Cayman’s home-grown documentary ‘Beacon Farms’, which features the struggles and successes of a non-profit farm run by recovering addicts in North Side, has won a silver award at the 2023 Hollywood Independent Filmmaker Awards and Festival.
The feature-length documentary, which premiered at Camana Bay Cinema in February this year, was filmed, produced and directed by Cayman-based filmmaker Candy Whicker.
Whicker told the Compass she was delighted that the film, and the work of the farm, were getting recognition outside of Cayman.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said the filmmaker, who spent three years working on the documentary about the 34-acre farm, on which the workers are given a second chance at life, after struggling with drug or alcohol addiction.
The Hollywood Independent Filmmaker Awards is an IMDb-qualifying film competition which showcases ‘hidden gems’ made by indie filmmakers who do not have the name recognition or budget needed for the larger film festivals. Judges include former studio executives, talent managers and award-winning producers.
As a silver award winner, the Beacon Farms movie will be listed on the IMDb website, the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, television and celebrity content.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Wilshire Screening Room in Beverly Hills on 2 Dec., but Whicker says she won’t be attending as she’s been travelling a lot lately and only recently returned to Cayman.
Only gold award winners are screened at the festival, so ‘Beacon Farms’ won’t be screened, Whicker added.
The documentary has been selected for two more upcoming festivals – the London International Film Festival, known as LFFI, in February next year, and the online Documentaries Without Borders in April.
“We are in the official selection for the LFFI, which means we’ve passed the initial judging process and we’re in the running for a prize, with others,” she said. “If we get confirmation they are screening the film, we’ll go to that one.”
A screening or ceremony in London means her mother would be able to attend as well, she said.
She was excited earlier this year to have her mum and other family members watch a screening of her movie at Camana Bay Cinema. “It was a real buzz for us all to be able to see it together in Cayman. Seeing it in London would be amazing,” she said.
Getting recognition for her film in international film festivals means her work is being judged in a wider industry pool, outside Cayman, she said, and that her message has been communicated well.
“I sincerely hope that this recognition allows the hard work of all those involved with Beacon Farms to reach a wider audience,” she said in a release about the Hollywood award.
The film is returning to Camana Bay Cinema for weekly screenings in January and February. Proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated back to the farm.
Whicker says she is continuing to follow the work at the farm, possibly for a sequel or to add to the current film.
“I’m going to keep filming there,” she said. “I would love, maybe in another five years, to do a look back and do a short film or expand the existing one. Most definitely, we’ll stay in touch with Beacon Farms and its programmes.”
She shot at least 45 hours of footage at the farm over the course of three years – most of which didn’t make it into the final cut of the one-hour-and-three-minute-long film film. She has already given a copy of the documentary to the Cayman Islands National Archive, and may give other material to it as well, she said.
Beacon Farms currently employs 13 Caymanians, providing people in recovery with the opportunity to learn new skills in a safe, sober environment. The farm is also breaking new ground in agriculture, making new soil and using mechanised farming to increase the quantity and quality of crops, the release noted.
The farm was established in 2017 through support from the Haugh Foundation. It aims to be self-sustaining by 2026, but in the meantime, until revenue increases sufficiently to cover operating costs, it is seeking financial support from the community to bridge the gap.
For more information about Beacon Farms, visit its website.
To watch the ‘Beacon Farms’ trailer, click here.
Related Videos
