Paul Campbell’s ‘heart is full’ following Skylark Film Festival honour

Veteran actor Paul Campbell was met by loud cheers and applause on Friday as he took the stage at the sixth Skylark Film Festival at the Skylark Negril Beach Resort for a conversation with Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA) President Nadean Rawlins.

Campbell, proclaiming his age of 66 years old, detailed his life and recalled how he first heard the call to the performing arts when he was just a toddler. “I just think I was a precocious three-year-old. Some of us have spirits that are lively, and I think mine was just that. I was just being an extrovert, and after it got to a particular age, it changed, and I wanted to become a movie star,” said Campbell.

Inquiring about his beginnings, Rawlins pressed Campbell to detail the mentors who helped him on his path to becoming the star he set out to be. “Ranny Williams was my first inspiration — and Ms Lou,” he said, referring to Louise Bennett-Coverley. “They were the people who opened my eyes to commanding the stage and having a room full of people who, when they spoke, were quiet.”

As part of the tribute, Campbell’s first feature film, The Lunatic, was screened. Having only previously been an extra in other productions, The Lunatic was Campbell’s first title role. He described how he came to play the part of Aloysius through a phone call and a risky decision. “I got a call to say they were looking for people to audition for a role in a film called The Lunatic. At this time, I had gotten a job as the entertainment manager at a place called Coney Park ... I quit the job immediately before I auditioned,” recalled Campbell. With his role secured, Campbell describes the trek he embarked on to put himself into the mindset of the character, a mentally unstable man who is shunned from society, and whose only shelter is a tree that he regularly converses with. “I decided to leave everything behind, and I walked from Kingston to Montego Bay. It took me three days, but it was an opportunity afforded to me who did the art of becoming, or what they call now a method actor,” he said.

STARK CONTRAST

As Aloysius, Campbell has childlike innocence that invites pity, a stark contrast from his other iconic role in Dancehall Queen. In describing his preparation for the role of Priest in that film, he cites his experience witnessing violence in his formative years. “I remember sitting one day, and this guy ran out across the street, but the guy chasing him was faster,” said Campbell. He recalls the incident involving the two men, with the assailant mutilating his target’s face with a knife. “I’m sitting there on the wall with two of my friends, and I go,’ You see that? You can see him teeth through him face, and that stuck with me for many, many years, and so Dancehall Queen came about, and so I went back to that memory that haunted me for years,” said Campbell.

He discussed not just his previous work in the film industry, but also detailed his current endeavours. “I have an initiative called Shoot With a Camera, Not With a Gun. I go into schools, and I use three days of their time. I sit with the kids and ask them what their lives are like...Then we’ll come together with a story. Then I’ll map that story and go back to my hotel and write it. Then I get a cameraman and a soundman together. By the third day, I have the entire class come to shoot their movie,” he shared.

The initiative by Campbell has taken place in New York, but the actor described a desire to bring the same programme to Jamaican schools. “I truly would love to come home to do that,” he said.

For the younger generation of filmmakers, Campbell was sure to leave a message of encouragement. “I love what’s happening. Tonight, all of the entries that I see, let me applaud you ... Your content is absolutely magical,” said Campbell.

At the end of the conversation, he received the Skylark Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by The Barita Foundation. The award marks the first of its kind for the festival. In a statement of gratitude, Campbell expressed appreciation for the state of the local film industry, but called for continuous improvement. “Jamaica is doing an absolutely wonderful job, but can do an even better job. And thanks to people like Skylark, my heart is full,” said Campbell.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com