The question of “Who am I?” is one that often prompts a bit of reflection. In this Dazzle Magazine interview with Davina Lee, we discussed the details of who she is; in the past, today, and what she hopes for in the future.
For those who don’t know, who is Davina Lee?
“That’s always a hard question to answer because there are so many things that make up who I am. I am an artist at my core, a filmmaker by training, a lover of food and professionally I’m the Principal Information Officer of the Government Information Service (GIS). Right now I’m trying to merge the artist with the Government official.”
How early in your life were you drawn towards being creative?
“I grew up in a creative household, so anything in the creative spectrum always interested me. My dad, John Robert Lee, is a writer, and my mom, Jacinta Annius- Lee, is a writer and was photographer, I remember going into her dark room with her often when she developed the film of the photos she took. So I can’t remember a time when I was not around anything creative.”
Why ultimately choose filmmaking?
“It started off as a vanity thing. When I was 14 and my sister was 12 we wanted to be on TV but there were no local TV shows. So we planned our own and went to HTS and DBS. At the time we weren’t thinking of money we just wanted to be on TV. But at DBS we were told we could have our own TV show but we would have to pay for airtime, get sponsors and hire someone to shoot it. We were confused at first, but fast forward a couple of years later we actually got a few advertisers who believed in us. We had shot a pilot episode with Dave Samuel Productions (at the time) and we brought it around to potential sponsor. That whole process made us producers almost by force, that was not my intention when we started, I wanted to be in front of the camera but I am super grateful for that experience. We produced and hosted 10 episodes of that show, it was called Vibe Central.”
So that was your official introduction to filmmaking and producing specifically?
“Back then I realised that I really loved the back-end of it; planning and having control. We were both producers and hosts because we still really wanted to be on TV and we had to create and maintain this platform for ourselves. That’s when I decided that this is something I’d want to pursue as a career. But back then, it wasn’t met with well wishes. I was told that there’s no scope for that career path in St. Lucia. But I had my family’s support and still went on to study for my BFA in Film from Miami International University of Art & Design for three years.”
Immediately after that you returned home…
“Yes, I missed home. Upon returning, my sister and I decided to do another TV show with my best friend, Charlene Bobb. It was called ‘Access Caribbean’. This time we did it because we wanted to travel and do fun things. We had the opportunity to go to various parts of Europe and the Caribbean, spend weekends at local hotels like Jade Mountain, eat fun places, do various adventure tours and lots more. While at those locations we’d do interviews and show people what it’s like in those places.”
Why not continue it long term?
“While it was mostly fun, there’s the financial side to deal with which can be stressful. Being an artist, sometimes you don’t want to focus on the money but it comes with the territory. We had to be to be on the hustle 24/7 to get advertising dollars and produce the content for the show. We used the song ‘Take You Home’ by Shayne Ross for the intro montage to Access Caribbean. That led to us eventually shooting a music video for the song at Jade Mountain as well. The video turned out to be pretty successful, it was even aired on Tempo and BET and I continued doing music videos after that. But all in all we had about three seasons of Access Caribbean… then I told myself that it was time for me to get a real job (laughs).”
Which takes us to you working at GIS. What was that like from the start?
“The first time I worked at GIS, it was over 10 years ago, it was okay but at times was a little boring and structured, coming from my colourful exciting production past, the slow pace got some getting used to. I conceived a few new TV productions for the GIS while I was there but for various reasons those programmes did not continue. I eventually left the GIS and I began working on personal project, a script for a short film called “The Coming of Org” based on a short story my father wrote. When I first read the story, it was very visual and I thought it could be made into a movie so I wrote the script for it. I entered it into a screenplay competition put on by the United Nations, who were trying to help build the Caribbean film industry. I was chosen and received the CEMA award (Cinematic Entrepreneurial Motivational Award) and technical assistance in bringing it to the screen. I then applied for a financial grant that the Government of St. Lucia was offering for productions. Once that was secured I made ‘The Coming of Org’.”
What was it like putting together this film with the cast and everything else?
“Some actors in the film were McDonald Dixon, Jason Sifflet and Charles Cadette. I got McDonald and Jason on board early because they fit the look that I wanted for their characters. I learned some stuff during the shooting process as well, and that was that I don’t want to shoot (be the cinematographer) on my own movies again (laughs). I am a control freak so I did the shooting, directing and editing, but that takes away from what I can do with my actors as a director. Johann ‘Yogi’ Deterville produced the theme song for the movie and Shayne Ross sang it, so that was greatly appreciated. The movie is about 30 minutes, and it tells three different stories of people who come face to face with the monster in them.”
How far has “The Coming of Org” taken you?
“The Coming of Org” went to a few film festivals, one being the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival. The biggest highlight would be making it to the Cannes Short Film Corner in France which is the marketplace for short films during the festival. Even though it wasn’t official selection for the Festival, it was a great opportunity because I got to see what the international market was like and network… it’s something I’d love to do again.”
Coming off of that film, how did you get started on “The Knot”?
“I submitted the idea for it to a workshop andcompetition held by the OECS. After the judging process, the three best scripts were chosen to receive a financial grant and “The Knot” was one of them. After that, I took a break and decided to go back to school to pursue my Masters in Script Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London. After returning home I polished the script from the additional knowledge I gained at University and then I made “The Knot” in 2017. I got my friend Erick, who was my classmate at University in Miami to be my cinematographer this time around, so that I could focus on directing the actors better than I did in my first film. “The Knot” did well and got accepted to many international festivals including some in The UK, The US, Nigeria, Italy and regionally at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival, where it got nominated for the People’s Choice Award. It was actually on TV in Trinidad through Film Co. TT and distributed through a few online streaming platforms as well, just like ‘The Coming of Org’.”
What would you say is your biggest achievement in your career so far?
“My biggest achievement goes back to when I decided that I wanted to be on TV as a teenager with my sister, and we actually did a whole TV series with no production experience, no industry experience, just a dream and a lot of drive. I say that because it was a male dominated business. We didn’t get any breaks because we were young girls. I always try to go back to that time and say to myself that “If you could do this when you were only 14 years old, you are capable of doing whatever you want now.”
GIS would present a different spin to the way you’re accustomed to working; it’s ongoing. How have you been able to adapt to that?
“I always felt that GIS had a lot of potential ever since I worked there years ago as a junior member of staff and coming back this time as the head of the department there is a lot more I can do to help fulfill that potential. There’s a great studio space, capable and talented staff, industry standard equipment but I felt like the resources weren’t maximized before. I believed that we could still provide factual Government based information but make it interesting to watch. Everything had to be refreshed to reflect the new goal in mind. We have new programmes that are coming through, despite a few setbacks (like Covid-19). But COVID gave people the opportunity to see what we’re about because they would tune in to see news updates and then stick around for the other programming. Right now, we’re in the process of broadcasting in HD (High Definition) on TV, our programmes are already HD online where we go LIVE on a daily basis. Sometimes you’d find that people aren’t always receptive to change but once they see the benefits they come around and things work out for the best.”
Where would you like to take GIS/ NTN and feel totally satisfied with what you’ve contributed?
“I want to introduce more community based documentaries, more creative programmes, and to create a bigger platform for St. Lucian creatives. It does exist but I plan on making it more formal. I want people to see NTN as the best, like when you ask the question “What’s the best TV station in St. Lucia that keeps you informed and entertained?” you’d think of NTN.”
We wish Davina Lee all the best in her future endeavours!
