By Ayanna Kirton, Staff ReporterTHE STORY of the forbidden love between a young Rastafarian musician and the gospel singing daughter of a devout Pentecostal preacher brought together by their mutual love of music is told by ONE LOVE, an independent film backed by British and Norwegian financiers, written by local playwright, Trevor Rhone and shot entirely in Jamaica.
The film's US$3 million budget, which may be considered meagre by Hollywood's standards, could start a wave for small independent projects that garners revenues both at home and abroad.
According to industry experts Jamaica has been unable to produce films of significant acclaim since The Harder They Come in the mid-seventies. One Love's co-producer, Shelaagh Ferrell, thinks the film will attract a lot of attention. This she attributes to the film's storyline; one she feels will resonate with audiences worldwide. The task of finding investors willing to risk investing in One Love was a difficult process since there are no guaranteed returns in the unpredictable film industry particularly for independent filmmakers who, due to the numerous costs involved in distributing their films, have to gross at least six times their production costs to break even, says Ferrell.
"Obtaining financing for a film is a most unusual process you have to encourage and cajole investors, more so than for any other project that demands a return on investment," says the producer who had to wear several hats to get this film made, including overseeing the script, securing financing, and gathering various experts for its production.
For One Love, with its cast comprising mostly of black Jamaicans, no A-list stars, and a tricky shooting location, the producer says she had to turn what many potential investors considered negative elements into positive ones. Both herself and the co-producer Yvonne Deutschman wanted to accentuate authenticity on this project and this had to be sold to potential investors.
"One Love is a high risk film and in the minds of many investors there was no successful track record to back up using an all-black cast without a big name actor," says Ferrell. "The location also raised concerns since Jamaica has got really bad press but we convinced investors that over the years a number of movies from Bond films to Cool Runnings and Cocktails were shot here and went on to be successful internationally," she said.
"The film's premise based on a Romeo and Juliet theme has a universal appeal for audiences but with a Jamaican flavouring makes it uniquely marketable because people are generally curious about other cultures," says Ferrell. Choosing Kymani Marley, musician and son of the late Bob Marley, for the film's leading role was also part of the strategy to help ensure the film's success internationally, particularly since ticket sales in foreign markets will account for the majority of the film's earnings.
INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCES
"We needed a hook and he has a last name that international audiences will be familiar with," says the producer of who holds the view that he "proves himself" with this performance in the film.
Following its opening in Jamaica, One Love will be released in the UK this June. Ferrell says selling the film to British audiences will be a challenge but she is optimistic many will take time out to see the film.
"In the case of the UK we have to appeal to their open-mindedness because we essentially want them to see a film that they cannot inherently relate to," says Ferrell. Fortunately, unlike other markets, British cinema-goers are indeed open-minded and make an effort to see foreign films, she says.
Still in its development stage, the Jamaica film industry suffers from one major setback, a lack of funding.
"Financing is always the problem," says Ferrell. However, looking to international investors may not always be the answer especially since most countries are now trying to foster the development of film within their own borders, she says. So much so, that funding foreign films may be discouraged by many international governments most of whom have begun to offer their own filmmakers incentives such as tax breaks to encourage them to stay closer to home.
Ferrell suggests that businesses can be instrumental in the development of the local film industry. If big local businesses choose to invest in the Jamaican film industry, financing, for example, only a percentage of a project's required budget, it would stimulate additional corporate interests to rally behind a film for its potential returns, says Ferrell. She feels that only through widespread corporate financial support can the Jamaican film industry be able to produce films of substantial quality.
