Emiel Martens, Elsie Vermeer
Emiel Martens is a Kingston-based Dutch film scholar-practitioner focusing on the interconnections between film, tourism, and empire in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. He serves as an Assistant Professor of Postcolonial Film Studies at the University of Amsterdam and currently is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, where he has been working on the documentary series Film Location Jamaica and the short documentary Beach Inna Bondage: The Fight for Jamaica’s Coastline. Martens is also the Founding Director of Caribbean Creativity, a non-profit organization dedicated to the production, programming and promotion of Caribbean cinema in Jamaica and the Netherlands, and the (impact) producer of various award-winning films, such as Welcome to the Smiling Coast, Gifts from Babylon, and The Sinking Fringe. Beach Inna Bondage marks his debut as a director.
Elsie Vermeer is a Kingston-based Dutch documentary filmmaker and journalist with a background in visual anthropology. She currently works as a content creator for the Dutch public broadcaster HUMAN, while also developing independent film projects. Her independent work focuses on exposing social inequalities, collaborating closely with her protagonists to tell their stories in an sensative and respectful way. For example, on her most recent short film Who Cares, she explores why undocumented immigrants in Amsterdam are often not receiving the basic healthcare to which they are entitled. Since 2025, Elsie has been based in Kingston, Jamaica, working on several film projects on the island’s history of film, tourism and empire, including Beach Inna Bondage: The Fight for Jamaica’s Coastline.
Elsie Vermeer is a Kingston-based Dutch documentary filmmaker and journalist with a background in visual anthropology. She currently works as a content creator for the Dutch public broadcaster HUMAN, while also developing independent film projects. Her independent work focuses on exposing social inequalities, collaborating closely with her protagonists to tell their stories in an sensative and respectful way. For example, on her most recent short film Who Cares, she explores why undocumented immigrants in Amsterdam are often not receiving the basic healthcare to which they are entitled. Since 2025, Elsie has been based in Kingston, Jamaica, working on several film projects on the island’s history of film, tourism and empire, including Beach Inna Bondage: The Fight for Jamaica’s Coastline.
