Storm Saulter; The Composition King

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“There is a story here. Something happened, something is happening now, or it is about to happen.”

“I was born during a storm.”

Well, that made sense. It was one of the first questions that I asked my Classic Man was the uniqueness of his name, and who had named him.

“I think that both my parents named me. They were cool people. Free spirited. They would do that. They would wait to see the conditions in which their children were born in, and then they would name us accordingly.”

It seems like from birth, our Classic Man this edition has experienced life in a creatively, free way, which makes sense when you learn more about the way he expresses his creativity.

With an acute eye for detail that he has used to capture the beauty of Jamaica, Negril native Storm Saulter is a filmmaker and visual artist on a mission to not only capture, but also create stories that many may miss, but are caught by his creative eye. I was first introduced to Storm Saulter’s work when I visited Peel Art Gallery Museum + Archives in Brampton, Ontario.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to a private viewing of “when night stirred at sea: Contemporary Caribbean Art,” the exhibit launched by PAMA in partnership with Caribbean Art Fair and the Black Artists’ Network in Dialogue.

I remember being blown away by the talent that I was exposed to that day. Each artist had found a way to share their truth and draw their audience in with their particular styles. It was when I stood in front of Storm’s work, that I was forced to look beyond what was presented, and to create a story in my mind.

When a person looks at a photo, they are looking for something real and concrete with which they can identify. Photos are ambiguous in nature. It usually tells a story from a personal experience. When I took in Storm’s work, it forced me to name and make sense of what I experience and perceive in the world. He presented unrecognizable subject matter, and unpredictable shapes, colours, people and expressions, all encouraging his viewers to tell a story.

His photography is only one way in which he captures his audience and creates opportunities for imaginative play and escape. As a filmmaker, Storm’s award-winning debut film “Better Mus’ Come,” was praised by film critics as signalling a fresh, novel approach to independent filmmaking throughout the Caribbean. His latest film “Sprinter,” executively produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, now marks a rare instance of film by a Jamaican filmmaker, telling a Jamaican story to the international audience. The film is currently streaming on NETFLIX in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean. It is also streaming in the United Kingdom on SKY CINEMA, and in over 40 countries across the African continent with MULTICHOICE.

The film swept the 2018 American Black Film Festival winning “Best Director,” “Best Narrative Feature,” and the “Audience Award.” It went on to win “Best Narrative Feature” at the 2019 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, and the “Audience Award” at the 2019 BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia.

He has directed music videos for: Arcade Fire, Popcaan, Protoje and Chronixx. He was invited to capture visuals for Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s On the Run 2 World Tour, and has been published in Rolling Stone Magazine and The FADER. He is also a commercial director, working with athletes like Usain Bolt, and brands like PUMA and RED STRIPE. His visionary film and photography work has been exhibited at: The Brooklyn Museum, The British Museum, the National Gallery of Jamaica, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami.

There is so much to say about our Classic Man Storm Saulter, and during my reasoning session with him, I learned more about this genius creative past.

“I am from a big family,” Storm began. “My parents moved from Kingston to Negril in 1970. When they moved to Negril, they were living a rasta/hippie lifestyle. I remember my youth being a time of freedom. My parents always moved counter culture. They bun a fire on city, and society vibes.”

“Because they were so open, they encouraged us to be creative.” Storm stops for a moment to chuckle. “When I was young, my siblings and I would roam free. We would go Mango bush in the morning, and not come home until night time. It was during this time that my creativity grew. I began to take in the beauty of the world.”

Storm admits that he was always creative. He was around nine or ten years old when someone gave him his first camera.

“It was one of the old school ones; you know. The one that had about 20 pictures, and then you would have to bring them to be developed. When I was given that camera, the world opened up to me. It became about capturing the image; pausing life for the audience. My natural instinct was about the composition of the picture. It was all about what excited the eye. It became a reflex for me.

I would look for images that were beautiful; visuals that would catch your eye. As a photographer, when you find visuals like this, it does something for the viewer.
Great cinematographers know how to do this. I have always been drawn to certain themes: Caribbean masculinity, hyper masculine energy that affects you in a creative way.

I am also interested in propaganda; how the church uses symbols to portray certain things. Icons can give so much information. Visual language is important; it can be anything, an unfinished spray paint art expression, cut in the wall. You have to have an eye to catch the beauty that others do not see.”

Storm shared with me the fact that his artistry was encouraged by both his parents, especially his mom. They saw that he had the ability, and instead of discouraging it they pushed him to pursue what he loves.

“Even as a teenager, I was being cued and didn’t realize it. I just knew I wanted to make the images, from behind the camera. I became inspired by movies that I had seen growing up, so after high school, I made my way to Los Angeles to go to film school. One of my sisters lived in Los Angeles. That made the transition a little easier.

During my time there, I met Director X (Little X), at one of his music video shoots. I don’t know what I did or said, but I left some type of impression on him because he invited me to shoot with him, and after I joined him in New York. After doing some work with him there for a while, I decided to come back to Jamaica, and shoot what I loved, and knew, the beauty of the island.”

There is an industry-wide call for diversity in storytelling. There is an audience out there hungry for original, prolific content. There is a need for more writers and better scripts, and Storm encourages young creative minds to step boldly into the world of art, film making and photography.

“If you take one step towards something, it takes two steps towards you. Move towards the thing that you truly want. There are so many ways to learn. People need to take that step. Think about your messaging. Know what you want to say, and go out there and say it.”