A number of Antiguan and Barbudan films — to include HAMA Films’ fifth film production, “Deep Blue” –will feature prominently during COMMFFEST, a Canadian film festival that is scheduled to take place from 15th to 22nd September.
The festival will showcase a wide range of local and international films representing current affairs and relevant issues that affect society. It provides an opportunity for emerging and professional filmmakers and others to express themselves freely and to connect with audiences on a more personal level.
Deep Blue, written and directed by Howard Allen and produced by his wife Mitzi, is the heart-wrenching tale of a love-struck architect, entangled in a battle with a determined Canadian marine biologist, both with strong opposing opinions about a luxury resort project that threatens a close-knit fishing community’s way of life and the delicate marine ecosystem.
The film highlights the tragic clash between progress and preservation, and Howard says he made this film, “to remind people that we in the Caribbean come from a culture of conservation which we lost due to consumerism”.
Causion, Antigua and Barbuda’s Reggae Ambassador, and Grammy-winning artist Maurice Gregory (formerly of Third World) provides mesmerising music in Deep Blue.
Considered the most prolific filmmakers in the Eastern Caribbean, Howard and Mitzi will be present for the Canadian screening of the 90-minute film at 7:30 pm, on Saturday, September 16th, and participate in a Q&A led by journalist and cultural influencer Sharon Gordon.
There will also be a live musical performance by Causion and Maurice Gregory.
The pre-show screenings of the Antigua and Barbuda Showcase at COMMFFEST will begin at 3:30 pm with “Redonda: Road to Recovery ” by emerging filmmaker, Lawson Lewis.
On being officially selected, Lewis said that “the selection means I have partly achieved the goal of using this artform to shine a light on the work of small NGOs and the selfless conservation work they are doing to preserve biodiversity to broader audiences around the world”.
This will be followed by Chrystal Clashing’s short film, “Yemoja’s Anansi”, the story of an African water goddess and a young enslaved African through a danced interpretation of the short story she wrote and published.
Clashing said her production is a “re-imaging of the Anansi folklore stories brought to the Caribbean on slave ships from Africa”.
There will also be a short film from a student of the Antigua Film Academy.
