AS the title of the special occasion suggested, the three new films launched by Cine Guyana and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, at “Femme” on Wednesday focused on important women’s issues. All produced in 2012 they were screened at the Avinash Cinema, located on Water Street. Based on a true story, “Choices” is a modern day drama highlighting domestic violence. In only 17 minutes the film sought to show how “Sharon” played by Shana Fraser would escape from a nightmarish marital relationship. The signs are there from the moment she meets her future husband played by Mark Luke. In the end Sharon with a bit of help from a caring female boss and her colleague and friend Shawn played by Mark Kazim packs her suitcase and confronts her abuser. The film was written and produced by Smolana Varwyk and Directed by Mark James.
“Ruth” was shot mainly on location in Georgetown. The film which has  a strong theme of love and redemption, features many aspects of city life such as shopping on the streets, taking a minibus and having a bowl of soup at German’s Restaurant (a sponsor), during its 15 minutes running time. Written and directed by Errol Chan the film tells the story of the titular character, played by Shameza Wong who is part of a gang that 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 Ruth is released she meets Dan played by Sean Thompson, who proposes to her after she tells him she is pregnant. However, as expected Ruth’s past life comes back into the picture at some point. The film was shot and produced by Charmaine Blackman with Troy Azore as Director of Photography and Editor.
Revealing the horrors of prostitution, “To the Night” with a running time of 22 minutes, is a dark drama in which Sonia Yarde plays a single mother Camille who is trying to escape life as a prostitute. Her two children are witnesses to her trials which have a devastating effect on the family and forces Camille to make some hard decisions. Executive producer of all three films was Dr Paloma Mohamed.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who attended the premiere, said making the films was a step that can lead to many big things in future. Reminding of other ventures in Guyanese cinema such as the famous “If Wishes were Horses”, he challenged his audience to think about where the Guyanese film industry is going. Hinds noted the exposure of Guyanese to Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood, positing that the country’s film industry could draw from all these industries and integrate them into our own style. Illustrating his point with recollections of a trip to Italy where music by Jamaican reggae Icon Bob Marley was played for hours on public transportation, he noted that a good film wherever produced, should have something from where audience in every part of the world could respond. “We must be Guyanese, but we must be people of the world”, he advised.

Cine Guyana Background
In 2011 former President Dr. Bharat Jagdeo with some urging from Denis Ward and Birch Simon of Kross Kolor records launched The Presidents Film Endowment to support a video film industry in Guyana.
This endowment following professional film production protocol was aimed at creating a new generation of Guyanese filmmakers who will inspire, inform and foster a respected film industry in Guyana.
The Director of the Presidents Film Endowment is Dr Paloma Mohamed, former Director of the Centre for Communication Studies (CCS) at the University of Guyana under whose management and with the technical direction and tutelage of Brian Zahm, MFA, Lecturer at Ohio University, eight short films of international quality were made.
The CineGuyana set, as these films are now called, was first premiered in Guyana on July 9, 2011 soon after they were completed. Later that year they were screened for the public at the Billie Holiday Theatre New York, the University of Warwick, The African Film Festival in Nigeria and GuyExpo. In February 2012, they were screened at the prestigious American Film institute, Washington DC by the Guyana Embassy in Washington as part of its independence celebrations. The films have also been shown at Caribbean Tales Film Festival In Barbados in April, the Belize Film Festival in August, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in September and the Bahamas Film Festival in November. Local caravans funded by the Guyana Government through the Ministry of Culture and the University of Guyana, toured across the 10 regions of Guyana from April to June 2012.
In August 2012, Head of the Film department of the University of West Indies and founder of the Trinidad Film Festival Bruce Paddington visited Guyana and worked with CineGuyana on institutionalising the organisation to ensure its growth and sustainability. Also in August members of the CineGuyana executive manned and executed the Film Festival aspects of the Festival of the Guianas which Guyana successfully hosted that month. In May 2012, a special diplomatic screening was done and most of the Ambassadors attended.
As a tangible effect of the private screening, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Clinton Urling, made a commitment to raise at least one million Guyana dollars to assist with the making of the next batch of films.
In August 2012, the Chamber made good on its promise and granted 1.5 million dollars to Cine Guyana to make three films. The three films being “Ruth,” “Choices” and “Into the Night.”