Yaphet Jackman, a budding Filmmaker currently residing in the United States, always knew that the path to his success involved people and his love for the camera. Most recently, Yaphet was the lead Cinematographer on the BET Original Film ‘Christmas For Sale’, which premiered in December 2021. Even before that, he worked on TV Shows and Short Films here in Guyana and overseas, putting his talent to work.
The question is, what was Yaphet up to before all this? We did an extensive interview with him, delving into his life and background. “Who is Yaphet Jackman?” was the question asked. With a soft chuckle, he responded that this question can be quite terrifying since he is pushed to reflect on his boyhood and youthful days. Nevertheless, here is what he detailed.
Yaphet: “I was a young, fun-loving chap who grew up in Bent Street, Wortmanville with my little brother. My mother always reminds me that I was that child who would always just be running around the place. I attended Head Start Nursery School then Sacred Heart Primary School. From then I knew that I was interested in people and how they operate. As much as I was running around, I was always observing folk and their interactions. If I wasn’t running around, I was glued to the television screen watching all the old-time TV shows like Little House on the Prairie and Matlock, among others.”
Yaphet is a born American citizen to parents Hazel Forde and Raphael Jackman. His parents tied the knot shortly after his birth then returned to Guyana to raise their first and, subsequently, second son in the good old Guyanese culture. Even though Yaphet could have been considered the textbook definition of the adage, ‘boys will be boys’, he knew very early that his passion was in television and video production.
As Yaphet testified of his love for television and his curiosity for how productions on television worked, he took us through the phases of his pre-teen and teenage years as he continued to grow, becoming a St. Joseph High School Alumnus and a student at the University of Guyana.
Yaphet: “So, I was eight years old, and one day I was watching TV as usual, and the HBO text came up. It was floating in what seemed to be out of space because there were stars and those things. So I looked at that and wondered, ‘how did they do that?’ That sparked my interest in how television works. That’s the first thing that caught my eye. So, I had a little graphic design phase where I played around with word art, then it was CorelDRAW…”
Around this time, the Jackman family started attending the First Assembly of God Church Wortmanville (FAOGW). Yaphet went straight into the media ministries, starting with playing a part in establishing an ongoing weekly radio programme called ‘Kingdom Kids’. It was from that point that the gifting within him manifested. He related that he was involved in the technical aspect of any media-related activity within the assembly, and it is where he really got the hands-on exposure in operating a camera and doing video recording. This, coupled with his time at Spotlight Productions later, harnessed his drive for capturing video moments.
A relative gifted Yaphet his first camera at age 14. It was a camcorder, and he excitedly ran over to the church to put his camera to use in ministry. This was testament of his passion for video and how much he has committed his gift to the Lord. It is what he considers a jumpstart to his life in Cinematography.
Yaphet: “A lot of my exposure to the camera at FAOGW then bled into me working with Spotlight Productions. At that time, Spotlight was what I deemed Guyana’s #1 production company outside of NCN (GTV at that time) that was doing extensive production work. Any stage show taking place in Guyana, any international artiste in Guyana, they called Spotlight Productions and I was running around with that team wrapping cables and helping to set up cameras until one day they just decided to put me behind a camera, and the rest is history.”
As a young man, Yaphet did other jobs to get by, but his dream was to one day be the one behind the camera of an amazing story reaching the world. He spoke of his time as a Salesman at Giftland OfficeMax. During this time, the average man’s dream job was to work either at Laparkan or Guyana Stores. This was Yaphet’s short-term dream as well, but he never lost sight of his primary focus.
According to Yaphet, it was the church that initially recognised his passion for the camera and video production.
Yaphet: “Had it not been for First Assembly, L and P Durban Street, I would not have gotten a strong launching pad to work from. At church, I got opportunities to lead and to learn. Every time I saw something like a workshop, or something providing an educational opportunity for me to upgrade or improve the skills I was trying to hone, I reached out to church. The church always invested in me.”
He also recognised his parents as a key part of his support system. Yaphet eventually became more deliberate in pursuing his dream career while other young men and women were pursuing more popular and well-paid jobs such as Lawyer, Doctor or Accountant.
Yaphet: “I was probably confusing them because nothing like this at the time (video production or media or anything like that) was seen as a job, it was deemed more of a hobby. The traditional jobs were not for me …. I didn’t even know how exactly I was going to start out doing this or what exactly I was gunning for in this industry, but I knew for sure this is where I felt naturally placed; I felt very comfortable. It wasn’t work for me; I was just doing what I loved.”
Other persons played critical roles in his journey to where he is today, and those include Noel Harlequin, who he said is the #1 veteran in the Media/Camera and videoing arena in Guyana. He is among those to have influenced Yaphet positively even as he first pursued studies in Communications Science at the University of Guyana and then a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Cinematography. These two areas of studies opened doors and created opportunities where Yaphet’s work was recognised and admired by many.
In 2014, Yaphet re-migrated to the United States of America to pursue his Master’s Degree at Ohio University. He explained that the transition from living and working in Guyana to living and working in the USA was bittersweet. A national university located in a predominantly white (Caucasian) state seemed like a challenge to get by culturally and otherwise.
This was quickly eliminated as he took advantage of his dual citizenship to benefit from Federal Financial assistance, which helped him through university. He could have also related more with some other people of colour within his class, making him not feel alone as the only black student taking this particular course of study.
Yaphet: “This little black boy, as well as a Vietnamese and an Iranian, was moving to a primarily Republican state, and I felt the colour of my skin for the very first time. In all my travels and all my years of interacting with Caucasian people, it was never truly a bother. I didn’t overthink it because there was limited interaction. Now I was immersed into the Caucasian culture, that is, rural American Caucasian culture. I’ve been to University before, the University of Guyana, but nothing prepared me for what I was about to go into.”
None of this daunted Yaphet’s spirit nor quenched the burning desire to achieve the goal in sight. He officially completed his Master’s degree in 2021, and he said it best. “In spite of all the challenges and setbacks faced, all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” During this incredible journey, Yaphet got married in 2016 to his wife, Nicole. He sees all these as amazing memories and blessings along the way.
Today, he is more than qualified; a Cinematographer, a Guyanese Filmmaker with so many plans for executing his talent both here in Guyana and overseas. Yaphet hopes to establish relations with the Government of Guyana and his local Church, FAOGW, in the coming years to create opportunities for persons interested in this career path.
Yaphet: “Next is a lot of work, building out the vision for Bent Street Films LLC, the production company I co-own with my wife. It is currently registered both in Guyana and the USA and I want to get that operationalised as soon as possible since it will put people to work in Guyana. I will seek to develop and train and really upgrade what Guyana has. It’s already there; we just need to highlight the beauty and the potential of the country…I am positioning myself to build on both sides, on the production end and the distribution end, and to create opportunities because it’s the reason why I did this in the first place. I took the privilege that was given to me as an American citizen to access the education and resources here in the US to bring it back to underprivileged youth in the Caribbean region who don’t have the luxury of travelling and/or access to loans for education.”
With an attitude of gratitude, Yaphet acknowledged the shoulders of those on which he stands, singling out the very church he grew up in, where he was first exposed to a camera, as the foundation of his career. With everything he has in store for Guyana, his work with First Assembly will be a primary focus as a manner of giving back to his ‘community.’
Yaphet: “Had it not been for the leadership of First Assembly of God Church and their support to this entire career that I’m working towards, I would not be here. Yes, there are other people and groups I worked with, kudos to them, but the people that actually helped put the rubber to the road; put me on track; put money, time, energy, and resources behind me, and saw my gift, is First Assembly and they paid it forward in every way possible. It is beyond the shadow of a doubt that FAOGW did me a solid under the leadership of Bishop Dr. Raphael Massiah.”
