Flow airs Library of Caribbean Focused Content

Caribbean viewers to access ‘CaribbeanTales’ on demand

For the first time, Flow TV customers across the Caribbean will be able to see Caribbean themed content at their convenience via Flow’s on Demand platform. Through a partnership with CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution (CTWD), customers will be able to access a variety of Caribbean films, from an extensive library every month on Flow On Demand in eight (8) Flow TV markets.

John Reid, CEO of Cable & Wireless, the operator of the consumer brand Flow, said: “This is certainly a historic moment for Cable & Wireless/Flow and our partners CaribbeanTales, as together we will deliver high quality, relevant Caribbean content that gives audience a refreshing perspective on Caribbean life.”

CEO and Founder of CaribbeanTales, Frances-Anne Solomon, said, “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Flow to a wide regional audience who will now enjoy the best films from the greatest filmmakers across the Caribbean.”

In 2013, CTWD launched its own VOD platform, CaribbeanTales-TV, with ongoing global streaming of its Catalogue. Now, with Flow’s extensive VOD reach across eight (8) countries, this new partnership makes the Catalogue’s content more widely accessible to Caribbean audiences.

The VOD partnership was launched in February with four compelling films celebrating Trinidad’s iconic Carnival. In March the spotlight was on International Women’s Day (March 8th), with four award-winning films by and about Caribbean women. There were two feature films: What My Mother Told Me, the ground-breaking, multi-award winning, dramatic narrative by CaribbeanTales CEO Frances-Anne Solomon -- one of the few films directed by a Trinidadian woman that deals with the survival strategies of middle-class Caribbean women. The other feature is Bahamian filmmaker Maria Govan’s Rain, a young woman’s coming-of-age story. The two documentaries are: The Solitary Alchemist, directed by Mariel Brown, chronicling the life and work of Trinidadian artist Barbara Jardine; and Candice Lela-Rolingson’s Positive and Pregnant, a seminal film about a woman who becomes pregnant and is HIV positive.

April’s theme centers on the iconic Caribbean instrument developed in the backyard and streets of Port of Spain -- the steel pan. This month’s titles are: Atiba Williams – Pan Prodigy, Trinidad and Tobagonian director Christopher Laird’s film about the youngest person ever to arrange for a steelband; Panomundo Part 1 – The Evolution of Steel Pan, the first of a two-part documentary by Charysse Tia Harper about the history of the steelpan and its global influence; Let’s Play Pan by Canadian director Ian Jones, which explores the evolution from the skin drum to the steel drum and its introduction to Toronto; and also the Frances-Anne Solomon-directed Heartbeat Season 1 Episode 9 – Ian Jones, where Jones talks about “How The Steel Pan Is Changing Lives.”

Each month, Flow plans to release more CaribbeanTales films via Flow on Demand – including one film for free!