A private screening of the short film ‘Ivan’, written and directed by Caymanian Jazz Pitcairn, was received with applause and cheers Sunday at Camana Bay Cinema.
The movie is based on the actual events surrounding Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and the life-changing impact of the storm on the people of the Cayman Islands.
Pitcairn told the invitation-only audience, “35 locals helped to make this film happen, and I’m so proud of the product we made, I really feel we made something special.
“We started working on a feature film, it has since been written, and we’ve recently been accepted into a fellowship through [New York University] which American film director Spike Lee runs.”
Pitcairn said her hope for the six-month fellowship is that Lee, “as well as other mentors who are of certain prestige, will help us package the film in order to sell it… [We] hope to make a feature in the next couple of years, that’s the goal.”
‘Ivan’, starring American Sasha Lane and Caymanian Tru Thompson, offered the audience a look at Pitcairn’s personal devastating experience during the storm.
Following the nine-minute screening, attendees got a chance to watch behind-the-scenes footage, with cast and crew sharing their journey on the project and their favourite moments on set.
A brief question-and-answer segment followed the screening, with Pitcairn providing insight into special effects, and what it took to put the project together, including the backing of film producers Badir Awe, Frank E. Flowers, Stephan H. Cotterell and Brittany Kelly.
Among those in attendance were cast and crew of the film, sponsors, family and friends of Pitcairn, and MP Heather Bodden who gave two thumbs up on the production.
Pitcairn, 24, best known for her Emmy-award winning work in HBO’s ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’, made her directorial debut with ‘Ivan’ at the 43rd annual Hawaii International Film Festival, held in October last year. It has been nominated for two different awards, Best Environmental Film and Best Short Film.
The film has also been selected to screen at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. The music for the film was also nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award in 2023 in the category ‘Score – Short Film (Live Action)’.
“This weekend we finally had the chance to show our wonderful cast and crew the film they worked so hard on last year,” Pitcairn told the Compass.
She added, “I’m so proud to have worked alongside such talented people, and am excited to do it all again when we make the feature film.”
Pitcairn, who received Cayman National Cultural Foundation funding under its ‘Grants for the Arts’ programme last year, previously noted the importance of that award to her project.
“We are so grateful for CNCF’s grant. We wouldn’t have been able to finish post-production on our short film ‘Ivan’ without it,” she said.
The wider public will get a chance to see the film later this year at an official Cayman premiere once ‘Ivan’ has completed the film-festival circuit, Pitcairn confirmed.
For more information and to watch the official ‘Ivan’ trailer, go to the film’s website.
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