Lights, Camera… Panic: Building Cayfest on Film

There’s a specific kind of panic that only comes when you realize something is missing - and there’s no time to fix it.

That was me in 2025.

Two months out from Cayfest, everything was moving. The programming was strong with our opening of Busines of Culture, the momentum was there, and the community was engaged. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were missing something critical. Something that reflected where culture is living right. now.

Film. Digital storytelling.

The way people see themselves today isn’t only live on a small phone screen or on stage - it needs to be on a bigger screen.

And we didn’t have it.

What happened next was not strategy. It was instinct. It was urgency. It was the kind of decision-making that only happens when you care too much to ignore the gap.

I reached out to Patrice Beersingh, CEO of Brand Caribe Innovation Lab. One conversation turned into alignment. That alignment turned into action. Somewhere in the middle of it all, we realized we had a shared connection - Rita Estevanovich, a prominent Caymanian actor currently living in London, with both the creative depth and the network to move quickly.

From there, everything accelerated.

Rita came in. Brittany Kelly, Cayman Islands Film Commissioner, joined the effort. Judy Singh Hurlstone - writer, producer, and member of the Film Rating Board - brought both structure and vision. And in what felt like record time, we built something that didn’t exist before.

Cayfest on Film: Splice.

It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t polished in the way long-standing film festivals are. But it was alive. It was necessary. And it was ours.

And people showed up.

That’s the thing about creating something in a rush - we don’t have time to overthink. You build what’s needed, and you trust that the community will meet you there. And they did. The response made one thing clear: Cayman has stories that need to be seen, not just performed.

So we came back.

Stronger. Sharper. More intentional.

Cayfest on Film 2026 is no longer an experiment - it’s a platform. It's graduated its incubation with Cayfest and can stand on two feet (or a tri-pod!) and be seen as a need from our stakeholders.

Presented by Camana Bay and part of Cayfest 2026’s theme, Global Threads, this year’s programme reflects exactly what we hoped for from the beginning: connection. Migration. Identity. The idea that Cayman’s stories don’t exist in isolation - they are woven across borders, across generations, across mediums.

At Camana Bay Cinema, we showcased a wide range of local filmmakers - documentaries, narratives, environmental stories, cultural reflections. From Compass: A 60-Year Legacy to Our Global Ocean: The Planet’s Blue Heart, these films are not just content. They are evidence.

Evidence that Cayman’s creative voice is expanding.

Evidence that film belongs here.

What excites me most isn’t just the screenings - it was the access, thanks to our sponsors. It was free. It was open-door. You could walk in, walk out, stay all day, or catch one film that speaks to you. The representation wasn't exclusive. And culture shouldn’t be gatekept.

Looking back, the rush of 2024 could have been a mistake. It could have been something we rushed into and quietly let go. But instead, it became momentum.

And that’s what I’ve learned: sometimes innovation doesn’t come from careful planning. Sometimes it comes from recognizing what’s missing - and being bold enough to build it before you feel ready.

Cayfest on Film is now part of our ecosystem. Not as an add-on, but as a necessary extension of how we tell our stories.

Thank you for that support.

Compass Media Interview for Cayfest on Film 2026: https://www.caymancompass.com/2026/03/13/cayfest-on-film-showcases-local-filmmakers-works-at-camana-bay/