For the first time Bahamian films will both open and close the 10th Annual Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF).
"Bahamian Son" and "Black Moses" will join the likes of "Juno" and "The King's Speech" in the prestigious position of anchoring BIFF as opening and closing films.
The closing film "the Black Moses" hints at controversy with the tag line "speak of the god...the devil...and he doth appear".
Directed by Bahamian Travolta Cooper, it promises to delve into understanding the polarizing legacy of Sir Lynden Pindling, the late former prime minister.
This 100-minute feature has garnered much attention because it stars American actor Dennis Haysbert of the TV shows "24", "The Unit" and more recently, spokesperson for Allstate Insurance.
Written by Reggie Henderson and Stephen Kane, the opening film "Bahamian Son" is a full feature length film that focuses on "Kevin" a young man and his search for his father that leads him from Minneapolis to the islands of The Bahamas in an attempt to discover who he is.
Both films share the common theme of exploring the identities of fathers whether metaphoric or literal patriarchs.
With the promise of "100 films from 26 countries" the fear of local entries being lost in the fray is understandable, however, Dennis Dembia, publicist for the festival believes that Bahamian films and filmmakers have made a name for themselves.
"I've worked with film festivals in Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic," he said. "There always seems to be a chatter about Bahamian films [and] Bahamian filmmakers and the quality of films that are being made here".
This year, Danny Glover, of "Lethal Weapon" and "The Color Purple" will be awarded a "Career Achievement Tribute" for his work as an actor, director and activist.
In the seven years that Dembia has attended the festival he's always felt that the Bahamian entries are of substantial quality.
"To be honest the ones that I've seen over the years have all been good to start with, in terms of stories and themes that play on the screen," he said.
According to Dembia, the intent of BIFF is to expose local film lovers to "really interesting independent films...all different themes, but these are films traditionally you wouldn't see in the multiplexes or on DVD, but they're really great cinema".
This opportunity isn't afforded solely to New Providence. Another interesting feature of the festival, are film screenings on select Family Islands dubbed "The Best of Fest".
BIFF runs in Nassau on December 5 - 8 and then "The Best of Fest" opens in Harbour Island, Eleuthera, December 9 -11 and then in Governor's Harbour December 11 -13.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
