Miss LouTHOUGH WE are loathe to share her, Jamaica has had to share our much honoured Miss Lou, Louise Bennett Coverley, with Canada.
This April, the connections will take another turn, as the docudrama The Drums Keep Sounding: The Story of Miss Lou is scheduled to be screened at the Get Reel film festival, Toronto, Canada.
Get Reel is a six-year-old festival, focusing on films dealing with Africans at home and in the diaspora. According to getreel.ca, the festival is aimed at showing the "diversity of what is found in Africa and the diaspora. To repeat, we aim to show the diversity of images, not only positive images. Thus, through this pursuit for truth, a sense of accuracy of what it means to be black could be expressed and not through a narrow focus or stereotypical views."
Directed by Cynthia Wilmott and produced for the Sistren Theatre Collective, The Drums Keep Sounding: The Story of Miss Lou was produced in 1996. Not only does the 70 minute film deal with the life of one of our most treasured icons of theatre and culture, but the cast comprises other impressive theatre practitioners.
The film traces the life of Miss Lou from girlhood through to marriage and all that came between and followed. The now deceased Reggie Carter and John Jones are both a part of the cast. They are accompanied by Owen 'Blacka' Ellis, Grace McGhie and Marguerite Newland. The film also features footage of Miss Lou as she reflects upon her career.
