Jamaicans urged to preserve Chappie’s legacy

For the sake of preserving Jamaica’s history, expertly captured on film by the late, great Franklyn ‘Chappie’ St Juste, his family members, students, mentees, and colleagues have been left with a mission – they must band efforts and walk, if they must, to retrieve and possibly restore historic footage.

Film-maker Natalie Thompson, speaking at Chappie’s farewell service at the University Chapel, University of the West Indies, Mona, yesterday, laid plain his immense contribution to Jamaica’s recorded history.

Thompson said that she saw the cinematographer’s unyielding dedication to the art brought forcefully in focus while he was on his bed at the Tony Thwaites Wing at the University Hospital of the West Indies a few weeks ago. According to Thompson, tears welled up in his eyes at her news that his footage of National Hero Marcus Garvey’s interment at Heroes Park could not be located.

He said: “My legacy, my Jamaican legacy. I have to go to England and get it. I will walk again.”

Chappie, 90, died on November after a brief period of illness. He is survived by children Brian, Francois, and Maya. A St Lucian by birth, Chappie has lived in Jamaica for several years. He arrived here in 1955/56 and started working in the Jamaica Information Service’s film unit on a project to record the history of Jamaica.

CAPTURING OUR HISTORY

“Chappie made sure that what we saw in our history today would be good. [He] was entrusted to capture our history, pre- and post-independence, and he always got the shot,” Thompson said.

She recalled projects that Chappie’s cinematography skills accomplished, projects that many people in the chapel were familiar with, projects that no Caribbean film student or aficionado could claim to be unaware of, like The Birth of a Nation.

“In the darkness of August 5, at midnight, the Union Jack came down, the Jamaican flag went up. Chappie was on camera. If he was not on camera, we would not have had that shot,” Thompson said.

She also mentioned the historic visit of Haile Selassie to Jamaica in 1966.

“When the crowd rushed the plane, Chappie had to stand firm to get that shot. He even worked a contract with Ridley Scott, something he was very proud of.”

“There are not many cinematographers in Jamaica, so he is probably the last of a special breed. It’s a pity a lot of the young people coming up won’t be able to be mentored by him. But his works live on. His legacy is there.”

Maya, the third of his three children, said that despite the sad occasion, it was “good to see people come out and give their own testimonials of what their life and interactions with him were like”.

“That does help us feel better,” she said.

“I can only hope that I can live up to something as great as that. I’m happy to have had him as a dad, as a teacher, and to have maybe picked up a little something from him,” she said.