In Photo: Mr Howard Allen GOH

Howard Allen, the award-winning filmmaker and founder of HaMafilms, has been bestowed with the Grand Officer of the Most Precious Order of Princely Heritage (GOH) for his remarkable service to the nation in the field of cultural development, especially in the visual and performing arts.

The prestigious national award was conferred on him on November 1, 2023, as part of the 42nd anniversary of the Antigua and Barbuda Independence Day celebrations at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

Mr Allen GOH is a pioneer and visionary in the Caribbean film industry. He made history in 2001 with the release of The Sweetest Mango, the first indigenous feature film for the Eastern Caribbean. The film is considered a Caribbean classic and is archived at the Toronto International Film Festival Reference library.

Over the last 30 years, he has made an impressionable mark on Antigua and Barbuda’s cultural landscape. He has since directed four other feature films, covering various genres and themes, such as politics, folklore, supernatural, and environment.

His latest film, Deep Blue, which was released in 2023, is an environmental drama that explores the impact of climate change and human activities. The film received a Making A Difference Award (MADA) at the recently concluded COMMFFEST Global Art and Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, and has been screening across North America and the Caribbean with positive reviews.

The Grand Officer award came as HaMafilms screened Deep Blue as the opening film of the Belize International Film Festival on November 3, 2023.