.jpg)
THREE new, short films titled ‘To the Night’, ‘Ruth’ and ‘Choices’, which were produced under the CineGuyana Brand in partnership with the Centre for Communication Studies of the University of Guyana (UG) and The Theatre Guild of Guyana, are set to premiere locally in early January 2013. This is according to a press release, issued last Saturday, by CineGuyana.
It said: “The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, in May 2012, provided a small grant to CineGuyana through the University of Guyana for the production of three short films. Money was given by just three companies – Digicel, COURTS and German’s Restaurant.”
The release said the Executive Director of the CineGuyana Project is Dr. Paloma Mohamed, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at UG.
The first of the three films, ‘To the Night’, which runs for 22 minutes was produced by Richard Pitman, shot by Kojo McPherson and Noel Harlequin and stars Lavonne George as ‘Ms. Minkey’ and Mark Kazim as ‘the client’.
The release said the film is a poignant dark drama about a single mother, ‘Camille’ played by Sonia Yarde, who is trying to escape life as a prostitute. Her two children are witness to her trials and this has a devastating effect on the family. In the end, some hard decisions must be made.
The second, ‘Ruth’ was written and directed by Errol Chan, produced by Charmaine Blackman and runs for a period of 15 minutes. It is a contemporary, character-driven drama that tells a fully realised story which was shot High Definition (HD) on location in Georgetown, Guyana.
Ruth, played by Shameeza Wong, is a young girl who is part of a gang which runs the streets robbing people at gunpoint. She and her friend, Orin, played by Kijana Lewis, are unstoppable until Ruth is shot and winds up in prison. After she was released from jail, she meets Dan, played by Sean Thompson. After she says that she is pregnant, Dan asks her to marry him. However, her past life comes back to haunt them.
The last film, ‘Choices’ was written by Smolana Varwyk, directed by Mike James, with sound by Errol Chan and edited, with music by Philip Williams.
TRUE STORY
The release said the film is based on a true story and is a contemporary drama about the journey of a woman from being a victim to being a victor.
“Sharon, played by Shana Fraser meets her future husband played by Mark Luke. Despite the warning signs and indications from her friend, Shawn played by Mark Kazim, she persists in what turns out to be a nightmarish marital relationship. In the end, Sharon must take matters into her own hands for her sake and that of her son,” the release stated.
The three films bring to a total of 11, the number produced in Guyana and made by different writers and directors under the CineGuyana brand over the period of one year.
The CineGuyana website said the eight previous films were produced under the President’s Film Endowment Project 2011, which was originally designed to fund five short films by five independent film makers. Those first premiered in Guyana on July 9, 2011.
Meanwhile, the release said some of the films premiered on that date have made an impressive tour of the international film festival circuit, including public screening at The Billy Holiday Theatre, in New York; the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and the African Film Festival in Nigeria
It said: “The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, in May 2012, provided a small grant to CineGuyana through the University of Guyana for the production of three short films. Money was given by just three companies – Digicel, COURTS and German’s Restaurant.”
The release said the Executive Director of the CineGuyana Project is Dr. Paloma Mohamed, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at UG.
The first of the three films, ‘To the Night’, which runs for 22 minutes was produced by Richard Pitman, shot by Kojo McPherson and Noel Harlequin and stars Lavonne George as ‘Ms. Minkey’ and Mark Kazim as ‘the client’.
The release said the film is a poignant dark drama about a single mother, ‘Camille’ played by Sonia Yarde, who is trying to escape life as a prostitute. Her two children are witness to her trials and this has a devastating effect on the family. In the end, some hard decisions must be made.
The second, ‘Ruth’ was written and directed by Errol Chan, produced by Charmaine Blackman and runs for a period of 15 minutes. It is a contemporary, character-driven drama that tells a fully realised story which was shot High Definition (HD) on location in Georgetown, Guyana.
Ruth, played by Shameeza Wong, is a young girl who is part of a gang which runs the streets robbing people at gunpoint. She and her friend, Orin, played by Kijana Lewis, are unstoppable until Ruth is shot and winds up in prison. After she was released from jail, she meets Dan, played by Sean Thompson. After she says that she is pregnant, Dan asks her to marry him. However, her past life comes back to haunt them.
The last film, ‘Choices’ was written by Smolana Varwyk, directed by Mike James, with sound by Errol Chan and edited, with music by Philip Williams.
TRUE STORY
The release said the film is based on a true story and is a contemporary drama about the journey of a woman from being a victim to being a victor.
“Sharon, played by Shana Fraser meets her future husband played by Mark Luke. Despite the warning signs and indications from her friend, Shawn played by Mark Kazim, she persists in what turns out to be a nightmarish marital relationship. In the end, Sharon must take matters into her own hands for her sake and that of her son,” the release stated.
The three films bring to a total of 11, the number produced in Guyana and made by different writers and directors under the CineGuyana brand over the period of one year.
The CineGuyana website said the eight previous films were produced under the President’s Film Endowment Project 2011, which was originally designed to fund five short films by five independent film makers. Those first premiered in Guyana on July 9, 2011.
Meanwhile, the release said some of the films premiered on that date have made an impressive tour of the international film festival circuit, including public screening at The Billy Holiday Theatre, in New York; the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and the African Film Festival in Nigeria
