Filmmaker Fletch Power Receives Tribeca’s 2024 Kickstart with Canva Award

30 April 2025

A smiling man wearing a colorful polka-dot bucket hat and a blue varsity jacket with star patches poses outdoors in front of green palm leaves.

Director/cinematographer Fletch Power has been selected for the 2024 Kickstart with Canva Award from Tribeca Film Festival and Canva for his documentary film “Call of the Jab.” Fletch chose ZEISS Nano Primes to tell the personal story of him and his father interwoven with Grenadian tradition and folklore, as well as the irresistible draw of the figures of Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park.

A group of people are gathered outdoors under trees, with two women embracing in the center of the image.

A man stands on a dock next to a colorful fishing boat with the ocean and other boats visible in the background.

Decorative seashells and a small plant hanging from strings in front of a blurred lakeside background with boats and a green hill.

What led you to cinematography and this current project?

I'm originally from Orlando, FL. I've been in LA for 10-12 years–having moved out here to pursue cinematography. Right before graduation, Full Sail University had hosted a panel of working alumni. One of them encouraged us to work at a camera rental house. Working our way up from the bottom would teach us about every piece of camera gear. I started working at Panavision until the company acquired Light Iron, where I moved from camera-based production to color and post. When my work started to shift to the engineering side of post, I realized I had moved too far away from cameras. It was time to move on and pursue cinematography full-time.

I had a great opportunity to shoot “In Her Element,” a film by Idil Ibrahim (who is now my EP for Call of the Jab), which had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. I also started working as the in-house DP for a documentary/educational production company. While working at that company I received a scholarship to a UCLA extension program where I studied directing and producing. It turned out to be a great incubator for Call of the Jab and has been a big part of the grants and fellowships like Tribeca’s Kickstart with Canva I’ve received.

Professional video camera equipped with a ZEISS lens set up in a studio with a person operating another camera in the background.

A man is adjusting a professional cinema camera on a table next to several ZEISS camera lenses.

Two filmmakers standing on a balcony closely examining their professional video cameras equipped with ZEISS lenses.

What inspired "Call of the Jab"?

This is my first project that I’ll be directing. Since 2019 my pops and I have been taking father-son trips to Grenada. Growing up, there weren’t a whole lot of opportunities for us to bond. He was always working to provide for the family, and I was always at practice as a student athlete, but these trips have really brought us together. Last year, we planned a trip to Grenada, where I went scuba diving, and for the first time I saw the Underwater Sculpture Park. There’s a group of statues, holding hands, a community of students, leaders, and folklore characters, all cast from real Grenadians living on the island.

It was also the first time I saw the Jab Jab. It was like seeing the statue of David in Rome, but instead it’s a huge black sculpture, part of my culture and history, underwater. That’s when I had the full picture of my documentary–about a father and son, about Grenada and the folklore and history of our family we uncover.

A man wearing headphones stands behind a professional video camera setup equipped with accessories, with a visible ZEISS lens.

A professional camera setup equipped with a ZEISS lens captures two people having a conversation on a dock by the water.

Man operating a professional video camera equipped with a ZEISS lens in an outdoor setting.

Tell us about the production.

I am working with a local cinematographer, Teddy Frederick. Frederick helms Grenada Film Company, the island’s premier production company, and was instrumental in sourcing sound operators and other gear for the project. When I pulled up with the Nano Primes, he instantly fell in love. It felt amazing to share these Zeiss lenses with him and the Grenada Film Company. There’s limited access to equipment rentals on the island, but Teddy and his crew have used that restriction to their advantage, creating more with less. It was an eye-opening lesson for me: upgrading is not always the solution. I'll also be doing some underwater cinematography. I got my scuba certification just this past month and I'm training with some places out in LA.