HAMAFilms environmental drama resonates with Canadian audience
September 21, 2023
The day after his 42nd birthday in May 2019, Ryan Singh flew to Antigua to fulfil an acting role in HAMAFilms fifth production, ‘Deep Blue’.
Cast as ‘The Fisherman’ and aware that most seafarers favour beards to protect against the elements, he grew one for the role he felt was tailor-made for him.
“In Canada, most immigrants are always fighting with accent, trying to fit in in North America,” he said. “As someone from the region, I knew I was going to be in a space where I could express my Caribbean accent.”
Little did Singh know that his participation in the project would go beyond acting.
Always on the lookout for inspiring videos or still images, the cinematographer took a DSLR camera, lenses, sound device and other equipment to the scenic Eastern Caribbean Island.
Cinematographer Ryan Singh with his wife Cheryl Singh-Nelson and their twins Sebastian and Ava (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
HamaFilms founders Howard Allen and his wife Mitzi Benjamin-Allen, the writer/director and producer respectively of ‘Deep Blue’, made full use of Singh’s expertise and equipment.
He took on various behind-the-scene responsibilities, including capturing sponsor videos and managing social media content for the production that won the Commffest (Community Film & Arts Festival) Making a Difference Award at the Canadian premiere on September 16 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
Shot with a cast from Antigua, Canada and England, ‘Deep Blue’ is a heart-wrenching tale of a love-struck architect embattled with a determined Canadian marine biologist.
As climate change intensifies its assault on the picturesque island, they find themselves on opposing sides of a critical environmental issue threatening a close-knit fishing community way of life.
Nevisian-born poet Howard Queeley said the environmental drama is powerful, timely, socially relevant and worthy of wide distribution and commercial success.
“Set on a small Caribbean island, it sends a clear message that ‘paradise is not merchandise,” noted the author of ‘Script Writer: A Journey of Creative Expression’. “It is a cautionary tale illustrating what happens when the intersectionality of foreign and domestic wealth, self-interest groups operating in a milieu of corruption, greed, lies and deception, meet local opposition.
“That antagonism is focused on the impact that unsustainable development would have on the environment and future economic and social viability of community, some members of which only see the flash and cash of development.”
Allen started writing the screenplay in 2012.
“As independent filmmakers, we had to raise funds and then pull the cast together,” said Benjamin-Allen. “We got to the point where we started the principal photography in 2019. The Canadian actors came to Antigua in May that year for the shoot and after they left, we started to work with local actors, doing underwater stuff. Then lo and behold, COVID hit in March 2020.”
In addition to Singh, Canadians Peter Williams who appeared in Stargate SG-1, Gemini Award winner/opera singer Kim Huffman and playcreator/director/comedian Rhoma Spencer were cast in the film.
Quality and professionalism, said Benjamin-Allen, were the deciding factors in choosing cast members.
“It was not so much important because they are Canadians,” she pointed out. “As we grow and develop, we are looking for professional actors to add value to what we do and also inspire the actors we work with in Antigua & Barbuda. We have been very fortunate to meet and work with various people in other projects. It is more about quality performances from people who know the ropes, have been around film and television and are keen to lend their skills to an independent project. They helped us grow as filmmakers and we love that.”
The cast also included English actors Julie Hewlett and Tom Durant-Pritchard who played ‘Prince Harry’ in the royal parody, ‘The Windsors’.
He was an intern in HAMAFilms ‘The Skin’ released in 2011.
Mitzi Benjamin-Allen and her husband Howard Allen founded HAMAFilms (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“What HamaFilms is doing is important work and I want to be part of the development and growth of authentic Caribbean cinema,” noted Durant-Pritchard who played Judy Garland’s lawyer in the biopic, ‘Judy’.
Though Allen was recognized 15 years ago by the Ministry of Education youth arm with a ‘Young Pioneer’ award in filmmaking in Antigua & Barbuda, funding for HAMAFilms, who have strong stories to tell, is non-existent.
Benjamin-Allen said the establishment of a national film commission or cultural development fund could fill the void.
“In that way, creators could make a proposal and get funding if they are successful,” she said. “Right now, it depends on who you know that will get you the support you need for your projects. In our region, film is looked at as the Caribbean should be the backdrop of other films. They are not that interested in the development of Indigenous filmmaking. We don’t yet understand that when people go to film festivals, they want a peek into other worlds. That is what generates travel and curiosity. There is more of a movement in the Caribbean to appeal to Hollywood productions to come in. They get all the concessions to be there. We want to see a structure put in place where we can seek funding for the work that we do, even if it is start-up funds. We have advocated for this, but it is not at the top of the Antigua & Barbuda government list of things to do at the moment.”
Given opportunities pursue training and acting opportunities abroad, local actors remain outside Antigua & Barbuda.
Two years ago, the New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association named HAMAFilms intern Shabier Kirchner work on Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ series “The Year’s Best Cinematography.
He filmed several shorts and indie features before getting the call to travel to England for a meeting.
“We have had a lot of young people that have gone on to do incredible work, but not in Antigua & Barbuda,” she said.
Singh can attest to the high standard displayed by the local actors.
“When I got to Antigua, I didn’t anticipate the level of preparation the local actors exhibited,” the University of Windsor graduate said. “They were determined to shine alongside foreign actors with Hollywood credentials on their home turf. In fact, they helped me elevate my performance to the point where I found myself engaging in a collaborative competition. Our friendly rivalry translated into an electrifying on-screen performance that I am immensely proud of.”
‘Deep Blue’ will be screened on September 24 at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival in Movie Towne, Port-of-Spain.
“Because of COVID, it took us a while to get this project done,” said Benjamin-Allen. “We want to make sure we reach our communities wherever they are in the world and we would like for it to eventually end up on one of the major platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime.”
HAMA films are available on Studio Anansi that is an online platform created specifically to make Caribbean films available globally.
“That is the Caribbean version of Netflix and people who are into Caribbean film know where to go,” said Benjamin-Allen. “With ‘Deep Blue’, we want to expand our audience because of the type of film that it is looking at what is happening in small island developing states around the world. Our indigenous people are so busy trying to eke out a living that they don’t realize their future is being pulled out from under them.”
CTV’s first Black female broadcast journalist, Benjamin-Allen quit after five years and returned to Antigua in 1991.
She covered several major news stories, including late South African President Nelson Mandela’s first visit to Canada just four months after he was released from prison in February 1990 and the Dubin Inquiry into steroid use by athletes precipitated by Ben Johnson’s positive drug test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
While employed as a producer and production manager with CTV Entertainment Systems in Antigua, the former General Assignment Reporter met Allen who was in her department.
They produced a high-quality news and current affairs program and started HAMA (derived from their initials), a film and television production company.
In 2001, HAMAFilms made history as the first indigenous company in the Eastern Caribbean to produce a feature length film with the release of ‘The Sweetest Mango’, a romantic comedy that recounts the couple’s love story.
The biggest grossing film ever to show in Antigua is archived at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Lightbox reference library because of its historical significance.
The library maintains the world’s largest resource of English-language Canadian film and film-related materials as well as a wide range of local, national and international film resources.
