By Rabindra Rooplall

THE filming of Somnauth Narine’s “Protection Games” has been completed, and editing will begin early next year, so the film can be released for Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary.“It is my sincere hope that the movie will be screened during the Guyana Independence celebrations,” said veteran actor and film director, Mahadeo Shivraj.

The story is based on how far a father will go to protect his son who is before the court on a charge of murder.

The plot of “Protection Games” surrounds an inexperienced young man who has a passionate encounter with a young lady. The inexperienced young man has his bliss interrupted when the girl’s lover startles them. In the ensuing fracas, the lover is fatally shot. The young man admits that he fired the fatal bullet, and the young girl becomes a credible eyewitness for the prosecution. Against these overwhelming odds, the father of the young man faces a dilemma.

The father, played by Shivraj, must decide whether to operate within the confines of the law by using the services of a high-priced lawyer, or operate outside the law to protect his son. In this murder/mystery drama, heightened with suspense and bawdy West Indian humour, love, devotion, and adherence to law, what appears to be at the opposite ends of the spectrum of human emotions converge to answer the eternal question: How far would a father go to protect his son?

The movie will see performances by Nirmala Narine, Margaret Lawrence, Roshan Khan, Ron Robinson, Godfrey Naughton, Randolph Critchlow and Chronicle’s very own Akash Persaud, among other actors. This movie is for general audiences. There is no nudity or indecent language in it.

Shivraj describes the film as filled with West Indian humour, love, devotion and adherence to law.

After the script was finished, Shivraj reflected that he began hunting for persons who would fit the nearly 30 speaking roles. He admitted that finding cast members to fit the characters had not been difficult. He said that, when asked, everyone was enthusiastic to be a part of his latest project.

The film was shot in Guyana, and is the first of Shivraj’s films to be shot entirely in the city. His other films had been primarily focused on the country areas of Guyana. A third of the movie was recorded and filmed in the High Court, while there were also a lot of scenes in police stations. He noted that the actual shooting takes the least amount of time, while the planning and editing take up the majority of time.