be locally produced, and they have observed that no form of protection is used by the actors/actresses during their sexual activities.
Diamond, the male sex worker who has sex on stage, also has his sights on the film industry.
"I'm working on a movie right now. I recently did an audition and they promised to pay me $200,000 cash up front to do one scene, plus 15 per cent of the movie sales."
He explained that a local production company will produce the movie and the movie will be distributed on the Internet. He hopes to act in adult films in other countries and aspires to be the best porn star in the world.
Del Crooks, film commissioner at Jamaica Promotions Corpora-tion (JAMPRO), said the agency has never received any requests from local production houses for permission to film pornographic films in Jamaica. However, she explained that film licenses were only required for overseas productions.
"The information we garner from applications for film licences to overseas production companies is used to determine how much foreign exchange will be coming into the country from each project and how many Jamaicans will be employed on the projects," Mrs. Crooks said.
She noted that JAMPRO granted more than 120 licenses for overseas film productions last year. She said, however, that the agency has never received any requests from the overseas companies for permission to film pornographic movies in Jamaica.
FILM LICENSING
"When a film licence is requested, we ask for an overview of the project. Should we receive such requests in future, we would have to deal with each request individually," Mrs. Crooks explained.
She said licenses for films cost US$200, which included the cost of waivers and permits.
Brian St. Juste, president of the Jamaica Film and Video Producers Association, says the local film industry is not regulated. He says the local film industry has grown over the past five years as cable television and the Internet have become more popular and accessible.
"The porn industry is the biggest thing on Internet today and individuals have seen it as a method to earn some extra cash. From the Cinematograph Authority's point of view, films that are triple X should not be allowed to be shown in Jamaica. However it is more of a moral than a legal issue," Mr. St. Juste said.
He estimates that the local film industry earns about $1.5 billion annually. However, he said, there are no data on how much the local porn industry earns.
"We know it exists, because of explicit footage of dancehall events such as Passa Passa, which is shown on local cable stations, so there is a market in Jamaica," he said.
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