Omaall Wright wins big at FIWI Short Film Competition
Published:Friday | January 23, 2026 | 12:05 AMDamian Levy/Gleaner Writer
The fifth annual JCDC FIWI Short Film Competition took place last Tuesday evening, with the finalists and their supporters all in attendance awaiting the results. The air was thick with anticipation as budding filmmakers awaited the results.
Each film was tied to both a Jamaican proverb, as well as an overall theme dictated by the Ministry of Health & Wellness. This year’s theme was ‘Stop: You’re Eating Too Much Salt’.
“We are pleased to partner with the JCDC on this project especially, as it’s a new way of inviting persons to be aware of what we do at the Ministry of Health & Wellness. One in three Jamaicans is hypertensive or at risk of it. We want to get the word out that if you reduce your intake of salt, then you will be able to reduce the risk of hypertension” said Stephen Davidson from the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
Of the finalists, only three could be chosen as overall winners. Third place went to Shemar Grant for his film Pssst: A Cat Call for Help, a dark tale of kidnapping and terror that was linked to the proverb “Before monkey buy trousers, im affi know weh fi put im tail”. The film was also awarded Best Director, Best Drama, and second place in the Special Theme Category.
Placing second was Paris Taylor for How Not To Gossip, a comedy about the perils of talking behind the backs of others. It was inspired by the proverb “spit inn di sky, it a guh drop inna yuh eye”. It was also awarded Best Comedy, Best Sound Effects/Score, Viewer’s Choice Award, Best Youth Film.
First place went to Omaall Wright for Tun Back Blow, a story of a mother raising two sons, and seeking the aid of dark forces to do it. The film centred around the proverb “spit in di sky, it a guh drop inna yuh eye”. It also won the Special Theme Category, Best Adult Film, Best Editing, and Best Actress for Dorothy Cunningham.
Cunningham, in her acceptance speech, said she had “ just come to watch” underscoring her surprise in her win. In speaking of her support for director Wright, she said, “Very, very ,proud of him ... my student. He makes me feel proud, whether it’s on stage, or it’s with this.”
As for Wright himself, he spoke with confidence about his results. “We always try to speak positively, and from we enter the competition that is the vision, because we want the team to win.”
Wright said it was his first time entering the competition. “I always wanted to but I am not trained in film so that always kept me away ... but I do have the passion for it.”
As to what brought him to make the step to entering this year, Wright said that the theme spoke to him.
“Some of it is stories that I heard in real life. I went to Maroon Town and they were talking about the salt and how at one time they could fly from mountain to mountain and because of the salt they lost that power, and I always wanted to put that in a story,” he said.
Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.