Have you ever gone karting during the closing lap, wanting so badly to speed down the straightaway into a turn to pass your friend in front, only to feel your kart suddenly slow down, almost like the engine vanished? Then you realize it was the track manager who cut your speed, unsure if you could handle that corner at high velocity. Or have you ever wanted to take a chance on yourself, but no one believed in you enough, so you had to rely on sheer will to achieve your goals? If you can relate, then you understand why Jamaican writer and film director JP Williams felt compelled to create his own path in the demanding, fast-paced world of filmmaking. Through the roller-coaster life of a dreamer, JP encountered several “track manager” moments. This is the not-too-unfamiliar story of a young Jamaican director chasing his dream.
To begin, in an interview with CARIB VOXX, JP Williams takes us back to his first time behind a camera at eight years old. He fell in love with photography during a visit to Strawberry Hills in Jamaica with his mother Michelle and aunt, Gail. The burst of happiness he felt upon seeing the outcome of the pictures he captured, both of the property and of his family, created a Kodak moment he’ll never forget. From then on, he did whatever he could to recreate the thrill of being behind the lens, from filming pranks on his younger brother, Zako and uploading them to Facebook via his laptop’s webcam, to attending a photo camp held by the Usain Bolt Foundation. That camp offered a detailed introduction to camera operation and settings.
Later in his youth and early Hillel Academy years, JP set aside his love for the camera and tried a new path. “Earlier part of high school I was doing music just messing around making tracks, me and my friends…and posting them on SoundCloud for the fun of it” he explained. It was typical of many young Jamaican students, but in time, his dream of becoming a musical artist faded. The 26-year-old recalls that late in his tenure at Hillel, his interest in filming was renewed during a trip to Costa Rica. There, he documented the country’s beautiful landscapes and recorded a recap of his adventures on his phone. Just like the eight-year-old who always carried a camera and laptop, JP rediscovered his passion for film.
After that, he spent much of his time learning about filmmaking through YouTube tutorials, studying editing, transition techniques, color grading, and more. His abundance of free time stemmed from losing interest in high school during his final years. He also had little desire for college life, realizing it felt too similar to high school.
As a Business Management major at Western University in Canada, JP briefly pursued a dream of “creating the next Facebook,” but that quickly diminished once he discovered what university life was like. “After 5 months I was like this thing is not for me…the kids there were too focussed on the grades and tests,” he stated. After this short-lived college experience, JP had his first reality check: high school and college were “track managers” slowing his desire for a more hands-on approach to life. Deciding not to waste time in school, he dropped out despite his mother’s objections and used his refunded tuition money to invest in his career as a video producer. JP also highlighted the unwavering support he received from his father, Chris Williams, who stood by him wholeheartedly despite not fully grasping the complexities of a filmmaking career.
A few years before the COVID-19 pandemic, JP began working as a video producer for corporate clients, but he realized it pulled him away from his true essence as a videographer. Before succumbing to the corporate routine, he had a wake-up call. “I need to go back to storytelling, that’s really what I am in this thing for,” the director told us. Following that epiphany, he shifted his focus to independent filmmaking.
So far, JP has completed three short films “1938 Unrest,” “Uhuru,” and most recently “BLV,” the project that led to this interview. He graciously took home the Audience Choice Award for “BLV” at the FilmGood Film and Wellness Festival in Los Angeles. The film follows a young boy named Stanley who dreams of becoming a filmmaker, but like many dreamers, he faces obstacles (or “track managers”) along the way, including a father who doubts the viability of his chosen path.
JP assures us there is much more to come. He plans to work on additional short films and, hopefully, a full-length feature in the future. Concluding his conversation with CARIB VOXX, he encourages young Jamaicans to never give up on their dreams and urges parents to support their children even if those dreams might seem unlikely because the world is changing and opening its arms to more dreamers.
