It might only be 16 minutes long, but suspense thriller “The Devil You Know” is sure to pack a mighty punch when it premieres Sept. 13 at Regal Cinemas, Camana Bay.
The film, written and directed by Badir Awe and Trevor Murphy, features scenes filmed in various locations throughout Grand Cayman. Everyone involved with the film’s production live and work in Grand Cayman, making the completed project all the more special locally.
Finding local talent to be involved with the project was not difficult for Awe and Murphy. In fact, according to Awe, there were many talented artists they wanted to work with but never got the chance to.
“The film was 100 percent made by local talent,” Awe said. “This is something we are extremely proud of. Many, and I mean many, talented local artists worked on our film, and we could not have done it without them. Cayman is ripe with artistic talent.
“After making this film, I do not believe the hype that there is no art culture in Cayman. It is alive and well. In fact, I would go so far as to say that there is a renaissance taking place in Cayman right now.”
The film’s plot revolves around a character named Vanessa, played by Abbey Le Cornu. A beautiful, intelligent and wealthy woman living in the Caribbean, Vanessa is well loved by her best friends Izzy, played by the current Miss Cayman Lindsay Japal, and Renee, played by Julia Flanagan. A jealous man named Josh, played by Matthew Leslie, wants Vanessa killed. He hires an overseas hit-man, Bishop, played by Ronnie James Hughes, to come and do the job. But when Bishop arrives on island, he ends up falling for Vanessa. Another character, the overlord Alexi, played by Hamish Sturgeon, is also featured in the film.
It took Awe and Murphy four months to create the concept, develop the characters, and write the script. Since it was their first attempt at movie-making, they decided on a short film because they didn’t want to bite off more than they could chew.
“The point was to be as professional as possible with a manageable project, and see how well we could do,” Awe said.
The movie’s executive producer is David Ravenscroft, and the producers are Colleen Mellott, Susie Robinson, Judy Singh, and Emma Gladstone Brady. The film had a crew of more than 40 people, and other integral members of the team include editor Ben Hud, music composer Paul Deakin, director of photography Agustin “Froggy” Gonzalez, and production designer Tansy Maki.
The film cost $30,000 to make and 19 months to complete. It was entirely funded by the Cayman community.
“We had many individual sponsors and a few corporate sponsors who gave generously to our project,” Awe said. “The crew also put in money of their own. We also fundraised. We did whatever we needed to do to make this film possible. A feature film would have cost us millions of dollars.”
After the film’s premiere, the plan is to distribute it to all of the major international film festivals, including Sundance Film Festival, Cannes, Toronto International, and South by Southwest.
“We hope it gets picked up by one or two of these festivals – that would be amazing,” Awe said. “We are excited to see how well this film does against all the other films made in the world. We feel it is a strong film to come out of the Caribbean.”
The premiere is one night only, Sept. 13. Show times are 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale at the Discovery Centre and at Abacus restaurant. Tickets are $25 per person, which includes a screening of the film, a behind-the-scenes special, a free drink by Gun Bay vodka and an after-party at Abacus. The producers also plan on hosting the Miss Cayman contestants and will have other special features, including an auction.
For more information, call 917-6069.
Related Videos
