Are you aged between 8 and 80 and dream of being in a feature film? Then this could be your chance.
An open casting call is taking place at the end of January at the Harquail Theatre for actors and non-actors to appear in the full-length movie Ivan, made by Caymanian filmmaker Jazz Pitcairn.
Open auditions
Pitcairn, 27, is looking for all genders and ethnicities for speaking and non-speaking roles in her upcoming cinematic project. No experience is required and no preparation either: people are invited just to turn up on the day, to meet the production crew and read a short piece of script which will be provided.
Pitcairn, who was born and raised in Cayman, studied at the prestigious NYU Tisch film school before working for the likes of Apple TV and HBO, including as a writer on the award-winning ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’.
She then decided to focus on a project close to her heart, Ivan, which was a short film shot over two days in January 2023. She is now expanding the subject into her first full-length film.
“I always loved the arts, but I also loved the idea of being able to tell Caribbean stories on the big screen and mainstream media,” said Pitcairn, “and Hurricane Ivan remains a ‘push pin moment’ in history for us. We talk about life before and after Ivan all the time and the PTSD and the emotions and feelings that Ivan created still exist.”
The film was loosely based on her family’s experiences during the 2004 hurricane. She was just six years old at the time, but has strong memories of sheltering in the roof space after flood waters breached their property on South Sound.
The eight-minute film went on to be accepted in film festivals around the world, winning several awards, and gave Pitcairn the confidence that she could direct a larger project.
While the short film and the movie are both called Ivan and focus on the 2004 hurricane, the two stories are very different, said Pitcairn. “They both deal with a mother-daughter relationship of some kind, but the characters are very different.”
Political thriller
The story of the feature-length Ivan will be a political thriller telling the story of Mia, a politician who is fighting to maintain her lead in the upcoming election for parliament amid the incoming hurricane, when a new political challenger joins the race – her father.
American actress Teyonah Parris has signed up to play Mia while Emmy-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph is attached to play Flora, Mia’s mother.
“I was always inspired by the different ways in which my grandma and my mom made sacrifices and how they ultimately impacted me and my life,” said Pitcairn, adding that she wanted to pay tribute to the women in her life and the wider community, as well as the catastrophic event that happened to Cayman.
Filming in Grand Cayman is planned for the end of May, with Pitcairn’s focus being on raising the remaining funds needed to make the film, as well as working as a freelance writer and producer. She has also just started on a master’s degree at the University of Cambridge in international relationships.
“I’d love to continue building a career in filmmaking as a writer and director; that would be the dream and the goal,” she said, “but for right now, it really is just putting everything into this film, specifically because I care just so much about what this film means and the impact it could have. Anything beyond that is just such a, you know, cherry on top of the cake.”
Open casting for Ivan takes place at the Harquail Theatre on Saturday, 24 Jan., 10am-5pm; Sunday, 25 Jan. 11am-6pm; and Monday, 26 Jan. 11am-6pm, with a break between 1 and 1:30pm each day. No acting experience required.
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