At just 26-years old, Caymanian Frank E. Flowers has already achieved more than many, and with only a few years in the notoriously competitive filmmaking industry, the ambitious director has now been recognised with a prestigious award.
Frank E. Flowers |
Flowers received the HBO Director to Watch award at the 2006 Black Movie Awards, held in Los Angeles at the Wiltern Theatre, on 15 October.
The glittering star-studded event was hosted by screenwriter Tyler Perry and later aired on TNT on 18 October.
With his Father Frank Senior cheering him on at the prestigious gala event, and celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Spike Lee and Laurence Fishborne in attendance, the award helped seal Flower’s reputation as a respected and exciting new filmmaker in the movie industry.
‘It was a really cool milestone in my career,’ Flowers said. ‘It is a sense of validation.’
The award honours a director at the beginning of their career who has displayed excellence in the art of filmmaking. Details of other nominees for the award were not made available.
The young filmmaker received the award in recognition of his short-film Swallow, shot in 2002, and the recently released Haven, staring Orlando Bloom. Haven, shot in Cayman, was shown last month at the Marquee cinema where it was met with an enthusiastic response from cinema goers.
Flowers, who described filmmaking as often a ‘lonely journey’, was notified of the award by letter and email and described his response as ‘humbled and grateful.’
He accepted the award from larger-than-life actress/comedian MoNique and a representative from HBO in front of a packed out of audience. During his speech, Flowers highlighted the importance of ‘watching out for other amazing filmmakers from our region of the world.’
Despite the prestigious accolade, Flowers does not see it as added pressure to succeed in the industry.
‘Some people see an award as additional pressure, for example when someone gets a Grammy for best new artist, they usually don’t feel validated until they win another,’ he said.
‘Awards are very fickle, so you can’t let it dictate who you are or the type of stories you want to tell. Just be grateful for the times you do get recognized so it can carry you through the many moments where you may not be.’
The Director to Watch award is now in its second year. Last year’s winner was filmmaker Rodney Evans, whose films include Brother to Brother and Close to Home.
Flowers is now working on a number of projects, including a 20th Century Fox movie called The Trespasser, and a movie about Jamaica, which he describes as a ‘passion project’.
FYI
The Black Movie Awards were formed in 1997 as part of the American Black Film Festival, to recognize and bring greater attention to the creative contributions made to cinema by persons of African descent both in front of and behind the camera.
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