Frances-Anne Solomon is a British-Caribbean-Canadian filmmaker, producer, and founder of CaribbeanTales Media Group
Known for reshaping how Black and Caribbean creatives engage with global media this June she brings her vision full circle as a key figure in the Cross Continental Forum, taking place 14–18 June 2025 in Barbados.
Designed to connect producers from the UK, Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean, the forum champions decolonised co-production and inclusive storytelling through labs, market access events, and a high-level pitch showcase.
Solomon shares more on her journey, the power of global collaboration, and why this moment matters.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Frances-Anne Solomon. I’m a British-Caribbean-Canadian filmmaker, producer, and the founder and CEO of CaribbeanTales Media Group. I was born in London to Trinidadian parents, raised in several countries due to my father’s diplomatic work, and I’ve spent much of my life between the UK, Canada, and the Caribbean. My work is grounded in celebrating stories from the global majority and transforming how Black and Caribbean creators participate in global media.
How would you describe your life right now in one word or a sentence?
In motion. Always building, always imagining the next iteration; Dynamic, purpose-driven, and deeply collaborative.
You’ve worked across the UK and Canada, and your roots also stretch across the Caribbean. How have these different environments shaped the way you tell stories or build creative spaces?
I’ve always lived between worlds. What people now call a third culture kid, that was me. Moving between the Caribbean, Canada, and the UK gave me a unique perspective. I understood from early on that identity was layered, complex, often misunderstood. These environments shaped not only the stories I tell, but how I tell them, always with an eye on the margins, always interrogating power, always trying to create bridges. I see that complexity as a strength, and it deeply informs the spaces I build.
How does your personal journey from the UK to Canada influence the structure and vision of platforms like CCT and CaribbeanTales?
It made me hyper-aware of what wasn’t available. When I arrived in Canada, there was no infrastructure to support Black or Caribbean storytelling in the way we needed. That absence drove me to create. CCT, CaribbeanTales, and now the Forum were all born from that impulse to build what didn’t exist. I brought with me the cultural heartbeat of the Caribbean, and the grassroots grit I learned navigating systems that weren’t made for us. These platforms are the result of that fusion.
What is the Cross Continental Forum setting out to change or challenge in theway we think about international co-production?
The Forum is a call to action to decolonise co-production. Historically, international co-production has prioritised the funding structures and cultural frameworks of the GlobalNorth. At CCF, we’re reshaping the model putting Global South producers in leadership roles, forging equitable partnerships, and creating new financing and storytelling frameworks that reflect our realities. The Forum challenges who gets to lead, whose stories are prioritised, and how the money flows. It’s about equity, ownership, and vision. We’re not asking permission to join the table we’re building a new one.
How are you hoping regions like the UK, Africa, the Caribbean, and Canada will connect through this initiative?
I see us as parts of a shared ecosystem. The goal is to activate real relationships between creators, funders, institutions, and policy-makers so we’re not working in isolation. There’s incredible talent and energy across all these regions, but the systems don’t always speak to each other. The Forum acts as a translator, a connector, a catalyst. We’re laying down the infrastructure for long-term, mutually beneficial collaboration. Through shared goals, cultural exchange, and strategic collaboration. The forum isn’t just a meeting point it’s a launchpad for co-productions that bridge continents while preserving the integrity of each region’s voice.
What role do UK-based Black and Global Majority producers play in the wider goals of the Forum?
A huge role. The UK is a critical hub in this conversation. Black British creatives have been navigating and challenging structural inequity for generations. Their insights, networks, and lived experiences are invaluable. And many of them are diasporic. They have ties to the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia which makes them natural bridges. They bring a global lens and local expertise, and we need both. Their perspective is crucial in pushing conversations around equity and in helping to broker connections between established systems and emerging voices from the Caribbean and Africa.
How do projects like HERO and Lord Have Mercy! inform the way you lead something like the Forum?
Those projects taught me the power and the price of doing it our way. Lord Have Mercy! was the first Caribbean sitcom in Canada. That alone says a lot. HERO was about reclaiming what was erased writing Black people back into the heart of history. When I was growing up, I learned about the kings and queens of England, not about (George) Padmore, Ulric Cross, or Toussaint (L’Ouverture). That erasure is not just historical it’s cultural, personal, even spiritual. Making HERO was a ritual of restoration. It allowed us to fill in the gaps, join the dots, and tell a fuller story of who we are. Both taught me that when we build something new, we must fight for it, protect it, and celebrate it. That’s the same energy I bring to the Forum. Vision backed by stamina.
We’re not just talking about co-production, we’re talking about reclamation. We’re inserting ourselves back into the narrative of global filmmaking, not as side characters, but as central architects. Just like in my films, where we are the heroes and heroines, the Forum creates a space where our leadership, our vision, and our legacy take centre stage. The Forum is not just an event; it’s a reimagining of the way we work together globally.
Do you approach building development spaces like CCT and CCF with a producer’s eye or something else entirely?
Definitely with a producer’s eye. But also as a visionary. You have to see the potential of what doesn’t exist yet. That requires both logistical strategy and creative imagination. I also approach it as a storyteller and a systems thinker. Producing is part of it, but my lens is wider. I think in ecosystems. How does one initiative feed into another? What’s the long game? How do we create sustainable change, not just moments? I’m not just producing an event I’m producing the future.
Are there recurring themes or values that tie your body of work together?
Absolutely. Freedom. Power. Identity. I’m obsessed with how structures colonial, cultural, economic shape our lives and how we push back. I care about authenticity and representation, yes, but also about who controls the narrative. My work is about opening up space for different truths, different rhythms, different worldviews.
What are you most excited about for the Forum?
I’m excited to see new collaborations form, old ideas challenged, and real conversations happen across difference. About seeing producers from around the world especially from the Global South step into new relationships, co productions, and opportunities that reflect equity and mutual respect.
What do you hope a first-time UK participant will leave the Forum with?
Clarity and connection. I want them to feel seen, to know they’re not alone, and to walk away with both inspiration and a concrete next step. Whether that’s a partnership, a new funding pathway, or just a renewed sense of purpose. I want them to feel like they’ve found their people…that they belong and can get support from a global community.
Beyond this year’s event, what does long-term success look like for the Forum?
Infrastructure. We need to move from events to ecosystems. Success means having ongoing co-productions, established networks, shared policies, a permanent funding and development pipeline, and real equity baked into every part of the process. It also means that the next generation doesn’t have to fight the same battles we did. They inherit a system that was built with them in mind. And of course a new normal where Global South co- production is the standard, not the exception.
For anyone discovering your work for the first time, where would you recommend they begin?
Start with HERO, which captures the spirit of Caribbean excellence and resistance. Then explore Lord Have Mercy! Canada’s first Caribbean sitcom and our catalogue at CaribbeanTales TV and Distribution.