All-Vincentian cast stars in new ‘Redemption’ film

A new film, shot entirely in St Vincent and the Grenadines and with an all-Vincentian cast, is due to be released come early December.

The short film ‘Redemption’ was written, directed and produced by Fabian Guerra, and the plot revolves around revenge taken against a young man (and those connected to him) when it is discovered that he is having an affair with his boss’s wife.{{more}}

Guerra, who runs his own videography business, said that his inspiration to write the 40-minute film came during a ride on the subway many years ago, when he was living and studying in the United States.

“I was living and studying in New York at the time, and there was an incident on the subway, where these people preaching on the subway and this guy had a little back and forth; and it inspired me to write about young people and their views on the world,” he explained.

Guerra further noted that many times, young people don’t appreciate or accept the advice of older persons; and in a nutshell, this is what ‘Redemption’ highlights.

The film’s cast includes Martin Quashie, JP Schwmon, Ashai Cabral, Akeiliah Davy, Jeremy Boyde, and many others; and, as noted by Guerra, its content is not suitable for persons under the age of 15.

Speaking with SEARCHLIGHT, Guerra said that there were a few challenges he faced along the way in making this film, the biggest being lack of funding.

“Redemption is not a Hollywood production – far from it. You can look at and see that certain things are not there because of lack of funding. In movies, money makes everything happen.”

The videographer said that although shooting and editing a film of this length should only take about two weeks, this particular venture took him a lot longer, because the film had no budget and had to revolve around the actors’ varying schedules.

“Because I can’t pay actors to be where I want them to be and have to borrow venues, it’s about three months,” he lamented.

Guerra admitted that what he had originally envisioned for the film was not what he ended up with, but he pressed forward with it regardless.

“But I have something rather than nothing, waiting for all the ducks to line up,” he insisted.

Another drawback he encountered was getting the run-around when he contacted certain business places to get permission to use their locations when shooting scenes.

“I had problems with locations and actors’ schedules,” he explained.

Guerra has written and produced a previous film called ‘Voodoo Man’, which was released last year. He also intends to delve deeper into the visual arts and is already working on another film titled ‘Bun School’.

“I would like to get funding for that. My movies so far have been short – under an hour – so this one is a full-length feature.”

He also disclosed that he has plans to start a television series called ‘The Lunch-time Chronicles,’ describing it as a drama series looking at relationships between people and the conflicts that they might spark.

Referring to SVG’s film industry, Guerra opined that it is in its “embryonic stage”, and is taking some time to get out of it.

He commented that he hasn’t seen a great number of films being produced locally, and would like to see that increase – with the help of both the Government and the private sector.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Guerra has been living in SVG for several years, having migrated here when he married his wife, who is Vincentian.

“St Vincent is a very beautiful place… Very laid back, which is good for me,” he enthused.

“But certain things take a bit longer than they should, in my opinion. That’s a little hurdle I have to cross every time.”

‘Redemption’ is scheduled to be released on December 1, with an official launch taking place at SOV Restaurant, Lounge and Night Club in Villa at 8 pm. (JSV)