A SPANISH filmmaker's tribute to Jamaica's remarkable performance at last August's Beijing Olympic Games has been nominated in the Best Documentary category of the annual American Black Film Festival in Miami, Florida.

The film, Why Jamaicans Run So Fast?, was directed by Fernando Garcia-Guereta, who lives in Portland. It will be shown at the festival which takes place from June 24-27.

Garcia-Guereta began production on the 61-minute documentary once the Jamaican athletes returned home from Beijing and Europe where several of them competed after the Olympics.

Rapturous scenes

Driven by a dancehall soundtrack, Why Jamaicans Run So Fast? captures the rapturous scenes that welcomed sprinter Usain Bolt back to Jamaica. Bolt was the star of the Olympics where he won three gold medals.

His victories in the 100 and 200 metres and in Jamaica's 4x100 metres relays were all done in world record time. Garcia-Guereta also zoomed in on Jamaica's other gold medal winners, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Melaine Walker.

Jamaica won a total of six gold medals at the Beijing Games, the country's most successful showing since it first competed in the Olympics in London, in 1948.

Why Jamaicans Run So Fast? was scheduled to have a local premiere at the Reggae Film Festival in February, but that event was cancelled. It was one of five films shown at Island Village in Ocho Rios that month.

Founded by Home Box Office in 1997, the American Black Film Festival honours the leading independent films made by blacks, or about blacks. It is attended annually by more than 3,000 movie industry executives and artistes.

The festival's itinerary includes screenings, panel discussions and workshops.