A new Jamaican film called, “Kingston Paradise”, has been launched on Kickstarter, one of the many recent creative cyber platforms in the US to raise funds for artistic projects. Kingston Paradise is a beautiful independent film, shot on HD in the capital city of Kingston. It is set to inspire and motivate Kingstons marginalised youth. Filmmaker, Mary Wells is an indie US/Jamaican filmmaker, having directed and produced many films for some twenty years, mostly in the Caribbean region. She sees the developing world as an incredible creative canvas of ideas and possibilities! Her dream to make a full length dramatic movie in Jamaica on the struggle and humiliation of a people has been realised, but she needs help to pay herself to live in Canada for several months so as to finish editing it professionally.
With your pledge on Kickstarter, help her make it possible! See the link below. On the site, click on the green box to the right that says, “BACK THIS PROJECT”:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744580486/kingston-paradise-a-feature-film?ref=email
THE STORY SYNOPSIS
The film has a funky off beat story that highlights its characters in the midst of their frustrations, poverty and pain. Like street dogs frantic to survive, small time hustler Rocksy, (a taxi driver/part-time pimp), with his prostitute friend Rosie dream of something different, a real life, a future. On the peeling walls of their tenement, Rosie prominently places a painting she owns that gives them both hope and something tangible to cling to. Its an exotic beach view of another more peaceful world, but they exist miles and worlds a part. So with his friend and cohort Malt, Rocksy eyes a fancy sports car nearby and together they devise a plot to steal it to sell for parts. This may change their lives immediately, but It belongs to a local Lebanese businessman, Faris and the plot is risky and not well thought out. Rosie is dead set against it and fed up. She dreams for the beach view, she wants out, out of being entangled and out of the life. But she’s bait and Rocksy cannot manage without her. When she finally leaves Rocksy becomes even more desperate and devastated. He does the unthinkable. In the chaos something changes within him, something rises and like the sun, it sets. In the context and contrasts of the Jamaican landscape its backstory is political, as the current embedded system doesnt allow for change…
THE FILM SHOOT & JOURNEY
Having shot the film two summers ago in 2009, using 61 amazing actors, only the lead character and another actor, (Chris ‘Johnny’ Daley and Munair Zacca) are known locally, the rest were enthusiastic, wildly talented unknown inner-city youth with little to no acting and film experience. The all Jamaican film crew worked under very tough conditions, but they stayed the course and with a tiny budget and a whole pile of in-kind, they completed it. Since principal photography wrapped, a few VERY rough clips (like the one on the Kickstarter site) have been edited along with an assembly cut.
To date there’s no more funds and in between filmmaker, Mary Wells had to stop to earn to pay bills, causing delays, along with other clitches, but not with out the wisdom and the help of good friends and family. This is an incredible film with big ambitions she says, that is very commercially viable. Of course like any filmmaker, she wants it to be finished professionally and for it to go far and wide, because as its Director and Writer, she believes deeply in her own ideas and in the creative vision she has for the project and its success.
THE PLAN
With the wonderful help of a Canadian film colleague, (who will become one of her Executive Producers), she will edit its first, second and final cuts in Toronto, Canada. With this, it will be possible to attract finishing funds and/ or Co-Executive Producers/Distributors. Also, the film will have festival screenings worldwide and screenings on Cable TV, other platforms and (hopefully), theatrical release possibilities. But as always, (especially for a tiny project such as this), the stumbling blocks are about money.
HOW MUCH MONEY IS NEEDED & ITS PURPOSE
The money thats needed for now, is $6,000. This is to pay herself a fee so as to be able to live in Canada for five to six months. Even though shes been working in between, there is little to no funds to live for the next six months to finish and lock a cut for the film.
If larger pledges are possible, the editor, musician, graphics special effects person, sound mix and design, foley, color correction and many other areas to be completed, could also be paid and funded.
For now tangible rewards to backers are not possible, but they will be sent a monthly blog on the films present and future journey and current happenings.
Also once the film project is up and ready, all backers will be credited on the film and given Special Thanks in the credits and on the website, once its made.
