Left, Perry Henzell.   Right: Perry Henzell's widow, Sally. Above, -Claudine Housen/staff photographer

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

b>The work of the late film director Perry Henzell and specifically the 1972 The Harder They Come was honoured with speech, a written citation and a moving movie look at the making of the landmark film on Monday evening at the Caribbean Business House Club, New Kingston.

His wife Sally received the citation and addressed the gathering.

With president of the Video and Film Producers Association, Brian St. Juste, hosting the tribute event, Tourism, Entertainment and Culture Minister Aloun Ndombet Assamba noted that Henzell was "shrewd enough to become a brand himself, as before him a film industry did not exist in Jamaica".

Pioneering status

Henzell's pioneering status was underscored repeatedly throughout the evening, president of Jamaica Trade and Invest, Robert Gregory describing him as "a great man who has left a lasting mark on the film industry in Jamaica," as well as a "prolific entrepreneur".

"We pay homage to the life of an artist, a genius, a man who illuminated the deepest expression of our nation's consciousness on film and influenced our tastes through his work in advertising," Gregory said.

He announced that in April a co-production treaty will be signed which will afford Jamaican filmmakers benefits on par with their counterparts in Britain and Ireland, including duty-free import and export of the necessary equipment.

Paying tribute to perry

"While we now pay tribute to the work of one icon, Perry Henzell, we work towards the development of many more Perry Henzells residing right here in Jamaica," Gregory said.

The citation, read by St. Juste before being presented to Sally Henzell by Peter Bunting, chairman of Jamaica Trade and Invest, described him as "the consummate storyteller."

"Perry Henzell created the blueprint of the Jamaican film industry," it read. "Perry Henzell taught us that a great story can be told, retold and sold, its essence transcending cultures and generations," the citation continued.

And Sally Henzell said, "I am very proud of my country for recognising him," adding that 'there were many sides to Perry'. One of those sides came out at a forum on globalisation where, after its virtues were extolled, he said it would not work to the benefit of the developing countries as promised. "Bway, Perry me fren, yu bowl a really hard ball there," Minister Roger Clarke said.

As for The Harder They Come, Sally Henzell said her husband asked, "Didn't they get it? Didn't they realise Jimmy (Cliff, who played the lead character Rhygin) was a revolutionary?"

"That was the man I was lucky to spend more than half my life with. I miss him terribly, but he has left more tangible evidence of himself than most people," she said.

And after the showing of the trailer for Henzell's second feature film, No Place Like Home, and the Chris Browne-directed retrospective on The Harder They Come, there was applause as Jimmy Cliff was introduced.

"It brings back good memories to see the making of The Harder They Come. It brings back good memories to see all the people who participated in it," he said.