# Jamaica's filmmakers reclaim stories of enslavement

> Directors are using supernatural drama and local talent to confront colonial trauma, a shift observers call cultural reparation.
- Title: Jamaica's filmmakers reclaim stories of enslavement | Shortify
- Summary: Directors are using supernatural drama and local talent to confront colonial trauma, a shift observers call cultural reparation. Jamaican filmmakers are…
- Keywords: jamaica, film, possession, enslavement, colonialism, reparations, storm saulter, gugu mbatha-raw, cultural memory, news, world, Jamaica's
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/16/jamaicans-confront-enslavement-taboo-busting-stories-on-screen-possession
- Published: 2026-10-16T10:00:02+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: jamaica, film, possession, enslavement, colonialism, reparations, storm saulter, gugu mbatha-raw, cultural memory, news, world
## A box opens, history roars back
Sky's supernatural series Possession opens with a woman unleashing a violent spirit from a three hundred year old box. The spirit embodies colonialism and oppression, symbolising a wider shift in Jamaican film.
## A lawyer uncovers plantation secrets
The series follows a biracial British lawyer who travels to Jamaica to investigate a multimillion pound inheritance dispute, only to uncover a dark, vengeful spirit tied to the plantation's brutal colonial past.
## Director Storm Saulter makes trauma visible
For Jamaican director Storm Saulter, ensuring that the trauma and enduring legacy of enslavement and colonisation were powerfully represented was critical to the series.
## Jamaican films now tell taboo stories
Dr Lisa Tomlinson, a lecturer in film studies at the University of the West Indies, says themes in Jamaican films are changing. They are now connected to Jamaican stories previously taboo or avoided.

> They're now very much connected and reflective of Jamaican stories, stories that were previously taboo or avoided.
## Cultural reparation through creative expression
Tomlinson argues many Jamaican films engage with legacies of enslavement through cultural memory. This is cultural reparation, a reclaiming of narratives devalued under colonialism and educating audiences about the past.

> Reparation is not just a political act. It's also culture.
## Jamaica's film commissioner sees confidence growing
Jacqueline Jackson, Jamaica's film commissioner, says productions like Possession and Delroy Lindo's Jabari's People reflect growing confidence among Jamaican creatives. Both worked closely with Jamaican talent to ensure authenticity.
## Diaspora directors move beyond the tourist gaze
Tomlinson believes diaspora filmmakers play a particularly important role. Unlike foreign productions using Jamaica as exotic backdrop, diaspora directors capture Jamaican everyday life and move away from tourist gaze depictions.
## Opening the lid of a horrible secret
Saulter says the box opening scene is a metaphor for resurfacing long suppressed histories. We are opening the lid of a three hundred year old horrible secret, the spirit of colonial enslavement and oppression coming…

> Literally, we're going to open up the lid of a 300‑year‑old horrible secret.
## Film tackles difficult history through storytelling
Saulter's interest in the subject is rooted in his countryside upbringing with Obia men, church and nine nights.He aims to tell stories that educate and have real societal political impact while remaining thrilling and entertaining.
## Key takeaway

Jamaican filmmakers are increasingly telling stories about enslavement and colonialism through film, using international productions like Sky's Possession to reclaim narratives suppressed under colonialism.