By Denise Clarke, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
A MULTI-MILLION dollar film depicting varying aspects of the Jamaican culture, is scheduled to begin production on the island later this year.
The film, entitled Jamaica Callin', is the brainchild of Jamaican-born screenwriter/producer, Leroy McCarthy, who is busy scouting funding for the US$3.9 million project.
"There are several stories to be told, through music and books, but in theatre Jamaican stories are under-represented and I'm hoping that this film will be the start of many films made by Jamaicans about Jamaica," said Mr. McCarthy, who now resides in New York in the United States.
Jamaica Callin' is a comedy drama with a touch of romance and lots of entertainment.
The film begins on an airplane with three people from different backgrounds travelling from America to Jamaica for a week's stay. One person is Jannetta, who is going to Montego Bay on her honeymoon with her husband Russell. Then there is Maxim, who is going to Portmore and Kingston to visit his family, and lastly, Cliff, who is headed to Negril with his two buddies to party. When the airplane lands at the airport in Montego Bay, all three parties go on their separate journeys, encountering different aspects of the Jamaican culture and rediscovering their lives. At the end of the film all three parties meet again at a 'Rasta reasoning' in Trelawny, before heading back to America.
CAPTURE THE BEAUTY, CULTURE
The film will be shot entirely on location in Jamaica, and will capture the beauty and culture of Jamaica from the resort town of Montego Bay to its capital Kingston and the Portmore municipality. As described by Mr. McCarthy, Jamaica Callin' will encompass cinematic visions of Jamaica the people, the rhythms, the artistry which will delight audiences as they see the story of a group of visitors to Jamaica, and what they encounter on their trip.
"It will be entertaining on very different levels from music to artistry to dance to just the everyday rhythm of the streets of Kingston and Montego Bay. From Rasta to the church, many different entities will be portrayed and hopefully it will be portrayed in ways that will be appreciated by people from Jamaica as well as lovers of Jamaica from foreign," he explained.
The cast is also expected to be all Jamaican, in an effort to bring out the full diversity of Jamaican culture. The film will use Jamaican patois intertwined with the English language.
